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High Water Marks

A review of some of the latest advances in waterjet cutting technology and related accessories that are now on the market.

Posted: April 28, 2015

The PAC 60 Five-Axis Cutting Head from TECHNI Waterjet offers bevel cutting capabilities for up to ±60 deg continuous rotation with taper elimination. Regardless of the geometry of the part to be cut, the PAC 60 will produce it without having to reposition the cutting head, saving time and producing higher quality parts. (first view)

The large i713-G2 Dual Station waterjet cutting machine with Tech-Sense Abrasive Monitoring from TECHNI Waterjet is ideal for unmanned high production operations. It cuts with dual heads operating under different programs over an area of 14 ft x 26 ft.

The efficient and economical 60,000 psi, 30 hp iP60-30 Waterjet Pump from Jet Edge draws half the amperage of a 50 hp pump, making it ideal for rural shops, R&D labs, schools and small budget-conscious waterjet cutting shops that desire the reliability of a hydraulic intensifier pump but have limited power.

The EDGE X-5 5-axis waterjet system from Jet Edge cuts complex taper-free and 3D parts from virtually any material and is available in a wide range of table sizes, from 5 ft x 5 ft to 24 ft x 13 ft.

The modular Streamline SL-VI Series Intensifier Pump from KMT Waterjet can be configured to deliver the power, productivity, and performance required to meet specific applications ranging from 15 hp to 200 hp, and from 60,000 psi to 90,000 psi.

The MAXIEM 2080 JetMachining Center is one of three new waterjet cutting systems from OMAX that are ideal for the wide range of modern large format machining found in job shops, OEMs, metal service centers and other fabricators competing in large-scale production.

Intelli-CAM 3 software, which interfaces directly with the intuitive Intelli-MAX Software Suite from OMAX, easily generates 3D tool paths from solid 3D models as well as quickly performs 3D to 2D file conversions.

The Hydrocut LX from ESAB merges waterjet technology with plasma cutting on one machine in a patented combination of thermal and non-thermal processes that operate on the same gantry, allowing the machine to cut with the high accuracy of waterjet where needed, but employ the high speed and low cost of plasma whenever possible. This enhances productivity and reduces part costs. (first view)

The Hydrocut LX from ESAB delivers the high precision of waterjet cutting to the heavy fabrication and steel service industries. The advantages of a non-thermal process and the precision of abrasive waterjet let operators produce perfect finished parts that require no secondary cleanup or machining.

This combination cut part is a typical example of why users opt for the waterjet-plasma combination. The part is 1.5 in thick steel that required a highly accurate, round hole for a shaft. The outside of the part did not require the same level of precision, and so it was cut with the much faster plasma process. The internal hole was cut using 60,000 psi waterjet at 2 ipm. The outside of the part was cut with 360 amp oxygen plasma at 48 ipm. Cutting the entire part with waterjet would have taken about 26 minutes. By using waterjet only where needed, and using plasma on the rest of the contours, this part took less than six minutes to cut, with the vast majority of that time being used to cut the hole.

The high-end Phantom Series waterjet cutting machine from Semyx reaches speeds as high as 5 mps (196 ips) and an astonishing 206 s of maximum acceleration.

The unique combination of waterjet cutting versatility and laser precision measuring capabilities make the DynaBeam Laser Sensing System from Flow the only non-contact material height sensing solution available in the industry. Operators choose between setting the standoff height between the waterjet nozzle and the workpiece before every pierce, or pre-mapping an entire workpiece quickly and easily.

Neolith material being cut with Dynamic XD on a Flow Mach 3 waterjet.

A sample of Neolith material that was cut by a Flow waterjet.

The ByJet Smart from Bystronic adds manufacturing capability to a shop by increasing their ability to process any material, as shown here, without compromise. (first view)

The ByJet Smart from Bystronic adds manufacturing capability to a shop by increasing their ability to process any material, as shown here, without compromise. (second view)

Increased intensifier flow rate through horsepower
Variety of choices to meet OEM and customer requirements
Ultra-High Pressure Intensifiers
Top Cover Guard Interlock design
Meets EN ISO13849-1 Safety Performance Standard PLa rating
Power Factor Correction
Reduced electrical demand and operating costs
Onboard Air Cooler
Reduced monthly water usage
IE3 and NEMA Premium Motor Design
Optimized motor efficiency, reduced electrical consumption
Siemens PLC based electrical panel
Universal design for global network support
Redesigned Electrical panel
Separation of High Voltage and Low Voltage sections to meet NFPA79E and IEC 60204 Standards

KMT Waterjet Systems Inc., 635 West 12th Street, Baxter Springs, KS 66713, 620-856-2151, [email protected], www.kmtwaterjet.com.

WATERJETS FOR LARGE-SCALE PRODUCTION
OMAX Corporation (Kent, WA) continues to set new standards in abrasive waterjet cutting technology with the expansion of its line of MAXIEM JetMachining® Centers, introducing three larger sizes of its next generation MAXIEM to meet the needs of job shops, OEMs, metal service centers, and other fabricators competing for large-scale production: the 2060, 2080, and 3060 JetMachining Centers. The 2060 and 2080 models are ideal for a wide range of modern large format machining of parts up to 6 ft 7 in wide by 20 ft 6 in long and 27 ft 2 in long, respectively. The 3060 JetMachining Center boasts a wider work envelope that is ideal for machining of a wide range of materials and thicknesses, from metals and composites to glass and plastics. This machine features a Y cutting travel of 10 ft 2 in, more than three and a half feet wider than the 2060, and an X cutting travel of 20 ft 6 in.

The complete MAXIEM lineup continues the tradition of easy-to-use, reliable and efficient abrasive waterjet machines designed and built in the United States. These JetMachining Centers also feature the industry leading Intelli-TRAX® linear drive system that utilizes brushless servo motors, integrated servo drives and high precision linear encoders that provide constant and continuous feedback on the actual position of the cutting head. In addition to increased part cutting accuracy, the advanced drive system delivers much faster and smoother motion. The all-in-one Windows® 8 controllers on the MAXIEM machines come pre-loaded with the powerful Intelli-MAX® Software Suite that makes it easy to generate complex geometries and produce quality parts from virtually any type of material.

OMAX also offers a highly advanced computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software tool that further simplifies the cutting of complex, precision parts on its JetMachining® Centers. Free to OMAX owners, the new Intelli-CAM 3 software, which interfaces directly with the company’s intuitive Intelli-MAX® Software Suite, easily generates 3D tool paths from solid 3D models as well as quickly performs 3D to 2D file conversions.

Intelli-CAM, through its 3D Pather tool, quickly generates multi-axis, machine-ready tool paths from complex 3D solid models. In fact, Intelli-CAM automatically recognizes viable cutting surfaces from those 3D shapes, including variable bevels and tilted cones. This special functionality eliminates the need to manually add 3D attributes to a 2D file, thus allowing users to significantly reduce their production times. With its user-friendly and powerful 3D to 2D conversion system, Intelli-CAM generates machine-ready cutting geometry through a few simple computer mouse clicks. With the 3D file imported, users extract the desired 2D profile directly from a slicing plane, shadow or face. Intuitive navigation tools make it easy for users to position and orient the slice – including rotations around all axes, orienting to a face, or projecting as a shadow.

Offered as a free update for existing JetMachining Center owners, Intelli-CAM operates as a standalone application or in tandem with several of the popular third-party 3D CAD systems. It supports a wide range of neutral and native 3D file formats – CATIA, SolidWorks®, Solid Edge, Autodesk® Inventor®, Siemens® NX, Pro/E®, Creo®, Step, IGES, VDA-FS, ACIS, Parasolid®, 3D DXF and DWG – so that customers avoid having to purchase expensive CAD software filter packages. Intelli-CAM also supports direct interface with CAD software such as SolidWorks, Inventor and Rhinoceros®, which allows users to launch Intelli-CAM directly from those applications.

According to Carl Olsen, the lead software engineer for OMAX, Intelli-CAM allows the Intelli-MAX Software Suite to support just about any 3D or 2D CAD file or artistic drawing. “Our job shop customers will greatly benefit from Intelli-CAM as they will rarely ever again have to ask their customers to re-save a file to a format they can accept – because they can now accept nearly all of them,” he said. He also noted that customers doing 3D programming for 5-axis waterjet cutting will find Intelli-CAM 3 greatly simplifies those operations as well, suggesting that Intelli-CAM “may be the easiest to use 5-axis CAM software ever, and it’s free.”

OMAX Corporation, 21409 72nd Avenue South, Kent, WA 98032, 253-872-2300, Fax: 253-872-6190, [email protected], www.omax.com.

WATERJET SHAPE CUTTING COMBINED WITH PLASMA CUTTING
ESAB Cutting Systems (Florence, SC) offers the Hydrocut™ LX, a waterjet shape cutting machine that combines waterjet and plasma cutting to deliver the best of both technologies. The Hydrocut LX CNC cutting machine uses the patented combination of thermal and non-thermal processes operating on the same gantry, allowing the machine to cut with the high accuracy of waterjet where needed, but employ the high speed and low cost of plasma whenever possible. By combining waterjet and plasma on the same machine, both tools can be used on the same parts. High precision contours can be cut with waterjet, while non-critical contours can be cut with plasma.

This patented system allows users to obtain precise cuts when needed without sacrificing speed on every cut. Parts that are suited for the waterjet-plasma combination can be cut in a fraction of the time, resulting in dramatic cost reduction and productivity increase when compared to waterjet cutting alone. The Hydrocut LX is a heavy-duty gantry with a high-stiffness beam design featuring dual precision linear rails and precision rack and pinion drives. It is designed to cover large working areas and full size sheets, and can be equipped with up to four waterjet stations, and can also carry up to two high-definition plasma stations, featuring the m3 Plasma system.

The Hydrocut LX is equipped with the latest in waterjet cutting technology, featuring KMT 90,000 psi capability for increased cutting speed and reduced abrasive consumption. By increasing the water pressure from 60,000 psi to 90,000 psi the abrasive is accelerated to a higher speed, thereby cutting faster while using less. This helps lower operating cost, because the cost of abrasive can be as much as 75 percent of the operating cost of waterjet. The m3 Plasma system provides high precision cutting on carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminum from gauge material up to six inches thick. The m3 system is fully automated by the Vision® T5 CNC, a Windows® based touch-screen control.

Flexibility in selection and mix of shield gases allows an operator to produce the best cut quality on any material. The operator simply selects the material type and thickness, and the Vision control automatically selects and mixes the optimal start, cut and shield gas combination. Process parameters for most plasma cutting and marking applications are preloaded in the Vision T5 CNC, and custom parameter files can be easily created as needed. The ease and simplicity of part setup is complemented by use of Columbus® CAD/CAM programming and nesting software, designed specifically for plasma, oxy-fuel, laser, and waterjet cutting. This advanced software handles simple to highly complex cuts, multi-process cuts, labeling, and nesting jobs quickly and easily.