What makes a bad application for a Waterjet?
• Depth of cut is not possible. The stream must pass all the way through the material. However, it is easy to cut bevels or contoured surfaces with multiple axis options. • Interrupted cuts like tubes and pipe. Materials that have a hard-soft-hard cross sections tend to blow out the bottom surface because the stream becomes unfocused in the soft regions. • Very large amounts of perforations like screen mesh. Very high numbers of cycle will wear out valve seals prematurely. Conventional punch presses are a better technology. • Low commodity products like scrap metal, scrap tires, and grass. Waterjets add value to your products but they add cost. A good waterjet application will re-coupe operating costs by 1) improving an existing process by making better cuts or increasing production volume 2) eliminating post-processing or 3) making applications possible that were not possible before.
