Have you ever wondered how a water jet cutting system works? To truly understand a water jet system, you need to have at least a basic understanding of the various components that go into such a system.
Here is a quick overview of the components of water jet cutters in San Francisco, CA and how they help the entire system to operate:
- High-pressure pump: The first element, and the one that you are most likely to be familiar with, is a simple high-pressure pump. Pumps are commonly used in other applications as well. In a water jet cutter, the pump creates pressurized water, which is then released in high-pressure blasts during the cutting process.
- Articulated cutting head: This is a computer-controlled component that has multiple axes to allow for a wide variety of angles during cutting. This component can also be used to automatically minimize the amount of tapering, resulting in vertical cuts that are significantly more precise than they otherwise would be.
- Abrasive water jet nozzle: Pressurized water passes through a very small-diameter hole inside the nozzle, which forms a coherent, focused jet. This jet of water than shoots through a venture section in the nozzle, where a specific amount of granular abrasive is sucked into the water stream. The mixture of the water and this abrasive material passes through a special ceramic mixing tube. The water and abrasive solution then shoots out of the nozzle in the form of a cutting stream of particles at extremely high speeds.
- Catcher tank: There is a lot of energy that comes from the abrasive jet, and this catcher tank (filled with water) serves to dissipate that energy after it has cut through the material that is being machined.
- Abrasive hopper: The abrasive material that gets injected into the water needs to come from somewhere. This is the area that holds the abrasive particles until they are pushed into the water, where they then mix and flow through the rest of the system.
- X-Y traverse system: An x-y motion system is used to precisely and accurately maneuver the nozzle to create the proper cutting path desired by the machine user.
- PC-based controller: Computer-based controllers provide for more advanced operation of abrasive water jet systems and allow for the production of extremely accurate parts without the operator needing to have a significant amount of experience.
These are the primary parts of water jet cutters in San Francisco, CA. All of these controls allow for extremely accurate cuts, which is absolutely essential for industries that produce a large amount of products from the same mold or design.
If you have further questions about how water jet cutting works and the types of components that go into creating a high-quality water jet system, contact us today at Mach 1 Waterjet, Inc. We are happy to provide you with additional information about our services and capabilities, and we look forward to working with you soon to fulfill your needs.