Jetul de apă a fost introdus pentru prima dată în 1970 pentru tăierea materialelor moi, cum ar fi materialele plastice și hârtie absorbantă. Pentru a tăia materiale dure, a fost introdusă tehnologia cu jet de apă abraziv (AWJ) la începutul anilor 1980. Acest lucru a lărgit semnificativ gama de aplicații și piețe ale uneltei cu jet de apă. Aproape orice material poate fi tăiat cu AWJ, cum ar fi piatra, sticlă, compozite, metal, carburi și ceramică. Astăzi, există peste 30 de industrii care folosesc unealta cu jet de apă, cum ar fi avioanele, motoarele cu reacție, construcțiile, atelierul de lucru, semnalizarea și arhitectura.

Platformele (subsistemele) de bază ale unui sistem cu jet de apă sunt platforma de ultraînaltă presiune (UHP) care include pompele și țevile și platforma de tăiere care include capete de tăiere, alimentare abrazivă și modele predictive de tăiere. Aceste modele sunt încorporate în platforma software și utilizate integral cu sistemele CAD/CAM. Platforma de mișcare include manipulatoarele necesare pentru tăiere și automatizare. În cele din urmă, platforma auxiliară include alt hardware sau software pentru a îmbunătăți performanța sistemului sau pentru a satisface cerințele specifice ale clienților.

Au existat mai multe progrese în platformele de mai sus în ultimul deceniu. Printre cele mai notabile progrese se numără introducerea pompelor UHP pentru funcționare la 650 MPa și dezvoltarea articulațiilor de control conic automat și a software-ului pentru tăierea de precizie 2D și 3D.

AWJ-urile au fost folosite pentru multe aplicații, cum ar fi tăierea, decuparea, strunjirea, frezarea și găurirea. Însă, majoritatea aplicațiilor de astăzi sunt legate de tăiere și decupare. În general, utilizarea AWJ-urilor pentru prelucrare are multe avantaje tehnice și economice față de metodele existente.

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