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Waterjet Cut Urethane Parts

Waterjet cutting is widely known for its ability to cut virtually any material to near net shape. These materials vary from rubber to plastics, composites to metals. Versatility is a benefit waterjet cutting brings to many businesses, including New Hampshire based company, Plan Tech. Plan Tech has been manufacturing urethane parts for over 30 years, providing products for diverse groups of industries. Urethane is a high-performance rubber that can be molded easily, shaped accurately, and offers many different finishing options. We’ve invited guest blogger Kevin Healy, Vice President of engineering at Plan Tech, to tell you more about how waterjet cutting has impacted their productivity. With their vast experience and in-house capabilities, they consistently deliver tight tolerance custom urethane parts.

Manufacturing Trends Waterjet Technology Overview
Compass cutting warped material
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The Importance of Standoff Height, Especially with Bevel Cutting

Standoff height, the distance between the tip of the mixing tube and the material you are cutting, is important when cutting parts on a waterjet. In a previous blog I provided recommendations for proper standoff height. In general, stand off height should be about 0.100” (2.5 mm), or as thick as a dime. When your jet is perpendicular to your part, straight up and down, then raising the standoff will increase noise, mess and round the top edge of the part. You will lose a little cut power as well.

It’s important to maintain stand off under conventional waterjet cutting.

How Waterjets Work
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Guest Post: 5 Key Waterjet Terms We Should All Understand

I’m pleased to say that we have a guest blogger today.  Colleen Carnagey is a major part of Flow’s marketing group and she would like to introduce to you a new feature on our website that might be of real value to you as you become more educated on waterjet capabilities.

Over the years waterjet has created its own vocabulary. I’m fairly new to Flow (in Flow terms–4 years isn’t much on 20), and one thing I realized almost immediately is to feel confident in your understanding of waterjet technology as a whole, you must feel confident in your understanding of the terms used to explain it.

How Waterjets Work Pump Technology Waterjet 101 Waterjet Technology Overview
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Geologic versus Supersonic Erosion

The Colorado River versus Waterjet

Waterjet gives the best edge. The surface is unaltered, exhibiting no heat or stress damage.  This outstanding edge quality it is created by supersonic erosion.

Erosion is an extremely gentle form of material removal, however it achieves amazing results.

For example: the Colorado river can erode the one mile deep Grand Canyon in 35 million years, and the abrasive waterjet can erode over one foot thick of granite at 0.2 inch per minute (5mm/min).

How Waterjets Work Waterjet Technology Overview
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Guest Post: How to Choose the Right Filters, Your Pump Will Thank You

A filter is a filter is a filter…..right? In our next post by Tim Fabian, we discuss how to choose the right filters for your pump. Now, to Tim.

A filter is a filter is a filter…..right? Not so fast.  There are so many types of filters available today it is hard to understand what all the differences are.  The important thing to remember though, is that not all will work well with your pump.  Just like the cleanliness of the water we drink needs to be clean to sustain our good health, a filter that doesn’t stop the bad stuff from getting into your pump is bad for its health too.  Even filters that have the same nominal micron value aren’t always created equal.

Pump Technology Waterjet Maintenance