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Waterjet Cut Metal Gemstone

Comparative Cutting

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. In addition to no heat-affected zone, the benefits and applications for waterjet technology are limitless and ever-expanding.

Process

	Waterjet	Erosion: using high-speed liquid sandpaper.
	Plasma	Burning/Melting: using a high temperature ionized gas arc.
	Laser	Melting: using a concentrated laser light beam.
	EDM	Erosion: using an electrical discharge.

Secondary Processing

	Waterjet	Usually none. Waterjet is a cold-cutting process that leaves a satin smooth edge.
	Plasma	Typically, yes. Slag grinding for removal of HAZ (heat-affected zone) & flattening to eliminate distortion from heat. Assist gas used impacts depth of HAZ.
	Laser	Sometimes yes. Removal of oxidized edge and HAZ. Gases used impact depth of HAZ.
	EDM	Usually none. Very shallow HAZ imparted.

Materials

	Waterjet	Virtually any material.
	Plasma	Primarily steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.
	Laser	A variety of materials, but primarily steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.
	EDM	Conductive materials.

Thickness

	Waterjet	Up to 24 inches, virtually any material. Z-axis constraint is only limit to thickness.
	Plasma	Up to 2–3 inches, depending on the material.
	Laser	Generally, 1 inch or less, depending on the material.
	EDM	Generally, 12 inches or less.

Part Accuracy

	Waterjet	Up to .001 inch
	Plasma	Up to .010 inch
	Laser	Up to .001 inch
	EDM	Up to .001 inch

Capital Investment

	Waterjet	$60k–$300k +
	Plasma	$60k–$300k +
	Laser	$200k–$1M +
	EDM	$100k–$400k +

Machine Setup

	Waterjet	Same setup for all materials.
	Plasma	Different setup for different jobs.
	Laser	Different gases and parameters for different jobs.
	EDM	Different wire types for different jobs.

Edge Comparison

With waterjet, you get a satin smooth edge right off the table. With other cutting

technologies there’s often secondary processing required to get that same satin smooth edge that waterjet produces.

Waterjet Cut Part

Waterjet

Laser Cut Part

Laser

Plasma Cut Part

Plasma

EDM Cut Part

EDM

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