Water Cutters: What Are They and How Do They Work?
December 21, 2019
An ancient form of water cutting dates back to Roman times. They used hydraulic systems that diverted high-pressure
water to carve gold out from stone.
Hydraulic mining even became popular
in America during the Gold Rush of the 1850s. Miners often used it in their search for gold in frontier
California.
Since then, technology has advanced
and given us modern-day water cutters. In this article, we’ll cover all the
basics of what a water cutter is and how it works, so keep reading!
What
Are Water Cutters?
A water cutter, or waterjet, is a
tool that can use a high-pressure stream of water to cut through metal parts.
The water pressure ranges between 20,000 and 55,000 pounds per square inch.
The waterjet cutting process involves the spray of water getting pushed through a narrow
jeweled nozzle. The spray is a high-pressure, concentrated jet. A key benefit
to the water cutter is that it doesn't overheat like metal cutters do.
So long as the metal has a hardness
of 8.5 or less on the Mohs’ Hardness Scale, a waterjet can cut through it.
Advantages
of a Water Cutter
There are multiple advantages to
using water cutters. Compared to traditional cutters such as machining, laser,
plasma, EDM wire cut and more, the water cutter excels in almost every way.
1.
Strongest of the Strong
It's capable of cutting through
almost any material or metal, so long as its hardness doesn't exceed an 8.5
rating on the Mohs' scale.
2.
Smooth Finish
When a water cutter slices through
metal, it leaves behind a smooth finish. The result is like if the edges had
been sanded. Most other cutting methods leave rugged or jagged bits behind.
3.
Never Overheats
Most other cutting machinery can
overheat. With water cutters, there is no threat of this happening. They have
no heat-affected areas. Because the water cutter workpieces are water-cooled,
the temperature doesn't increase by much in the cutting zone.
4.
Green
Another more modern reason water
cutters are helpful is because they are environmentally friendly. Other cutters
sometimes make use of toxic gases or liquids that require eventual waste
disposal.
5.
Versatility
Water cutters have broad
functionality. With other cutters, you may have to switch out certain parts to
cut through a different material. Whereas a water cutter can saw, drill,
profile mill, gear cut, punch, and do spline cutting and slitting.
6.
Strength and Precision
Water cutters are an optimal choice
in almost all categories. It's able to cut a stack of different metals up to
four inches thick. It's even delicate enough to cut a material as thin as
five-thousandths of an inch.
7.
Cost Savings
With a water cutter, the first cut
is the final finished product. There's no need to sand a surface or do small
cutting adjustments.
Thanks to this process, water
cutters save on material and machining costs.
Drawbacks
of a Water Cutter
Nothing is perfect, and that
includes the water cutter. While it has more advantages than anything, there
are a few drawbacks you should know.
1.
Kerf Width
Kerf is the material removed during
the cutting process. With a water cutter, it's the width of the jet stream.
On average, water cutters use a jet
stream width of 0.04 inches or 1 mm. This means that inner corners are
incapable of being cut 100% sharp. Its radius will match that of the jet.
2.
Hole Size
A water cutter cannot cut below a
diameter of 0.1 inches.
Since the average kerf of a water
cutter is 0.04 inches, it's difficult for the water cutter to do cuts below
that. It is possible though.
When the water cutter first breaks
through the material it's cutting, this is called piercing. The hole caused by
piercing is rough. While the water cutter can accomplish a rudimentary hole
below 0.1 inches, it will not be smooth or accurate.
3.
Partial Cutting
Water cutting is best used with
cutting all the way through the material. It is not best used to do
partial cuts or blind cutting, where the cut stops at a certain depth.
4.
Lead-In and Lead-Out
The part where the water cutter
stream begins and ends its cut is called the lead-in and lead-out.
To avoid small indentations tarnishing
the finished product, the lead-in is done at a part of the material considered
scrap.
5.
Taper
This is perhaps the biggest
disadvantage of using a water cutter. A taper is caused by the cutting stream
spreading out the further from the nozzle.
With the waterjet cutter, there are
three common types of tapers: V-shaped, reverse, and barrel.
A V-shaped taper is caused by the
water stream holding a higher cutting energy at the top of the cut. This
creates a wider cut at the top. The faster a cut is done, the more pronounced
the taper will be.
Reverse taper occurs during slow
cuts or in soft materials that erode fast under the power of the water stream.
Since the water stream spreads out the farther from the nozzle it travels, more
material is cut from the bottom than the top.
A barrel taper is more rare and
happens when the material is especially thick.
Water
Cutters Are More Useful Than You Know
Water cutters in some form or
another have been around since ancient times.
In the modern age, water cutters
have helped us achieve many great things. It was once used to rescue Baby Jessica from the well in 1987. Did you know waterjets are even used
to cut candy bars?
Water cutters are a part of human
history and have held an important part in shaping our civilization. From
mining gold to shaping marble and more, water cutters aided us in achieving our
goals. Who knows what future uses we’ll adapt the water cutter for.
We hope this guide proved useful in answering
all your questions about water cutters. If you enjoyed what you read, please
look around the site and see what else we have to offer.
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