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WaterJet Machining Process

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Handbook of Manufacturing Engineering and Technology

Abstract

This chapter presents the waterjet as a tool for several processes, applications, and industries. To form a waterjet, the water must be pressurized to ultrahigh pressures (UHP), reaching 650 MPa, and then released across a small size orifice (~0.25 mm). A high-velocity jet is formed with capabilities of cutting soft materials such as plastics, leather, carpets, and fabrics. When abrasives, such as garnet, are added to the waterjet, an abrasive waterjet (AWJ) is formed. This AWJ is capable of cutting any material including metal, composite, glass, and ceramics. Also briefly discussed in this chapter are other types of cutting jets such as fan jets, cryogenic, and slurry jets.

The waterjet system platforms are discussed in this chapter with focus on the UHP platform including the UHP pumps and plumbing. The working principles of the intensifier and direct drive pumps are presented. The cutting platform is presented to include the cutting heads and jet formation along with several hydraulic parameter relationships considering the water compressibility effect. Also discussed is the effect of waterjet orifice upstream conditions on forming coherent waterjets with higher power densities and thus more efficient cutting performance. Mixing abrasives with a waterjet occurs in a mixing tube which must be of optimal length and diameter to produce coherent and efficient AWJ.

The cutting trends and attributes of an AWJ are presented with focus on achieving accurate results using automatic kerf taper compensation. Several applications are also presented in this chapter addressing cutting, drilling, turning, and milling along with predictive models for these applications. The versatility of the AWJ process was demonstrated for machining complex 3D parts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technology, Flow International Corporation, 23500 S. 64th Avenue, Kent, WA, 98032, USA

    Mohamed Hashish

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  1. Mohamed Hashish
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Correspondence to Mohamed Hashish .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Andrew Y. C. Nee

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag London

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Hashish, M. (2015). WaterJet Machining Process. In: Nee, A. (eds) Handbook of Manufacturing Engineering and Technology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4670-4_75

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