Comparative Cutting
Waterjet: Cutting Comparison With Other Methods
Waterjets can cut any solid material including stone, tile, glass, metal, foam, rubber, plastic, and food. When compared with plasma, laser, and edm - waterjet cutting has distinct advantages.
Waterjet continues to grow faster than other processes:
WATERJET vs. Plasma vs. Laser vs. EDM
In addition to no heat-affected zone, the benefits and applications for waterjet technology are limitless and ever-expanding. In comparison to other cutting technologies:
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Waterjet |
Plasma |
Laser |
EDM |
Process |
Erosion
process:
high speed
liquid
sandpaper |
Burning / melting
process using high
temperature ionized
gas arc |
Melting
process
using
concentrated
laser light beam |
Erosion
process using electrical
discharge |
Materials |
Any material. |
Primarily steel,
stainless steel and
aluminum. |
Primarily steel,
stainless and
aluminum.
Can also cut a
variety
of other materials. |
Conductive
materials only. |
Thickness |
Up to 24 inches,
virtually any
material. Z constraint
is only
limit to thickness. |
Up to 2-3 inches,
depending on
material. |
Generally 1 inch
or less,
depending
on
materials. |
Generally 12
inch or less. |
Part
Accuracy |
Up to .001" |
Up to .010" |
Up to .001" |
Up to .0001" |
Capital
Investment |
$60k to over
$300k |
$60k to
over $300k |
$200K to
over $1M |
$100k to
over $400k |
Machine
Setup |
Same setup
for all
materials |
Different
setup for
different jobs |
Different gases
and parameters
for different jobs |
Different
wire types for
different jobs |
As the grid above illustrates - and the image to the right shows, waterjet cutting technology has clear advantages over other cutting methods.
Green Benefits
Waterjet cutting is a cold-cutting process that eliminates slag deformation and dross waste - unfortunate effects found in plasma and laser cutting processes.
Additionally, both the garnet used in abrasive cutting as well as the water are recycable.
Read on about waterjet's advantage in Stacked Cutting >>