Microwaterjet

Micro-waterjet cutting
Micro-waterjet cutting does not differ in technology from normal waterjet cutting. Micro-waterjet cutting is also a cold, thermoneutral separation process (pure water and abrasive processes). The differences lie in the size of the cutting head and (in the abrasive process) in the size of the mixing chamber for the garnet sand.

Micro-waterjet cutting was developed by Walter Maurer and his Waterjet AG team in response to the high demand for miniaturised, precision mechanical components in mechatronics, measurement and control technology, aerospace, medical technology and watchmaking. Through continuous optimisation and further development, the cutting jet (4000 bar, 3-fold sound velocity) could be reduced to 0.2 mm.

The process combines the precision advantages of laser cutting with those of water:
There are no thermal stresses in the material, the micro-structure of the material and its material strength are retained.

Usually a CAD drawing and the parameters material, thickness and cut quality are sufficient to start the work process.

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Advantages

Economical:
Micro-waterjet cutting saves resources and costs. Water and abrasive consumption drop from 0.4 l/min to 0.17 l/min and 60 g/min to 16 g/min respectively. The energy consumption for the production of 4000 bar is reduced by half to 3 KW. Since no tools are used, even small series can be cut without set-up effort.

Precisely:
Precision in micro-waterjet cutting is often more important than smallness. By eliminating the original cutting cone, wing parts can be cut without angular errors. The precision is increased by swivel head systems.

Gentle on materials:
Micro-waterjet cutting enables not only common materials but also gentle cutting in the µm range of thermally sensitive materials, special materials and exotic alloys.

No postprocessing:
Surfaces can be cut with a cutting-edge quality up to a value of Ra=1.6 µm burr-free and without reworking.