Compare Waterjet Cutting Machine with EDM laser plasma cutting

Theory of operation of major cutting methods:

Waterjet Cutting:

Waterjet machines use cold supersonic abrasive erosion to cut almost any material, both metals and nonmetals. The highly pressurized water stream carries abrasive garnet to etch away the material. The cutting head usually is guided by CNC controlled motion system. For more informaiton about waterjet please visit International Waterjet Mahines.

Laser Cutting:

Laser cutting is a thermal process. Special lens are used to focus energy (3 to 6 kW) in a small area to melt away material.

EDM Cutting:

Wire electrical discharge machining (EDM) uses spark erosion to remove material from electrically conductive materials. The wire is negative and the work piece is positive. Direct-current electric pulses are generated between the wire electrode and the work piece. During cutting, material is melted away by the lightning bolt and flushed out of the kerf area by the dielectric solution.

Plasma Cutting:

Plasma is a thermal process that cuts electrically conductive materials. Plasma cutting involves a near-supersonic jet of ionized gas that leaves a negatively charged electrode inside a torch tip. The ionized gas then cuts the positively charged metal. In other words, the plasma stream cuts by heat—about 20,000 to 50,000 degrees F—essentially melting the material being cut.

Comparison matrix of different cuting process such as waterjet, wire EDM, laser, plasma, milling, and punch.
	Waterjet	Wire EDM	Plasma	Laser	Milling	Punch
Accuracy	Average of ±0.003" (±0.1 mm) Better result can be achieve with more advanced software.	Extremely precise parts at ±0.0001" (±0.025mm)	In the range of ±0.030 to ±0.060"	Accuracy to ±0.001" (±0.025 mm) or better in thin material.	Very good, in the range of ±0.0003" (0.01mm)	Fair
Thickness	Mostly under 3" (75mm) Thicker parts can be cut with reduced accuracy and slower speed.	Very thick parts can be cut. Over 12" (30 cm) reported.	Usually cuts less than 1.25"	Usually cuts thin mild steel less than 0.25" (6.35mm)	Able to work on 3D parts.	Usually work well with thin sheets.
Cutting speed	Five to ten times faster than EDM when thickness is under 1"	Slow speed compare to waterjet (5-10 times slower)	Fast with thin sheets	Very fast cutting in thin, non-reflective materials.	Fair	Fast batch production when initial programming is done
Quality of edge	Good	Excellent	Fair	Excellent	Excellent	Fair
Heat affected zone	No HAZ	Some HAZ	Some HAZ	Cuts by melting the material, resulting HAZ, often need additional process to avoid micro cracking.	No HAZ	No HAZ
Material Distortion	No distortion but may have hazing near the cut. No internal stress built up.	Cuts by melting, resulting material heat distortion.	Cuts by melting, resulting material heat distortion.	Cuts by melting, resulting material heat distortion.	No distortion	Some distortion
Other characteristics	Works well in non-conductive and conductive materials. Can pierce material directly without other drill equipment. Fast setup and rapid programming. Minimal requirement of fixture.	EDM is limited to cutting only conductive materials.	Relatively low capital costs. Special gas need for laser cutting.	Limited to non-reflective materials. May need different gas for cutting different materials.	Needs special fixture and tools, also requires skilled operator and usually can not work on very large parts.	Relatively low capital costs. May need other special tools. Not work well on on brittle or hardened materials.
Why buy waterjet machines	Waterjet cutters competes with other cutting methods with good accuracy, fast setup time and cutting speed, and yields no HAZ.	Wire EDM shops buy waterjet machines for fast speed and to get into non-conductive materials business.	Plasma shop owners buy precision water jet cutters to cut non-conductive material or cut precision parts.	Waterjet machines typically cost 1/3 of a laser and can work on a much wider variety of materials, particularly aluminum and stainless steel over 1⁄4 to 1⁄2" (6 mm to 13 mm).	Traditional metal work shop owners acquire waterjet cutters to do metal working such as cutting large work piece with fast turn around and at setup low cost.	Punch press owners would buy waterjet cutters to improve turn around time in doing short runs and prototype parts. Also to get into cutting thinker materials.

If you need waterjet spare parts information, please visit Waterjet Spare Parts Deport

For more waterjet spare parts information, please visit Waterjet Spare Parts Supplier

If you need waterjet machine system information, please visit Waterjet Cutting Machine Manufacture

To find out how waterjet works, please visit A good waterjet reference

For waterjet cutting service please visit Precision Waterjet cutting services

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