Water Jet Machining

Introduction
1 It is manufacturing through the use of highly pressurized liquid, forced through a
nozzle and used as the cutting tool.
2 The orifice can range from 5 to 20 thousandth of an inch
3 Water is most common liquid, however alcohol, oil, or glycerol may be used
4 Water jets machining has been in use since 1970

Water jets have many applications

1 ranging from cutting steels to sheets of candy (using a sugar water or syrup for
cutting).
 Some examples are:
1 Nickel alloys, Titanium, tool steels, glass, marble, brass, copper, wood,
rubber, paper and plastics.
2 The cutting thickness is normally for any size under 6".

Experimental Setup

Commonly used additives in WJM

1.Crly cerine
2.Polyethylene oxide
3.Long chain polymers

Waterjet Processing Capabilities

1 Cutting
2 Drilling
3 Five-axis processing
4 Surface texturing
Waterjet Processing:
Edge Finish
1 Edges will have a sandblasted appearance
2 Harder materials exhibit a better edge finish
 3 Finishes will range from 63 RMS to very coarse depending upon the application
Technical Characteristics
1 A non-thermal process that eliminates warping and heat-affect zone
(Eliminates grinding and polishing, reducing secondary operations
Costs)
Waterjet Processing Offer
1 Ideal for roughing out material for near-net shape (Saves valuable machining time
and reduces work in progress )
2 Ideal for laser-reflective materials such as copper and aluminum
3 Allows more accurate cutting of ductile materials
4 Cuts through very thick materials
Inconel – 12 inches
Titanium – 15 inches
A Proven Method to Reduce Manufacturing Costs
5 Nested parts cut material cost by 36% and saved machining time
6 Five-axis turbine blade
7 Multiple parts cut from single block
8 Waterjet drilling of cooling holes
9 No distortion or warping
10 Eliminates slag, stress and annealing
11 Lowers cycle time
12 Excellent surface finish for carbon fiber hose clamp for jet engine assembly
13 Complete part production saved time and money
Advantages of water-jet machining
o The water stream makes very little noise.
o Chips or waste is moved out of the way of the cutting process.
o There are no bits or tools touching the material surface, thus there is no
tool replacement costs.
o Ultrahigh-pressure Water-jets cut to accuracy's of +/-0.010".
o Low level of mechanical stress (less than a pound) placed on the work
piece preventing damage and deformations.
o Omni-directional cutting capabilities allow the cutting of intricate shapes
and curves not possible with conventional cutting tools.
o Especially suited for short run production because there are no tooling
expenses.
o There are no heat affected zone's