CUTTING WITH ABRASIVE WATERJETS

CUTTING WITH ABRASIVE WATERJETS

ABSTRACT:

In the 1960’s,an Aerospace company faced the challenge of cutting fiber
reinforced ,honeycombed, and sandwich materials. Conventional cutting processes destroyed the material’s structure and could not be used. It was, there fore, imperative that a new cutting method be found if the industry was to go forward. The solution to the problem was water jet system in which water is pressurized to ultra-high pressures and focused it into a high velocity stream. After all, water had been eroding the landscape for millennia, cutting through both hard and soft material. There was every reason to believe that energy could be harnessed for industrial use. In 1971 industrial water jet cutting system was born. Since then, the technology has grown with the increased use of sophisticated materials and the need for complex shapes.

The ability of an abrasive water jet to cut advanced materials is unmatched by current mechanical or thermal cutting methods. Abrasive water jets can be used on titanium, ceramics,
Glass,Kevlar,graphite and bonding compounds without delamination or inducement of thermal or deformation stresses along the cutting path. Processors of high-technology materials in industries such as Aerospace,Defense,naval.nuclear,automotive and oil and gas could realize immediate benefits from commercial introduction of this novel and novice concept.

Water jet cutting technology is a unique, advanced level of automation able to cut almost all materials cost effectively. One of the water jet’s biggest advantages is its cold cutting quality. This allows materials to be cut that would be burned,melted,or cracked by other cutting methods.
Another advantage is its ability to cut reflective materials, uneven surfaces, and stacked layers of different materials. The mechanical processes take place on a microscopic level, contents and material finish are not critical factors.

Water jet allows tremendous flexibility and versatility in manufacturing and provides for more cutting possibilities. Simply put “…water jet is by far, the most flexible and desirable technology in business and delivers results with amazing reliability”.

In this paper, data is presented regarding Working of the water jet, Components of the water jet system, Supporting Accessories, Advantages and Limitations, Comparision with other techniques of metal cutting.

In today’s world, with advanced software technology which ameliorated the performance of the water jet abrasive system made the use diverse in fruitful applications.