Page 28 - Metalforming Magazine April 2022

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Fabrication: Cutting Methods
Laser cutting delivers the most cost-effective process when processing material in thicknesses below 0.25 in. Note that cutting speed drops as thickness increases.
Waterjetting offers two major advantages over other cutting processes: the absence of heat-affected zones and the ability to cut almost any material.
easier to maintain than their CO2 counterparts.
Waterjet Cutting
Waterjet cutting, a long- standing technology, can be used on a variety of materials, from food to granite to metal. Waterjets offer two major advantages over other cutting processes: the absence of a heat-affected zone and the abil- ity to cut almost any material.
Pure water will cut soft mate- rials, via a high-pressure stream (40,000 to 66,000 psi) of water compressed using a nozzle. This increases the flow rate as well as the energy density. Abrasive sand, when added to the water stream, acts as a saw tooth to add cutting capability. State-of- the-art waterjet pumps can pro- duce water streams at pressures to 100,000 psi. Higher pressures, resulting in faster cutting speeds, can translate to increased machine downtime due to more-frequent replace- ment of pump seals. Waterjet cutting delivers high accuracy, but a relatively slow cutting
26 MetalForming/April 2022
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speed and cutting power to a 4-5-kW CO2 laser, and generally cuts carbon steel to 0.75 in. thick.
The speeds and capabilities offered by fiber laser cutting translate to a high- er initial cost for basic 5 by 10-ft. machines, as their cutting beds require higher motion accuracy than other cutting machines.
Laser cutting delivers the most cost- effective process when processing thin- ner material. Cutting speed drops as thickness increases.
Expect tolerances of ±0.01 in. on thin material—superior to plasma cut- ting and comparable to waterjet—with a heat-affected zone slightly smaller than that of plasma. General mainte- nance of fiber laser cutting machines can be mastered by users, and they are
speed.
These slow cutting speeds can
make waterjet cutting machines more expensive to operate than other cut- ting technologies, but require less- experienced operators than other machine types and offer simple main- tenance. Note that waterjet machines cut aluminum more quickly than car- bon and stainless steels, and offer pre- cision and accuracy with, again, no heat-affected zones or changes to material metallurgy. Cut-edge quality relates to the grit used and the cutting speed—the slower the cutting speed, the higher the cut quality. MF
Information for this article provided by Techni Waterjet, with U.S. offices located in Charlotte, NC; 913/492-3700; www.techniwaterjet.com.