High-pressure abrasive and waterjet cutting systems have unique properties that must be understood to maximize performance and ensure safety. This article discusses the principles of water compressibility and pressurization, metal fatigue, high-pressure plumbing, seals, valves, and making and installing ultrahigh pressure fittings.

Clamping the workpiece against sideways motion and weighting it against vertical motion will prevent part loss and improve part quality in waterjet machining. This article offers practical fixturing suggestions for both cutting from flat sheet and adding features to existing parts.

Triplex Systems found that using abrasive waterjet cutting technology combined with a hole-and-tab technique to fabricate its products helped eliminate machining operations and reduced costs.

Figure 1Abrasive jet users need in-depth knowledge of nozzle mechanics, either for practical reasons, or simply to have the satisfaction of knowing what their machines really are doing. Two types of information fabricators need are generally known accepted physical laws, and empirical data...

The balance between waterjet cutting production rate and part precision always has been difficult to achieve because of the jet's complex behavior. Because its shape at any point along the tool path is a result of multiple independent variables — including the speed and acceleration with...

This is the last of four articles intended to help a prospective buyer evaluate the wide range of abrasive jet machinery on the market. The first article covers the abrasive jet process itself in comparison with other cutting processes to help the prospective buyer understand the pros and cons of...

Editor's Note: This article is the third in a series intended to help a prospective user evaluate abrasive jet machinery. The first article, Buying an abrasive jet machine, compared the abrasive jet process with other cutting processes. The second article, Software for abrasive waterjet machining,...

Software plays a key role in abrasive jet machining. Infact, it is only through software that precision abrasive jet machining truly is possible. Some of the most significant advancements in the industry have been in software.