Abrasive waterjet is a nonthermal cold cutting process that can be performed by a waterjet machine. This process uses only natural abrasives and water to cut nearly any material. It produces a smooth cutting surface without slag or heat-affected areas.
Ultra-high pressure pumps produce water at a pressure of between 4000 and 6000 bar. The water’s speed is determined by the pressure created. High-pressure water flows through an orifice made from ruby, sapphire, or diamond with a diameter of 0.10 to 0.33 mm. This creates a jet stream of up to 1,000 m/s.
Garnet particles are placed into the focusing tube made from tungsten carbide via an abrasive intake and then into the ultra-high water beam. They become a powerful cutting instrument, able to cut any metal up to 300mm thick into any shape.
Waterjet cutting equipment is flexible and can be adjusted to meet specific cutting requirements. It can also be used to cut materials that are subjected to a second process since it does not use heat which could cause material damage.
Garnet is a better choice than other abrasives for waterjet cutting.
Waterjet cutting can be done with both synthetic and natural abrasive media. Almandine garnet is the best mineral for waterjet because of its unique characteristics, high performance, and overall profitability.
Even though they are less hardy than garnet, abrasive media such as glass or olivine provide a longer mixing time but do not guarantee fast cutting speeds. While abrasives harder than garnet like aluminum oxide and silicon carbide cut faster, they do not offer a high cutting-edge. The mixing tube’s life span is reduced by as much as 90% compared to garnet.
Is it possible to recycle the waterjet garnet?
Garnet is eco-friendly as it can be recycled as a filler for asphalt and concrete products. A high-quality abrasive can be recycled up to five times for waterjet cutting.
An abrasive-waterjet cutting machine – how well will it perform?
Plasma cutting and CNC laser cutting are very popular. They offer faster speeds in cutting materials like steel, aluminum, and copper up to 20mm thick, but they often fail when precision and flexibility are needed.
However, be used to cut everything from soft rubber and plastics to the hardest metals and ceramics, without any heat-affected areas.
Mounting two to three cutting heads on the table can increase its capacity. They will all follow the same contour parallel to each other, from 2D to advanced 5-axis cutting in 3D.
How does the quality of garnet abrasive affect waterjet cutting applications?
High-quality abrasive media is intended to deliver consistent cutting performance. Waterjet abrasives with the ideal particles have the highest velocity water stream, which generates the greatest cutting force.
Waterjet cutting is a highly productive operation. To achieve consistent results, you must choose an abrasive that is high in purity, has accurate sizing, and is reliable.
garnet is not all created equal.
The cutting speed and the consumption per minute are key factors in determining the long-term viability of a waterjet cutting operation. Of course, there are options to cut faster and use less volume than comparable substitutes. What materials can abrasive waterjet cut?
You can cut any material with the right settings. This cutting process is flexible and precise and can be used for many materials with thicknesses up to one foot.
Garnet abrasive can be used to cut hard materials such as carbon steel, stainless, aluminum, copper, granite, marble, and glass.
What machines are most suitable for garnet, and which ones can they be used with?
The garnet, in general, can be used for any waterjet-cutting machine.
Manufacturers of waterjet cutting machines offer a variety of modern and advanced machines. FIVEX cutting heads and 3D components, 6,000-bar HP pumps, and MicroJet cutting machines are all new products that can be used to cut high-precision materials with extremely tight tolerances.
Waterjet cutting requires consistent garnet abrasive flow. A waterjet cutting operation can only be successful if there is smooth delivery of garnet to the cutting head. The consistent and controlled feed of quality garnet into the cutting head results in a more precise and cohesive cutting stream which produces a better cut edge and lower garnet consumption.
