Q: What materials can you cut?
A: Most any materials used in the industry today can be accurately cut with abrasive water jet technology. Tool steel, aluminum, stone, marble, glass are to name a few.

Q: What is the maximum thickness a water jet can cut?
A: We can cut up to 2" thick stainless steel holding tolerances as close as .005".

Q: What is the cost per inch to have something water jet cut?
A: The cost per inch varies with material thickness and the cut finish desired. Quoting the exact shape in the material required assures the most accurate costs to our customers.

Q: Is it more expensive to water jet cut than conventional methods used today?
A: In some cases as with thinner materials, laser cutting can be faster but not necessarily cheaper. This is due to the quantities most laser companies require you to purchase. In some cases there are secondary operations required due to laser finishes.

Q: How do I send a drawing for you to quote?
A: You can fax your drawing to us or email it as an attachment. Drawings can be saved as a .DXF file attached to an email or sent to us via FTP, on floppy diskette or CD-ROM. Any simple sketch with dimensions or even a prototype of an object will work.

Profiling by abrasive waterjets is superior to conventional methods. Several attributes make abrasive waterjet cutting superior to more conventional cutting methods in many ways. These include:

• Low operating temperatures avoid melting, distortion and heat-affected zones created by the laser and plasma arc systems. Thus, there is no need for expensive grinding, annealing or secondary machining of heat-affected surfaces to obtain final dimensions.

• The jet cuts with little lateral or vertical force and is virtually vibration free. This minimizes the mechanical stress at the material edge and eliminates the need for costly part-support fixtures.

• Abrasive waterjets cut in any direction and are highly maneuverable and excellent for cutting precise right angles and complex shapes because the cutting head does not contact the work piece. In more conventional methods, the cutting path is restricted by blade or tool geometry.

• The 0.030–0.060" thick abrasive stream minimizes the width of cut or kerf, which maximizes material use. Abrasive waterjets cut small holes, narrow slots and closely spaced patterns. Small parts can be nested within larger ones. Unlike a saw rough cut, which leaves material that must subsequently be machined, abrasive waterjet cutting often requires only a single pass to produce final dimensions and finish.

• Abrasive waterjet cutting is often faster than traditional methods, depending upon material, thickness and required edge quality.