RESEARCH ON WATER JET MILLING POSSIBILITIES

1.1.Waterjet basics [3]

This non-traditional application of abrasive waterjet may interest some to whom waterjet
machining is an unfamiliar process, so here is a brief primer:
Abrasive waterjet machining can be thought of as a water-driven grinding process. A
narrow, high-pressure jet of water carries particles of garnet abrasive at speeds ranging from 300
to 730 metre per second. This garnet does the cutting. And there are few materials, metal or nonmetal, that cannot be cut in this way. In metalworking, abrasive waterjet machining often finds
work cutting hard steels, aerospace alloys, and other materials that are difficult to machine
through a more conventional, mechanical cutting process. However, waterjet machining also
offers other advantages. There is no heat-affected zone, waterjet is a candidate for applications
where thermal-induced micro-fractures or distortions in the part are unacceptable.
This article uses "waterjet" and "abrasive
waterjet" interchangeably, but it's worth noting that
the terms are not necessarily synonymous in larger
contexts. There is such a thing as pure waterjet
cutting used outside the metalworking industry. But
in the context of machining metals and other hard
materials, "waterjet machining" can be assumed to
mean abrasive waterjet machining, with the hard
garnet particles added to the jet.
Historically, controlling a waterjet's depth of
cut has been difficult. That's why waterjet machining
is typically used in applications where depth of cut
doesn't matter. These include applications where the

Fig.1. Part made by AWJ milling (JetEdge)

jet passes all the way though the workpiece, like

slotting, drilling, and machining cut-outs. Machining when the jet does not pass all the way
through has traditionally been limited to "artistic" purposes, like etching and labeling.
Waterjet milling does add control over depth of cut. Thanks to this addition, waterjet
cutting when the jet does not pass all the way through can be used not just for appearance effects,
but also to produce features that are functional.

1.2. Teoretical formulation [1]

Water jet milling is a process with a large number of parameters. Figure 2 illustrates
schematically the processing system by water jet milling. The most significant parameters of the
water jet milling process are:
-

do orifice diameter (mm);

df focus tube diameter(mm);

Ma abrasive mass flow rate (g/min);

P water-jet pressure (Bar);

Sd stand-off distance (mm);

V traverse feed rate (mm/min);

impact angle ();

h processing depth (mm);

Ra surface roughness (m).

Fig.2. Water jet milling processing system

1.3. Waterjet milling [3]

Abrasive waterjet cutting can be used for milling. The process that typically cuts edges,
slots, and holes can also be used in controlled-depth applications where the jet doesn't pass all
the way through the workpiece. In other words, it can mill surfaces. It can even be used to mill
out pockets. This may come as a surprise. It's less of a surprise to waterjet machine maker Flow
International (Kent, Washington).
For several years now, researchers at this company have been experimenting with abrasive
waterjet as a milling tool. And though no waterjet milling machine has yet resulted from this
research, the company says it does now have the process expertise to build one. For now, the
company is talking to potential users and trying to gauge the market interest in this process.
Dr. Mohamed Hashish is the researcher who has led the development of waterjet milling at
Flow. "At this point, any waterjet milling system would be a custom build," he says. But if the
company finds high demand for this process in any particular metalworking segment, then a
standard waterjet milling machine designed around the needs of that group will soon follow.
Such a machine would use the same nozzle, jet and garnet abrasive as a conventional abrasive
waterjet machine. The difference would be in the way the machine moves.

Milling with waterjet involves moving the workpiece past the nozzle so fast, the amount of
material removed can be precisely controlled. This generally means mounting the workpiece on
some spinning surface while the nozzle moves in a straight line. Then, completing the milling
process is a piece of hard tooling, a mask. The mask lays over the workpiece like a stencil,
allowing the waterjet to mill only certain regions. Where the mask has a hole in some given
shape, the waterjet mills a pocket to that same shape in the workpiece beneath it. The depth is
determined by the number of passes the workpiece makes under the jet. This depth can be held to
an accuracy of 0.05mm.

1.3.1. What kinds of machined parts make the best candidates for this process?
Dr. Hashish says the list includes parts whose material and/or geometry make traditional
milling problematic. For example, the workpiece may be made of some difficult-to-machine
material like titanium, Inconel, or another aerospace metal. Or, the difficulty may come from the
geometry. The pocket may have thin walls that are difficult to mill without deflection, or acute
internal corners that are just plain difficult to mill. In any of these cases, the new alternative
milling with a jet of water carrying garnet abrasivemay well be a diamond in the rough.

1.3.2. Rotary motion

Flow experimented with several approaches to achieving this depth control. These included
using a weaker jet, as well as dynamically affecting the jet through pulsing or changing its
parameters on the fly. In general, these techniques proved impractical. Instead, the most effective
approach was found to be the simplest one: moving the workpiece under the nozzle fast enough
that the jet can only remove a small amount of material at a time. For example, moving a
titanium workpiece at a speed of around 274 metre per minute results in a milling depth of cut of
about 0.025 milimeter per pass.
Achieving this kind of speed inevitably involves some sort of rotary motion. There are two
possible approaches. One is to place the workpieceor several workpieces at onceon a large
turntable. While the table spins, the nozzle moves along the radius like the needle of a record
player. The other approach is to mount one or more workpieces on the surface of a spinning
cylindereither the outer or inner surface. The nozzle then moves parallel to the axis of rotation,
similar to the way a lathe tool would move during an OD or ID cut, respectively.
Whichever approach is used, one distinct advantage of waterjet milling is that its efficiency
is relatively unaffected by batch size.

The process is well-suited to machining many parts at once. Whether one part or many
parts are mounted on the spinning surface, the cycle time may well be the same. In addition,
these parts do not even have to be identical. The geometry of the milled part comes not from any
variations in the machine's toolpath, but from the geometry of the mask. Therefore so long as all
of the masks are ready, a batch of all-different parts could be milled in one cycle, just as easily as
a batch of identical parts.

1.3.3. Process advantages

The mask is made from a material that is more resistant to erosion from the abrasive
waterjet than the workpiece itself. A steel mask can be used for aluminum or titanium
workpieces. Other workpiece materials may call for a tungsten carbide mask. The need to
machine this mask before any waterjet pocketing can be performed has to be figured into any
economic justification for this process. Therefore, one-third of the cost of producing this mask
would be added to the direct cost of waterjet milling the part to determine the true unit cost.
Because it is solely the geometry of this mask that determines the geometry of the
workpiece, complex geometry does not add to the difficulty or expense of the waterjet milling
process. This gives the process an advantage over mechanical milling, where certain features add
to the difficulty and cycle time. For example, acute internal corners may require time-consuming
light cuts with small-diameter tools. And thin walls may require similar light cuts to machine
them without deflection. But in waterjet milling, considerations like these disappear. As long as
the features are in the mask, corners can be machined as easily as straight walls, and thin walls
can be machined without any lateral deflection.
However, mechanical milling can achieve a much better surface finish. Says Dr. Hashish,
"With waterjet milling, about the best finish we can achieve economically is 3 microns."
Waterjet milling also competes with chemical milling. Against this environmentally-unfriendly
process, waterjet milling may one day offer a compelling alternative. In addition to the disposal
considerations, the waterjet process also offers functional advantages. Among these are that
waterjet milling makes it easier to vary the milling depth for different regions of the workpiece.
Another advantage is that waterjet is not sensitive to the workpiece material. Forgings, heat
treats and composites all can be milled effectively using waterjet. Still another advantage over
chemical milling, he says, is that waterjet milling makes it possible to control surface finish. A 3
microns finish may be the smoothest surface possible, but for jobs demanding a finish rougher
than this, abrasive waterjet makes it easily possible to vary the surface finish accordingly.

1.3.4. Thin rib milling

Machining thin ribs from solid is one application in which abrasive waterjet milling may
offer a distinct advantage over mechanical milling. Unlike the more conventional milling,
waterjet milling poses no risk of deflecting a delicate rib during machining. The waterjet
transmits no lateral force.
Flow International's Mohamed Hashish says jet engine and missile casings seem to be
particularly good candidates for this process. These cylidrical parts use a pattern of solid thin ribs
on the curved inner surface to provide support. Typical rib dimensions are 6 mm high and 0.5
mm thick. A representative configuration is shown in the smaller drawing below.
At present, ribs like these are produced either through
chemical milling, or by using conventional milling to
machine flat sheets that are then rolled. The former approach
is expensive, and it likely will become more expensive in the
future as environmental costs rise. The latter approach is
tricky. It often results in the ribs being distorted.
Waterjet milling may be more effective than either
approach. With this process, ribs can be machined directly

Fig.3. Thin ribs

into the cylindrical part. A series of masks is applied to the inner

surface, and machining occurs while the workpiece itself spins. Rolling the workpiece after the
ribs have been milled is no longer necessary.Flow has already done machining trials designed to
simulate this job. Based on these trials, the company can estimate machining times for specific
ribbed cylindrical parts. For example, assume a pattern of ribs like the one in the drawing is to be
machined into the inner surface of a section of aluminum cylindrical casing measuring 300 mm
long by 1200 mm in diameter. Given these conditions, machining the ribs through waterjet
milling would first require about 11 hours for machining the steel mask tooling (through waterjet
cutting), followed by about 10 hours for the waterjet milling process. However, the mask tooling
is good for three parts, so only one-third of the mask machining time should be figured into the
time to machine each part. Therefore, the total time to machine each part through waterjet
milling would be about 14 hours.

1.4. Water jet sculpturing experiments

1.4.1. Research on 3D metal sculpturing by water jet cutting versus CNC machining [1]
This experiment presents a comparison between classical milling and abrasive water jet
milling. In order to obtain complex 3D parts using water jet milling was developed the algorithm
shown schematically in figure 4.
The first step in processing 3D parts using
water jet milling is to create the image of the 3D
part. Thus, to obtain this image you start from the
3D model of the part with the help of a 3D
modeling software. With this CAD software,
starting from the 3D model the 2D drawing of the
part is made. The 2D sketch, saved with the DWG
format is imported into Corel DRAW program. It
is necessary to use a 2D sketch made in this way
to obtain an image with high dimensional
accuracy. CorelDraw drawing program recognizes
the sketch and offers the possibility to color this
sketch. Thus, depending on the geometry of the
part that wants to be machined by water jet
milling, the sketch is colored in shades of white
and black. Minimum depth areas are colored in
white and areas with maximum depth are colored
in black. Intermediate depth zones are colored in
gray.
In this experimental study two identical
parts were processed using waterjet milling and
classical CNC milling. In this first investigation a
3D part was made by water jet milling, using the
algorithm proposed above. To process this part we

Fig.4. Processing algorithm for manufacturing

3D parts by water jet milling

started from the 3D model using Solid Works software. The 3D model of the part is shown in
figure 5. From this 3D model, by using Solid Works a 2D sketch of the part was made, which is
illustrated in figure 5. This sketch, saved in "dwg" format, was imported into Corel DRAW

drawing program. Using this software, the image was colored in shades from white to black
according to the algorithm from table 1. The picture was saved with the .JPG format and is
illustrated in figure 6.

Table 1. Algorithm to choose the color image

Captured image using CorelDraw program

was imported in the "Intelli-ETCH". The
program offers a choice of start point and end
point of the trajectory of the jet, the dimensions
of the 3D part and the distance between two
successive passages. Thus, for processing this
Fig.5. 3D model of the part and 2D sketch of
the part.

part, the starting point was chosen in the top left

corner of the dimensions: 50x50 mm and the

distance between two successive passages was 0.38 mm. Type of steel used in this study is
37-2k OL STAS 500, equivalent to S235JR according to EN 10025-2. One of the disadvantages
of this program is that it does not offer the
possibility to calculate the process parameters.
This problem was solved by using the computer
software, named CAPAJETA, developed at
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca for
calculating the process parameters. Using this
program we calculated the feed rate required to
achieve the desired processing depth, 4 mm, using
a pressure of 1600 bar and a flow rate of 0.45 kg /
min. Thus, having these values of process parameters,

Fig.6. The 3D image of the part

we return to the Intelli-Etch" program. In this section of the program were introduced: the fluid
pressure, the minimum and maximum feed speed. The "Intelli-ETCH" contains an algorithm that
controls acceleration and deceleration of the jet at direction changes to improve the obtained
surface quality and to increase processing accuracy. The parameters of the process were: the
water pressure 1600 bar; the maximum/minimum feed rate 4500/300 mm/min; the nozzle
diameter 0.35 mm; the focusing tube diameter 0.76 mm; the jet impact angle 90; the abrasive
flow rate 0.45 Kg/min; the abrasive size 80 Mesh; the standoff distance was 2 mm. To obtain this
part we used OMAX 2626 water jet machining equipment from Technical University of ClujNapoca. Using the proposed algorithm the 3D part (illustrated in figure 7) was processed by
water jet milling.
In the second investigation a 3D part was made by CNC classical milling method. To
process this part CAD/CAM software was used. The 3D model was opened in CAM software,
SolidCam. First processing operation was rough milling. In this process was used a carbide end
mill with a 16mm diameter and 4 flutes. The process parameters were: the cutting speed 150
m/min, the feed per tooth 0.15 mm/tooth, the depth of processing up to 4 mm and 8 mm step
over. Type of steel used in this study is ST 37-2k OL STAS 500. The result is illustrated in
figure 8.

Fig.7. The part made by water jet milling

Fig.8. The part made by classical milling

Results and disscusions

For part measurement in this study a coordinate measuring machine manufactured by
CIMCO, FIRE II model was used. We choose to use this equipment for measurement due to
good measurement accuracy, 0.005 mm. In the measuring process CIMCO equipment is used,
model FIRE II, software DELCAM PLC, which allows the generation of a measurements

bulletin. The part was set on the measuring equipment table, and by using a detecting element
the desired dimensions were measured, as shown in figure 9.
Comparing the experimental results with the
nominal dimensions a dimensional accuracy of 0.9
mm was obtained for water jet milling process and
0.02 mm for classical milling (table 2). By analyzing
the surface quality of experimental parts we obtained
Ra 13.5 m for water jet milling process and Ra 2.5 m
for classical milling. The processing time was 5
minutes for part made through water jet milling process
and 5.5 minutes for the part made through classical
milling.
Fig.9. The part dimensions, pursued in
this study

Table 2. Dimensions of the 3D milled part

Conclusion
Water jet milling is a solution for
processing complex parts. A comparison between
classical CNC milling process and AWJ milling
process was made and we observed that: using
classical milling we can obtain a higher
dimensional accuracy and a better surface quality.
By analyzing the processing time the AWJ
milling process was faster. With the developed
process, complex 3D parts can be manufactured,
resulting a high dimensional accuracy.

1.4.2. New industrial applications of the abrasive water jet processing [2]

The experimental study

In this experimental research a complex industrial
part has been made (figure 10) using the process
parameters calculated with the CAPAJETA program
(figure 11). The material used in this experiment was
Stainless Steel with 10 mm thickness.
In this study the following equipment was used:

Figure 10. The 3D model of the test part

Tecnocut (figure 12). The equipments main components are: the high pressure pump with
an output pressure 3.800 bar; an abrasive cutting head and abrasive delivery system; a numerical
controller which controls the motions of the cutting head and the water tank.

Figure 11. Calculating the optimal

parameters using CAPAJETA

Figure 12. Tecnocut equipment

Face milling
The first operation, for processing this part, is face
milling. To achieve this operation, the abrasive jet passes over
the surface multiple times. The parameters of the face milling
are: the water pressure, 2100 bar; the feed rate, 2054.95
mm/min; the nozzle diameter, 0.35 mm; the focusing tube
diameter, 1.02 mm; the jet impact angle, 90; the abrasive flow
rate, 0.4 Kg/min; the abrasive size 80 Mesh; the standoff
distance was 2 mm and the step between two successive
passages 0.51 mm.

Figure 13. The face milled

processed part

Pocket milling
In processing pockets we start from the
manufacturing mask. This part was made of carbon steel
for general use (OL 52) with a thickness of 4 mm.
Processing type cavities has started from the realization
pocket mask. This piece was made of carbon steel for
Figure 14. The mask

general use (OL 52) with a thickness of 4 mm. The cutting parameters of the mask cutting are:
the water pressure, 3800 bar; the feed rate, 233.23 mm/min; the abrasive flow rate, 0.4 Kg/min.
The rest of parameters are similar to those of
the previous processing.
To process these pockets, the abrasive
water jet goes over the work piece-mask
assembly multiple times through successive
passages, the parameters were: the water
pressure, 2100 bar; the feed rate, 1080.29
mm/min and the step between two successive
passages 0.51 mm.

Figure 15. The pocket processed

Profile cutting
The last operation in processing this part is cutting the
profiles of the part. To begin this process we started from the
2D sketch presented in figure 16. The parameters of the profile
cutting were: the water pressure, 3800 bar; the feed rate, 68.94
mm/min; the abrasive flow rate, 0.4 Kg/min.
Part measurement
After measuring the processed part (figure 17) the results
presented in table 3 were obtained.
Figure 16. Part profile
Table 3. The experimental results

Analyzing the processed surfaces we

noticed a good quality surface, the highest
roughness after processing being 7.71 m.

Conclusions
After using water jet cutting and milling to process an industrial complex part made out of
a 10 mm thick stainless steel, we obtained a maximum dimensional deviation of 0.15 mm from
the nominal dimension and a maximum roughness of Ra=7.7 m. Using the newly developed
program, CAPAJETA, the optimal parameters could be calculated for water jet cutting and
milling. Thus using specific software applications, through these technologies industrial parts
can be manufactured at a good dimensional precision and surface roughness.

1.5. REFERENCES
[1] Popan A., Crean A., Luca A., Ceclan V., Blc N., RESEARCH ON 3D METAL

SCULPTURING BY WATER JET CUTTING VERSUS CNC MACHINING,

Academic journal of manufacturing engineering, Vol. 11, Issue 4/2013, P. 74-79.
[2] Popan A., Blc N., Crean A., Luca A., NEW INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF THE
ABRASSIVE WATER JET PROCESSING, Academic journal of manufacturing engineering, Vol.
10, Issue 3/2012, P. 97-102.
[3] http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/milling-with-waterjet
[4] www.omax.com
[5] http://www.flowwaterjet.com