An Engineer's Guide to Choosing the Waterjet Cutter You Need for Precision Engineering
Precision engineering is a line of business with high demands on both materials and tools. Depending on your line of business, a large variety of different materials might be handled by a precision engineer. Waterjet cutting is one of the most common practices for a precision engineer to manufacture different pieces of equipment. There are two different types of waterjet cutting: pure and abrasive waterjet cutting. These both types have different sets of advantages that you might want to be aware of to choose what tool fits your type of business best.
Pure waterjet cutting
Pure waterjet cutting essentially means that you use a very hard stream of water to cut through different materials. It cuts by eroding the materials. When used on glass or fibreglass, the waterjet creates a series of cracks that are then opened wider by the hard stream that washes away little pieces of the material away from the initial cut. It creates a fine cut, and since it's only water, it's one of the most environmentally sustainable ways of cutting. However, the number of materials that can be cut by pure waterjet cutting is limited because this type of cutting can only cut through thin and soft materials.
Abrasive waterjet cutting
Abrasive waterjet cutting uses the same type of technology as pure waterjet cutting, except the water is also filled with particles of garnet to make the impact on the material being cut harder. As you're also spraying the material with garnet, the abrasive waterjet is able to break through significantly thicker and harder materials than pure water cutting. The downside with abrasive waterjet cutting might be that you need additional material, the garnet, to cut through materials. This makes the process produce more spillage of material other than water and also makes the tool cost more than a tool created only to use water.
Depending on the material
What both of these methods have in common is that neither one of them heats up the material, which is positive for precision engineering as the material won't be distorted by heat admission. Choosing what type of waterjet cutting that is right for you basically comes down to what material that is being used in your business. Softer material, like fibreglass or plastic, doesn't require more than the power of pure waterjet cutting. If you are cutting thick sheets of different types of metal, however, pure waterjet cutting simply won't be enough, and you should consider the option of abrasive waterjet cutting. This is also a good option if you work with a range of materials to stop you from having to get many different types of cutters.