November 2014 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 67
Waterjet Technology
Abrasive waterjet technologies
continue to advance with steadily
improving speed and precision,
cutting an extremely diverse range
of materials. Today’s abrasive wa-
terjet machines are used to quickly
and accurately cut a wide range of parts ranging from
large aerospace and automotive metal components to
stone and granite as well as smaller parts with tiny fea-
ture sizes used in tools, implants and medical devices.
The Hypertherm
HyPrecision waterjet
machines feature
the company’s
easy-to-use ProNest
software solution.
Pumping Up Productivity with Waterjet Machining
The latest abrasive waterjet machines add more power, better programming solutions to help speed machine shop efficiencies
Patrick WaurzyniakSenior Editor
Photo courtesy Hypertherm Inc.
Waterjet technology choices include
waterjet machines cutting with water
only, which are used for cutting soft
materials like rubber, foam, plastics and
composites, and abrasive waterjets,
which add grit from garnet or other
abrasives that enable the water stream
to slice through the hardest of metals
and other materials. Waterjets can cut
workpieces up to 20" (0.5-m) thick with
high precision, holding tolerances of
+/-0.001" to 0.005" (0.025–0.127 mm).
Waterjet cutting processes also have no
heat-affected zone (HAZ), leaving no re-
cast layer on heat-sensitive components.
More Pump Power
At IMTS, waterjet builders show-
cased a host of innovations including
more powerful pumps, or intensifiers, that add more oomph to
the latest waterjets’ cutting action. Many waterjet companies
also showcased enhanced software offerings that can make a
waterjet operator’s life easier with new 3D CAM systems that
enable faster 2D and 3D parts programming.
With the new EnduroMax 100-hp (75-kW) pump from
OMAX, waterjet operators get a more powerful waterjet stream
without compromising part quality due to pressure variations.
“What we’ve done is put together two triplex pumps—
that’s a three-cylinder pump—so we have six cylinders and
we have them timed with each other so that you get six
output pulses per revolution, instead of just three with a single
crankcase,” said John Olsen, co-founder and vice president,
Operations, OMAX Corp. (Kent, WA). “They’re timed every 60°
so it makes a very, very smooth pressure output, and that has
a good advantage for doing precision work because it makes
no marks on the part at all due to pressure pulsations.”
This pump design, which like all OMAX pumps is a
direct-drive pump, is less susceptible to dips in pressure than
hydraulic pumps. “If you compare it with say a hydraulically
driven pump that puts out one or two big pressure dips every
second—it will dip maybe 2000-5000 psi [13.8-36 MPa] and
you’ll get little marks on the edge of the part,” Olsen added,
“whereas this one is very high frequency and has a much
lower dip than 5000 psi. OMAX has always used direct-drive
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68 ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | November 2014
Waterjet Technology
At C&R Manufacturing, operator Bryan Tyree measures a part cut on a compact
Techni Waterjet machining system.
Pho
to c
ourt
esy
Tech
ni W
ater
jet
this 100-hp motor, we can put out to the nozzle the same pow-
er that you could with a 135-hp [101-kW] intensifier motor.”
An expanded line of Quantum electric servo pumps from
Techni Waterjet (Lenexa, KS) offers waterjet users more
power in a small footprint. The new compact Quantum VP
15/52 and VP 20/60 models feature an intensifier pump with
lower stroke noise at 68 decibels versus competing solu-
tions typically rated at 80 decibels, said Techni Waterjet’s Jill
Purcell. The new line is quieter, less expensive, and more
efficient, she said. “It offers the smallest footprint in the
industry, and if you’re going into a job shop, these people
don’t have a lot of space,” Purcell added. “These machines
are also environmentally friendly, with less consumption of
power and water.”
Programming Pushes Productivity
For most shops, making manufacturing processes more
productive is by far the top priority. At IMTS, many waterjet
builders demonstrated how easily waterjets can be pro-
grammed with the latest crop of CAD/CAM solutions. Lower
cost of ownership is another common request.
“They want to cut fast and when they go down, they want to get up quickly.”
“We see productivity as the ultimate driver,” said Sara
Mancell, product marketing manager, Hypertherm Inc.
(Hanover, NH). “The most significant cost is the abrasives
themselves. The pump we make here is from a line of com-
mercially available pumps. The intensifier, the heart of the
system, that’s our design.”
The Hypertherm line of waterjet systems includes pumps
ranging from 15 to 150 hp (11.2–111.9-kW), precision cutting
heads, and abrasive delivery equipment. A supplier of water-
jets, plasma and laser cutting systems, Hyptherm’s waterjets
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November 2014 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 69
feature its Advanced Intensifier Technology
to extend maintenance intervals, reduce
maintenance time and maximize performance.
Hypertherm estimates the total cost of owner-
ship for a HyPrecision system is up to 20%
less than competitive systems, resulting in
increased profitability for customers.
“What they’re most looking for goes back
to the productivity,” Mancell said. “They want
to cut fast and when they go down, they want
to get up quickly.” Hypertherm’s waterjet users
can download apps for step-by-step instruc-
tions for routine maintenance, which is often
done by the customer, she added. “Customers
get comfortable over time with doing that. A
good portion of our customers are job shops.”
New software functionality helps boost
shop productivity, and the company’s ProNest
Waterjet Technology
The Intelli-CAM waterjet cutting software easily generates 3D toolpaths
from imported 3D solid models.
Imag
e co
urte
sy O
MA
X C
orp.
software runs on Hypertherm’s EdgePro CNC with adaptive
control on the waterjet machines. “They’re all optimized
to work together, and EdgePro is adapted to the waterjet
process,” she said. Users can import .dxf drawing files and
easily set up the cut quality and edge parameters.
“There’s a lot that can be optimized in ProNest,” Mancell
said. “One of the things in particular is the ability to apply spe-
cific cut quality to specific features on a part. Another feature
that’s nice is the Cut Pro Wizard. The software is where the
magic is.”
Current trends in waterjet machining include more
lights-out metalcutting, remote monitoring and easier-to-use
interfaces, said Nancy Lauseng, marketing manager, Jet Edge
Inc. (St. Michael, MN). “Customers are looking to make their
systems as productive as possible to keep up with increasing
workloads as the economy improves,” Lauseng said. “They
also need the systems to be as easy to use as possible given
the shortage of skilled labor.”
Shops can achieve those goals by using intuitive and easy-
to-use interfaces, advanced software, longer lasting seals—
anything that can make a shop run more efficiently, noted
Lauseng. At IMTS, Jet Edge demonstrated its 90,000 psi
(6200-bar) Edge X-5, a five-axis abrasive waterjet for cutting
precise taper-free parts from virtually any material.
“Software tools are very critical. Our controller HMI software
has open architecture, and is completely written by Jet Edge,
specific to waterjet requirements,” she said, adding that the
open architecture allows programmers or operators complete
access to machine code to fine-tune programs and make small
adjustments. For CAD/CAM and nesting software, most Jet
Edge customers use IGEMS, SigmaNest or Mastercam.
Modeling Waterjet Processes
New software that takes full advantage of the explosion in
the use of 3D models was on display at IMTS, with new 3D
modeling CAM software shown by OMAX and Flow Interna-
tional. These packages allow waterjet users to enhance the
programming process with simplified import and creation of
3D toolpaths for waterjet cutting systems.
Like any other machine tool users, waterjet operators
seek to increase production and lower costs while employing
systems that are easier to use and more reliable, noted Brian
Kent, director, new product development for shape cutting,
Flow International (Kent, WA). “For the waterjet technology
that means continuing to raise the operating pressure [so the
system becomes more efficient], improve machine program-
ming [to expand capabilities and make the system easier
to use], enhance cutting intelligence [to cut more accurate
parts], and evolve the science of ultrahigh-pressure to make
the systems more reliable,” Kent said.
Today’s customers are looking for overall throughput in the
shop, he added. “In the past customers focused on the cycle
time of an individual part, but today’s customers are looking
at the overall cycle time including programming, setup and
secondary operations.”
With the FlowXpert 2015 software released at IMTS, users
of Flow waterjets can leverage fully integrated model-based
CAD/CAM system for waterjets, Kent said. “Software for users
is very critical to the success of the machine and the final
part. The manufacturing world understands today that a
machine that is too hard to program and operate requires an
operator with a skill level that is hard to find today.”
The FlowXpert software enables users to quickly design,
import or modify any model and create a toolpath in the same
software suite. “This eliminates the need to convert models
to flat pattern .dxf files and allows programmers to quickly
create files in their native form. With the CAD/CAM in the
same system programmers can quickly modify geometry and
fix any errors in the file without switching between multiple
programs,” Kent said.
Flow’s software is a full 3D modeling suite powered by 3D
modeling CAD/CAM developer SpaceClaim Corp. (Concord,
MA). With this package, customers do not have
to purchase an additional third-party modeling
software, Kent added.
OMAX waterjet users also have new options
with the new Intelli-CAM 3 software, part of
OMAX’s Intelli-Max software suite, that can quickly
generate a 3D toolpath from 3D solid models.
“The big thing that has been a headache for a lot
of customers is now solved,” said OMAX’s Olsen.
“A lot of our customers are job shops, and today
most design work is done with 3D. People are
using SolidWorks, Inventor and all the really good
3D design programs that are out there, and a thing
that our customers face is their customer will bring
them a USB stick and say, ‘Make this. I want three
of these.’ And on the stick is a 3D model.
“In the past, they have not had any way to open
that 3D model to extract the data that they need in
order to make this flat part that they’re making on
our machine. So we have provided a free upgrade
software that reads anybody’s model.”
“With Intelli-CAM, users can extract the
geometry from that model, and if it happens that
the part is a 3D part that can be made with an abrasive jet
with our five-axis head, then it will also generate a full five-axis
toolpath automatically.”
In July, OMAX and Spatial Systems (Broomfield, CO), a Das-
sault Systèmes’ subsidiary, announced a partnership to incorpo-
rate Spatial’s 3D InterOp technology for importing CAD files from
various sources. The partnership adds this technology for easy-
to-use 3D toolpath creation into the latest Intelli-CAM system.
72 ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | November 2014
Waterjet Technology
The new FlowXpert 2015 3D modeling suite, built on SpaceClaim’s solid
modeling software, offers Flow waterjet users an integrated 3D CAD/
CAM solution.
Pho
to c
ourt
esy
Flow
Inte
rnat
iona
l
“We’ve been continually improving it. At the earliest
stages, all you could do is extract a 2D path out of it, and now
you can do a lot of 3D pathing as well,” Olsen said. “There
are of course other ways to do it, but they’re not free. We’ve
worked very hard to make it extremely simple to use, so you
don’t have a big learning curve.”
Machining Micro Parts
More refinements to the MicroMax micromachining waterjet
were added at IMTS, as OMAX added a new mini Tilt-A-Jet cut-
ting head for taper-free cutting that is said to nearly quadruple
position accuracy on the micro waterjet. Suitable for prototype
development and production runs, the MicroMax is a highly rigid
machine that features advanced high-precision linear encod-
ers, innovative vibration isolation and intuitive software control
systems to achieve a position repeatability of ±0.0001" (±2.5 μm)
and a positioning accuracy of approximately ±0.0006" (±15 μm).
The MicroMax uses a high-precision 7/15 Mini Maxjet5i
nozzle that features a 0.007" (0.18-mm)
orifice and 0.015" (0.38-mm) mixing-tube
combination for cutting delicate, complex
patterns. With a jet stream carrying an ex-
tremely fine abrasive, the nozzle produces
a kerf as small as 0.015" and the machine
also has advanced pressure controls for
piercing delicate materials. “The features
there are the ability to run a very fine
nozzle with very fine grit,” Olsen said. “When you have very fine
abrasive grit, there are lots of problems on making it flow well and
those have been solved with quite a bit of R&D.” Developed by
Peter Liu, OMAX senior scientist, the MicroMax system has been
improved by the company’s design team, Olsen added.
“The positioning accuracy of that machine is much greater
than the other machines we build, because the small nozzle
is so consistent in its cutting,” he said. “We can do very high-
tolerance small parts with that machine.” The company is
working a lot with a smaller 5/10 orifice/mixing tube combina-
tion (with a 0.005" [0.13-mm] orifice and 0.010" [0.25-mm]
mixing tube) that could further extend the machine’s micro-
machining capabilities.
The micro waterjet could potentially be deployed in many
medical uses. It could be used to create plates used for
mending cracks in skulls, Olsen said. “Eventually, we’d like
to get to the place that we can make stents with it,” he said.
“We’re not there yet, but we think that’s a possibility.” ME
November 2014 | ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 73
Flow International Corp.Ph: 253-850-3500
Web site: www.flowcorp.com
Hypertherm Inc. Ph: 800-643-0030
Web site: www.hypertherm.com
Jet Edge Inc.Ph: 800-538-3343
Web site: www.jetedge.com
OMAX Corp.Phone: 253-872-2300
Web site: www.omax.com
Techni Waterjet LLCPh: 913-492-3700
Web site: www.techniwaterjet.com
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