Content tagged with "waterjet-cutting"
Results: 39
Article
March 1, 2010
Going 3-D: A matter of control
Figure 1 Bevels on plate, cuts in barstock and tube, as well as contour cuts on formed sheet can now be performed by the waterjet. Photo courtesy of OMAX Corp. The abrasive waterjet has attributes unique among cutting technologies. The jet spreads ever so slightly, which creates a... Read more...
Article
March 1, 2010
Waterjet bevel cutting made easy
Figure 1
Complex Beveled Part
The abrasive waterjet (AWJ) industry continues to add features and capabilities that make abrasive waterjet cutting a more useful technology for fabricating shops. Among the latest enhancements is an easy-to-program system and tilting head for cutting... Read more...
Spanish
February 9, 2010
Cortando más que metal con un chorro de agua
Con el equipo de corte por chorro de agua, los talleres ya no están limitados al mundo de las fabricaciones de metal. Éstos pueden buscar nuevos negocios en áreas que alguna vez se consideraron poco realistas.
Dicho de manera simple, un chorro de agua es capaz de cortar casi cualquier... Read more...
Article
January 8, 2010
On the cusp of recovery
During a conference presentation, Richard Kallage pointed to a slide depicting a simple timeline, something that perhaps drove so many to 2009's largest North American metal fabrication, forming, and welding tradeshow. The timeline showed the cash flow cycle, the time between getting an... Read more...
Article
December 15, 2009
Spanish
November 12, 2009
Láser y chorro de agua: ¿amigos o enemigos?
Figura 1
Las partes de muestra en tres espesores y dos materiales demuestran las diferencias entre el corte con un láser (izquierda) y con un chorro de agua (derecha). Los espesores de las partes, de arriba a abajo, son 0.125 pulg., 0.5 pulg., y 0.75 pulg. Los materiales son acero... Read more...
Article
September 24, 2009
Accelerating Diemaking
Rather than die cutting or EDM-working components for a custom die, diemakers just use standardized components and machine a template to specific part prints. Photo courtesy of S.B. Whistler & Sons Inc., Akron, N.Y. Pressure to shorten the time from order to manufacture has never been... Read more...
Article
September 1, 2009
Disposing of waterjet abrasive—the right way
Photo courtesy of Bystronic Inc For many first-time owners of abrasive waterjet systems, the question of whether they will be dealing with hazardous waste in either the abrasive or the water looms large. Companies don't want to expose themselves to huge disposal or treatment costs, or... Read more...
Spanish
August 14, 2009
Article
July 6, 2009
Software evolves to take a humanlike approach
Some operators tend to tweak nests. Unfortunately, the time spent tweaking may affect throughput; why invest in automatic nesting if someone spends time to manually change it? Besides, an hour spent rearranging parts for 1 percent better material utilization costs more than using the original... Read more...
Article
July 1, 2009
Counting on the combo
Figure 1 Boon Edam produces a variety of revolving doors that have some unique fabrication requirements. Next time you enter a downtown hotel or office building, push the revolving door—then look up. There you'll see what the door industry calls ceiling pies, wedge-shaped pieces... Read more...
Article
June 29, 2009
Reusing waterjet cutting abrasive
Abrasive recycling systems allow fabricators to use the material several times. Tough economic conditions are making it hard for many metal fabricators to stay competitive. Ideas that will help save money and resources are welcome in any shop. For those shops that cut using a waterjet... Read more...
Spanish
June 24, 2009
El chorro de agua la hace en grande
El corte con chorro de agua abrasivo podría estar en la cúspide de algo grande. Por años, los fabricantes de metal lo vieron como una máquina nicho, algo que comprar sólo cuando una parte no podía cortarse de ninguna otra forma. Pero en muchos casos actualmente está hombro con hombro... Read more...
Article
May 12, 2009
Making waterjet-cut parts more fatigue-resistant
Figure 1 Click to view image larger Test Specimen Geometry Parts that are highly stressed with cycling loads are subject to failure by metal fatigue. The surface produced by waterjet cutting often has striations that contribute to early failure by fatigue. This article describes the... Read more...
Article
January 27, 2009
Laser and waterjet: friends or foes?
Fabrication has long been a cornerstone of U.S. manufacturing. It plays a central role, providing components and subassemblies to other manufacturing sectors, such as aerospace, appliance, and automotive. Significant advancements in metalworking equipment, materials, and applications have... Read more...
Article
December 15, 2008
Cutting more than metal with a waterjet
With waterjet cutting equipment, shops are no longer limited to the world of metal fabrications. They can search for new business in areas that were once considered unrealistic.
Simply put, a waterjet is capable of cutting almost any 2-D material, usually up to 6 to 12 inches thick, but... Read more...
Article
October 14, 2008
What's involved in abrasive waterjet maintenance?
Editor's Note: This article is adapted from Jeff Day's paper, "Maintenance Components for an Abrasive Waterjet," presented at the FABTECH® International & AWS Welding Show, Oct. 6-8, Las Vegas, ©2008 by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl., Society of Manufacturing... Read more...
Article
August 12, 2008
(Un) memorable fabrication
Unmemorable Fabrication
Figure 1
Killer whales wow the crowd at SeaWorld Orlando. Not that anybody would notice, but holding those moving screens in the back is a duplex stainless steel bridge fabricated by Oceaneering Intl.
Photo courtesy of SeaWorld Orlando.
The... Read more...
Article
July 15, 2008
Making sense of metal cutting technologies
It's the question heard 'round the metal fabricating world: What metal cutting technology makes the most sense?
Unfortunately, the answer to the question cannot be covered in one simple statement. The answer depends on the metal being cut, the metal thickness, how the customer defines a... Read more...
Article
March 11, 2008
Nesting software: A tool for lean manufacturing
What Is Nesting Software? In general terms, nesting software automatically and efficiently arranges the required quantities of individual parts to be produced on sheets or plates of stock material. It does this by using part geometry from CAD files to output NC code that controls a... Read more...
Article
February 12, 2008
Waterjet makes it into the mainstream
An OMAX waterjet performs precision cutting. Today precision waterjet cutting often can eliminate secondary finishing operations.
Abrasive waterjet cutting could be on the cusp of something big. For years metal fabricators viewed it as a niche machine, something to buy only when a part... Read more...
Article
December 11, 2007
Festivus poles for the rest of us souls
With a dull, lusterless finish, an aluminum pole becomes the symbol for this country's favorite non-holiday holiday—Festivus. Not too many metal fabricators can say they are a supplier of not only metal product, but also a piece of pop culture. The Wagner Companies of Milwaukee can.... Read more...
Article
December 11, 2007
Waterjet purchase becomes watershed moment
Allright Tool Co. is a woman-owned, family-operated machine shop in Birmingham, Ala. Founded by the Whittingtons in their basement in 1972, the shop began by taking on odd jobs for a large steel company. Over the next 30 years, the shop grew to be a 22,000-square-foot facility equipped with... Read more...
Article
December 11, 2007
Hyperactive fabrication
Clay Andrews wanted to jump right into competitive racing, so his company, Hype Manufacturing, bought the latest machine tools, including five-axis machining centers, tube bending equipment, a waterjet cutting system, and a 4,400-W laser cutting machine. Clay Andrews is a speed enthusiast.... Read more...
Article
November 6, 2007
Increasing waterjet cutting profitability
Over the past five years, the number of waterjet cutting machines sold worldwide, both abrasive and pure water, has increased by an average of 18 percent annually. That growth is projected to continue for the foreseeable future. Fabricators are showing more interest in the technology as... Read more...
Article
September 11, 2007
Fabrication in transition
Arcadia's five-axis waterjet cutting machine allowed the company to provide a service that other nearby metal supply houses didn't offer. As a result, the company developed a reputation as a fabricator of large, 3-D stainless steel and aluminum parts. Which comes first—the purchase... Read more...
Article
April 10, 2007
Article
January 9, 2007
Article
December 12, 2006
Can your manufacturing software do this?
Software has changed the nature of fabricating. Most fabricating shops hammer out the manufacturing details of a job on their own computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software packages immediately upon receipt of the customer's engineering drawings. Some of the more aggressive fabricating shops... Read more...
Article
November 7, 2006
Achieve peak waterjet performance by optimizing components
Successful fabrication shops understand how to maximize the productivity of their waterjet machines. Peak performance of the waterjet system and its components improves cutting rates and, therefore, generates higher profitability. A waterjet system comprises an ultrahigh-pressure pump, CNC... Read more...
Article
July 11, 2006
Innovation rides the waves
U.S. Air Force security police use this response boat to conduct sea trials. Bellingham, Wash., has a long tradition of seafaring sailors and boat-builders. During the 1800s many full-rigged ships hauled lumber to places like California and Hawaii. During World War II wooden mine... Read more...
Article
June 13, 2006
Job diversity through a waterjet
This tale from the O.C. doesn't involve beautiful people and cutting-edge music. It's about Orange County's very own Pacific Metal Cutting—in Placentia, Calif., to be more exact—and it's a 24-person team dedicated to cutting a variety of specialty metals for its metals... Read more...
Article
April 11, 2006
Bernie and the jet
What do you give one of the world's most recognized entertainers who owns a collection of 84 cars and 73 motorcycles? A waterjet sounds appropriate. Of course, the waterjet won't help Jay Leno with his "Tonight Show" monologues, but it has done wonders in terms of keeping his car and... Read more...
Article
April 11, 2006
Metalfab: All that glitters is metal
Flying Car, "Monster Garage," Discovery Channel; Photo courtesy of DCI. Race-car House, "Monster House," Discovery Channel; Photo courtesy of DCI. The Teutuls, "American Chopper," Discovery Channel; Photo courtesy of Orange County Choppers. Jesse James, "Monster... Read more...
Article
April 11, 2006
American Fabricator
Vincent DiMartinoMr. Vinnie to youis the fabricator behind the bikes, the muscle behind the biceps, the grin behind the guns. The show follows the everyday work of custom motorcycle shop Orange County Choppers, Montgomery, N.Y. While the shop provides a creative outlet for Orange... Read more...
Article
January 10, 2006
Fixturing for abrasive jet machining
Abrasive jets are used for machining many materials and parts. Workpieces that can be abrasive jet-machined range from glass artwork to high-precision stamping dies. No known fixture serves all applications. Like most other machine tools, abrasive jet machines ship with only the minimum... Read more...
Article
July 12, 2005
How one shop benefited from abrasive waterjet technology
Figure 1 Triplex Systems manufacturers this casting cleaning cabinet for the investment casting industry. Editor's Note: Dr. Olsen has authored several articles for thefabricator.com about abrasive wate jet cutting technology. These articles can be found in thefabricator.com's... Read more...
Article
May 4, 2004
Designing for abrasive waterjet fabrication
Designers need to be familiar with some abrasive waterjet machining features to minimize overall cost. Some of these concepts also may apply to laser, plasma and oxyfuel cutting. Drafting Practices All projects begin with a design, which usually is prepared with a CAD program. Almost all... Read more...
Article
April 15, 2002
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