Water Jet
Grace Pacifica Machining, LLC also provides state of the art abrasive water jet cutting services. Abrasive water jet can be used to cut virtually any material ranging from hard brittle materials such as ceramics, metal and glass to extremely soft materials such as foam and rubber.
We have 2 large capacity OMAX Water jet machines capable of cutting sheets or plate up to 6’ x 12’.
The 55100 is one of OMAX’s large footprint abrasivejet machines, built to accommodate large parts or multiple parts and can handle sheets of material up to 4′ x 10′.
What is water jet cutting?
Although water jet is often used, most modern systems are abrasive water jets. Water jets were developed in the 1970’s for cutting. However, the materials and material thicknesses were very limited. It was not until the 1990’s that big advances occurred by adding an abrasive to the water jet stream. By adding abrasive, virtually any material can be cut with thicknesses of up to 6 inches.
With abrasive water jet, water is pressurized to levels of up to 40,000 psi to produce the energy required for cutting. The water is focused through a nozzle where abrasive is added to create the extremely high energy cutting stream.
The 80160 is for large scale precision cutting and can handle large parts or multiple parts from large stock up to 6’ x 12’.
While each shop has its own requirements for cutting projects, most are finding water jets to be a tremendous asset to their operations, enhancing both productivity and profitability. Today, there is a trend by many job shops to add water jets to their operations as a complement to other cutting technologies such as EDM, laser, milling, and plasma.
What is the thickness range that can be cut with water jet?
Practical limits are 2-3 inches for material such as steel. However above 2-3 inches there are losses in tolerance due to divergence of the water jet stream as well as loss of speed negating the practical value of using water jet cutting.
Much thicker cuts are possible with softer materials such as plastics and some rubber and foams. In these cases, thicknesses of 5-6 inches can be economically cut with water jet. For thin materials several layers can be stacked and cut simultaneously.
Water Jet Capabilities
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Ceramics » Glass, Granite, Stone, and Marble
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Metals » Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Nickel Alloys such as Inconel and Hastelloy, Copper, Brass, Magnesium, Titanium
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Laminates and Composites
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Foams, Plastics, and various Durometer rubbers
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High tolerances maintained in materials ranging from 0.005 to 2 inches thick
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Can cut materials up to 6 inches thick
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Able to cut sheets up to 6 x 12
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Excellent positional accuracy of ± 0.005