In this special Halloween edition of “Will It Cut?”, Elasto Proxy uses one of the water jet cutters at our Montreal-area headquarters to carve a Jack-o’-lantern. Check out the video below and keep reading to learn more about how water jet technology can cut a lot more than pumpkins.
As this Halloween video shows, our water jet equipment uses a highly-pressurized stream of water to make fine, fast cuts without tooling. Compare that to knife cutting, die cutting, and CNC cutting, all of which require a manufacturer to purchase, maintain, and eventually replace metal tools. Eventually, those costs get passed along to you, but that’s not the case with a tool-less process like water jet cutting.
How does a water jet cutter work?
If you’re wondering how water jet cutting works, it starts with a computer-aided design (CAD) file – even for a Halloween Jack-o’-lantern. That’s because water jet technology is a form of digital manufacturing. The information in your CAD file is converted into coordinates that control the movement of the tool-free cutting heads, and a pump pressurizes water to tens of thousands of pounds per square inch (PSI).
As this water travels into the cutting heads, a jewel orifice restricts the flow. With pure water jet cutting like you see in the video, water alone comprises the stream. By contrast, abrasive water jet cutting adds a garnet abrasive in order to cut materials that are harder or thicker. Elasto Proxy has abrasive water jet cutting equipment, but our gantry-style pure water jet cutters was powerful enough for pumpkin carving.
How does a water jet cutter work?
If you’re wondering how water jet cutting works, it starts with a computer-aided design (CAD) file – even for a Halloween Jack-o’-lantern. That’s because water jet technology is a form of digital manufacturing. The information in your CAD file is converted into coordinates that control the movement of the tool-free cutting heads, and a pump pressurizes water to tens of thousands of pounds per square inch (PSI).
As this water travels into the cutting heads, a jewel orifice restricts the flow. With pure water jet cutting like you see in the video, water alone comprises the stream. By contrast, abrasive water jet cutting adds a garnet abrasive in order to cut materials that are harder or thicker. Elasto Proxy has abrasive water jet cutting equipment, but our gantry-style pure water jet cutters was powerful enough for pumpkin carving.
What can you cut with a pure water jet cutting machine?
Typically, pure water jet cutting is used with rubber, plastic, acoustic foams, and even some types of wood. In addition to clean edges, chamfers, dovetail cuts, and 90° corners, water jet technology can support part features such as small notches and holes. Importantly, the cuts are always smooth, even, and consistent. During gasket fabrication, this makes it easier to bond cut lengths together.
What about heat, sustainability and flexibility?
Pure water jet cutting is a cold-cutting process won’t create heat-effected zones or cause hardening that requires expensive secondary operations. Any heat that is produced is cooled by the water stream. Compare that to laser cutting and CNC machining, processes that can cause warping, distortion, or material hardening.
If you’re concerned about sustainability, you’ll be happy to know that both pure water jet cutting and abrasive water jetting are closed-loop processes that reuse water and won’t produce hazardous waste. If you’re concerned about manufacturing flexibility, you’ll be glad to know that the gantry-style machine you see in the video can make cuts as small as 1/2-in. (1.27 cm) x 1/2” (1.27 cm).
What’s the best way to get started?
Elasto Proxy fabricates rubber and plastic products and can recommend the right of precision cutting for your application. Whether you need pure water jet cutting or abrasive wet cut cutting, we’re ready to review your part designs and help you with material selection. We also offer added-value services like gasket bonding and taping, kiting and custom packaging, and warehousing.
