How can waterjet cut thru metals?
In: 0
Waterjets designed for cutting use a highly focused ‘beam’ of water to cut through, well, anything, really. The higher the pressure of the water and the smaller the aperture (hole) through which the water flows determines how fast and hard the materials being cut can be.
Although water itself is sufficient to cut through materials when sufficiently focused, an abrasive material (a special type of sand, typically) is generally mixed with the water to increase cutting effectiveness.
Ultimately, this allows water jets, depending on their size and design, to cut anything from reams of paper (yes, as in writing paper) all the way up to massive plates of titanium alloy to make submarine or ship hulls. A sufficiently powerful laser could do this too, but would consume massively more power, be incredibly dangerous if misused and, most importantly, would damage the metal because of the sheer heat generated by said laser. Waterjets, on the other hand, make perfectly clean cuts, don’t burn or damage the material being cut and don’t require a huge amount of power to operate. And they’re much safer to use and don’t emit dangerous radiation or heat.
Latest Answers