Learn about waterjet cutting machines.

A CNC waterjet cutting machine (referred to as a waterjet) consists of three main parts: an ultra-high-pressure water jet generator (high-pressure pump), a CNC processing platform, a cutting head, a sand supply system, and a cooling system.

1. Ultra-high-pressure water jet generator (high-pressure pump)
   As the power source of the waterjet, the common technical solution is to use a hydraulic motor-driven intensifier to generate an ultra-high-pressure water jet. It increases the pressure of ordinary tap water to tens or hundreds of MPa (1 MPa is approximately equal to 10 bar), and then ejects it through a nozzle, possessing extremely high kinetic energy.
2. CNC processing platform
   CNC waterjets are mainly used for cutting flat sheet materials. The cutting platform uses rolling linear guides and ball screws for transmission. Under the precise control of the CNC program and control motors, it accurately performs independent X-axis and Y-axis movements or two-axis linkage, driving the cutting head to achieve straight line and arbitrary curve cutting.
3. Cutting head
   The high-pressure pump can only achieve the cutting function through the nozzle. The size of the nozzle aperture determines the pressure and flow rate. At the same time, the nozzle also has an energy focusing effect.
   There are two basic forms of cutting heads: one for pure water cutting, and one for abrasive cutting. The abrasive cutting head is constructed by adding an abrasive mixing chamber and a hard nozzle to the pure water cutting head.

Cutting Advantages:

1. Strong versatility: Almost all materials can be cut;
2. Waterjet cutting is a cold cutting process, producing no heat effect, deformation, slag, or burning during cutting, and does not alter the physical and chemical properties of the material;
3. The cutting kerf is small, and combined with the cooling cutting characteristics, it can improve material utilization;
4. The cutting medium consists only of water and natural abrasives, and no other substances are produced during the cutting process, making it a clean and environmentally friendly cutting process;
5. After cutting, the cut surface is neat and smooth, and the workpiece is not damaged during the cutting process, allowing for cutting operations that many other cutting tools cannot achieve.