Water Jet Cutters

One of the most recent developments in computer-aided manufacture has been with water jet cutting, This new technique utilises the momentum of high-speed water in a very fine jet to cut materials in a similar fashion to laser cutters. Water is pressurised using a pump, then a mixture of water and abrasive slurry is directed to the mixing nozzle, resulting in a stream of hydro-abrasive, with enough power to cut through even the toughest materials.

Water jet cutters are specifically useful in the cutting of sheet metals, often in intricate shapes, due to the high level of accuracy that can be achieved by modern computer aided manufacture methods. Water jets can make parts to very tight tolerances, some systems can create parts with a tolerance as close as 0.025 mm. [1]

The journal article found below (attached) compares different cutting methods for metals; water jet cutting, laser cutting and plasma cutting.

Table 1 - Comparison of cutting methods [2]

Here you can see a beautiful moon, cut from 2.5mm steel, purely with the power of nozzles!

[1] Online - https://www.flowwaterjet.com/Learn/Benefits-of-Waterjet.aspx. Accessed 18th March 2019

[2] Krajcarz, D. (2014). Comparison Metal Water Jet Cutting with Laser and Plasma Cutting. Procedia Engineering, 69, pp.838-843.