WATER JET CUTTING

Water jet cutting with high-pressure systems

Waterjet cutting is a technology which uses a high-pressure jet of water to cut numerous types of materials. This technology, by only using water pressure, can cut all the materials that would otherwise be damaged by laser, for example carbon fiber and rubber, up to thicknesses of 200 mm. A cutting method with the addition of abrasive is used for those materials that can hardly be separated with a water jet only. It is called hydro abrasive cutting or abrasive waterjet cutting. During this method, a stream of abrasive particles is added to the water in order to increase its erosion power. The result of the hydro abrasive cut is a strong jet of water capable of cutting materials of high thickness and of different consistencies, for example all the materials that are difficultly cut with laser cutting such as: aluminum, copper, bronze, titanium, various metal alloys, ferrous materials: high thickness of iron, high thickness of stainless steel, ferrous alloys of any type and hardness. Moreover, waterjet technology allows the cutting of glass, wood, marble, ceramics, plastic materials, rubbers, and many other materials.

What is achievable

The areas of use of the waterjet cutting are numerous because this innovative technique does not only allow to optimally solve many production problems, but it also provides a great design freedom. This cutting system has specific characteristic that allow to work on the most diverse materials.
Here’s a list of some possible applications:

• Production of technical items, industrial gaskets made of a wide range of materials, and carbon fiber in which we specialize;
• Cutting of metal components made of stainless steel, copper, brass, Hastelloy, titanium, and aluminum thanks to our precision mechanics;
• Inlaid floors and complex shapes in marble, granite and other stones for fine decoration of interiors and exteriors;
• Cutting of simple, multilayer and armoured glass for the realization and production of artistic stained glass windows;
• Automotive interiors, fiberglass products for dashboards and special details...

Do you want precise inlays of different materials? Do you need a prototype of your project immediately?
Our waterjet cutting services are at your disposal.
What are the advantages?
The main advantage of this technology, compared to other techniques that work on the separation of materials, is represented by the cold cutting that allows to obtain:

• Processing without thermal and structural alteration
• Absence of vapours, fumes, and dust particles (respect for the environment)
• No burns
• It does not change the original colour
• It does not change the internal structure
• It does not damage the painting or enamel

All these advantages are gained by using the waterjet cutting. Unlike cutting with different systems such as laser, oxyfuel, plasma cutting, wire erosion, milling and blanking, that are often excessively invasive for the material subjected to cutting. Using these other methods also adds a high risk to deteriorate or deform the material during the processing phase. It can also make the quality, solidity, and aesthetics of the workpiece unsatisfactory.

Other advantages:

Materials: it is possible to cut all types of materials, from the most fragile to the hardest (for example foam, plastic, laminated materials, steel, stones and granites)
Speed: very fast transition from design to cutting
Accuracy: very high cutting accuracy (up to 0.04mm).
Thickness: compact materials (metallic and non-metallic) can be cut with a thickness of up to 150/200mm, while for foam materials even over 200mm
Save: optimal use of the material thanks to the CAD/CAM (nesting) software. The finished product does not require cleaning operations or the elimination of smudges on the material.
For certain shapes the cut can be shared, speeding up the cutting phase and saving material.
Very small groove width about 1mm with hydro abrasive cut and up to 0.1mm with pure water cut. We offer rapid prototyping.

What are the disadvantages?

As for the disadvantages, we blame them on the fact that it is impossible for us with our equipment, considering the sectors that we serve, to process products that require special treatments such as the cutting of paper, cardboard, and food products.