Whether you’re a DIY or a professional craftsperson, waterjets are a must-have tool for your shop. They allow for a level of cutting precision that’s simply not possible with standard dry-saws. And when used with the proper cautions and protection, they’re safer and more eco-friendly, too.
If you’re new to the world of waterjets, here is a brief Techmoon FAQ sheet to help you get a better feel for what this machine is and how it came to be developed.
What is a pure waterjet?
A pure waterjet uses only water to cut materials. The first commercial applications were in the early to mid-1970s and involved the cutting of corrugated cardboard. Today, the most common industrial uses of waterjets including cutting disposable diapers, tissue paper and automotive interiors.
What is an abrasive waterjet?
An abrasive waterjet uses a combination of water and abrasive particles to cut material. And is hundreds, if not thousands, of times more powerful than a pure waterjet. In general, where a pure waterjet cuts soft materials, the abrasive waterjet cuts hard materials, such as metals, stone, composites and ceramics. They can also cut materials with hardness up to and slightly beyond aluminum oxide ceramic (alumina).
How was waterjet cutting developed?
Dr. Norman Franz is regarded as the father of the waterjet. He was the first person who studied the use of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) water as a cutting tool. The term UHP is defined as more than 30,000 pounds per square inch (psi). Dr. Franz, a forestry engineer, wanted to find new ways to slice thick trees into lumber. In the 1950s, Franz first dropped heavy weights onto columns of water, forcing that water through a tiny orifice. He obtained short bursts of very high pressure water and was able to cut both wood and other materials.
Nearly 30 years later, another engineer named Dr. Mohamed Hashish began researching methods to increase the cutting power of the waterjet so it could cut metals, and other hard materials. Dr. Hashish, regarded as the father of the abrasive-waterjet, invented the process of adding abrasives to the plain waterjet. He used garnet abrasives, a material commonly used on sandpaper. With this method, the waterjet (containing abrasives) could cut virtually any material, including glass, concrete, steel and other metals.
At TechMoon, we custom-build waterjets that represent the state-of-the-art in machine shop technology. Not only are our machines of the highest caliber: they’re also thousands less than our nearest competitor. For the cutting edge in cutting technology, contact us today!
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