Abrasivejet & Waterjet History

These letters were made from 0.5" (1.3 cm) Plex AC Composite and took about four minutes to make.

A. Brief history, traditional applications and development of systems specifically for machine shops

Industrial uses of ultra-high pressure waterjets began in the early 1970s. It was discovered that at pressures between 40,000 and 60,000 psi (276,000 and 414,000 kPa), a jet of water approximately 0.005" (0.1 mm) in diameter could neatly cut everything from cardboard to granola bars. Special production line machines were developed to solve manufacturing problems related to materials that had been previously been cut with knives or mechanical cutters. Examples of early applications include:

Cardboard
Disposable diaper lining material
Insulating material
Shapes from foam rubber
Soft gasket material
Carpet material for automotive applications
Food products ranging from chocolate bars to fish fillets
Fabric and sheet goods
Components for shoes and leather products

Early waterjet systems were expensive and often troublesome to maintain. But alternatives such as knives and mechanical cutters were even more costly and problematic. Consequently, waterjets quickly gained acceptance as a solution for cutting challenging materials. In addition to special-purpose production line systems, a number of waterjet specialty shops were formed for the sole purpose of applying the technology on a contract or job-shop basis. These shops typically cut foam rubber, gasket substance, and other material into particular shapes for manufactured products, custom signs, and other applications.

Although waterjets were the ideal solution for cutting troublesome soft materials , they were less successful at cutting engineering materials such as metals and ceramics. Then, in the early 1980s the abrasivejet was born. In addition to standard waterjet components, a special nozzle was developed—not only did it create the waterjet, it introduced a small amount of abrasive powder into the jet by means of aspiration. With the help of abrasives such as garnet, a waterjet could be used on difficult-to-machine material such as titanium, Inconel®, glass and ceramics.

Like the early waterjets, the first abrasivejet systems were expensive to operate and maintain, and were used only for special applications, such as titanium wing panels for military aircraft, or special shapes out of glass or ceramics. These systems cut in air, so the operator could actually see the jet, allowing manual adjustment of the feed rate as it maneuvered bends and corners. But these systems were noisy, and often produced a cloud of material cuttings and abrasive powder that covered everything in the shop. This limited early abrasivejet systems to specialized job shops employing highly trained operators.

In the early 1990s Dr. John Olsen, a pioneer of the waterjet cutting industry, began to explore the concept of abrasivejet cutting as a practical alternative for traditional machine shops. The goal was to develop an abrasivejet cutting system without all the noise, dust, and complexities that plagued earlier systems and kept them in special facilities.

The new system also needed to be simple enough to maintain without extensive training or expertise. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Dr. Olsen envisioned a computerized control system that eliminated the need for operator expertise and trial-and-error programming. If such a system could enable an unskilled operator to quickly produce an individual part to precise specifications on the first try, it could be used by thousands of small job shops and prototype shops for making short-run and one-off parts.

Dr. Olsen teamed up with Dr. Alex Slocum of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in order to design the mechanical system. He used cutting test results and a theoretical cutting model originally proposed by researchers at the University of Rhode Island as a guide in developing the unique control system.

The result was a PC-based control system coupled to a precision X-Y cutting table on which parts could be cut under water to eliminate excessive noise and dust. This was the first abrasivejet cutting system designed specifically for the short-run and limited-production machine shop market.

Address: 21409 72nd Ave South, Kent, WA 98032 | Telephone: 1-800-838-0343 or 253-872-2300
Fax: 253-872-6190 | Email: OMAX@OMAX.COM | Privacy Policy

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	Technology 101 Technology - Brief History Technology - Pumps Technology - Nozzles Technology - Abrasive Delivery Systems Technology - X-Y Tables Technology - Control Systems These letters were made from 0.5" (1.3 cm) Plex AC Composite and took about four minutes to make.		A. Brief history, traditional applications and development of systems specifically for machine shops Industrial uses of ultra-high pressure waterjets began in the early 1970s. It was discovered that at pressures between 40,000 and 60,000 psi (276,000 and 414,000 kPa), a jet of water approximately 0.005" (0.1 mm) in diameter could neatly cut everything from cardboard to granola bars. Special production line machines were developed to solve manufacturing problems related to materials that had been previously been cut with knives or mechanical cutters. Examples of early applications include: Cardboard Disposable diaper lining material Insulating material Shapes from foam rubber Soft gasket material Carpet material for automotive applications Food products ranging from chocolate bars to fish fillets Fabric and sheet goods Components for shoes and leather products Early waterjet systems were expensive and often troublesome to maintain. But alternatives such as knives and mechanical cutters were even more costly and problematic. Consequently, waterjets quickly gained acceptance as a solution for cutting challenging materials. In addition to special-purpose production line systems, a number of waterjet specialty shops were formed for the sole purpose of applying the technology on a contract or job-shop basis. These shops typically cut foam rubber, gasket substance, and other material into particular shapes for manufactured products, custom signs, and other applications. Although waterjets were the ideal solution for cutting troublesome soft materials , they were less successful at cutting engineering materials such as metals and ceramics. Then, in the early 1980s the abrasivejet was born. In addition to standard waterjet components, a special nozzle was developed—not only did it create the waterjet, it introduced a small amount of abrasive powder into the jet by means of aspiration. With the help of abrasives such as garnet, a waterjet could be used on difficult-to-machine material such as titanium, Inconel®, glass and ceramics. Like the early waterjets, the first abrasivejet systems were expensive to operate and maintain, and were used only for special applications, such as titanium wing panels for military aircraft, or special shapes out of glass or ceramics. These systems cut in air, so the operator could actually see the jet, allowing manual adjustment of the feed rate as it maneuvered bends and corners. But these systems were noisy, and often produced a cloud of material cuttings and abrasive powder that covered everything in the shop. This limited early abrasivejet systems to specialized job shops employing highly trained operators. In the early 1990s Dr. John Olsen, a pioneer of the waterjet cutting industry, began to explore the concept of abrasivejet cutting as a practical alternative for traditional machine shops. The goal was to develop an abrasivejet cutting system without all the noise, dust, and complexities that plagued earlier systems and kept them in special facilities. The new system also needed to be simple enough to maintain without extensive training or expertise. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Dr. Olsen envisioned a computerized control system that eliminated the need for operator expertise and trial-and-error programming. If such a system could enable an unskilled operator to quickly produce an individual part to precise specifications on the first try, it could be used by thousands of small job shops and prototype shops for making short-run and one-off parts. Dr. Olsen teamed up with Dr. Alex Slocum of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in order to design the mechanical system. He used cutting test results and a theoretical cutting model originally proposed by researchers at the University of Rhode Island as a guide in developing the unique control system. The result was a PC-based control system coupled to a precision X-Y cutting table on which parts could be cut under water to eliminate excessive noise and dust. This was the first abrasivejet cutting system designed specifically for the short-run and limited-production machine shop market.
		Address: 21409 72nd Ave South, Kent, WA 98032 \| Telephone: 1-800-838-0343 or 253-872-2300 Fax: 253-872-6190 \| Email: OMAX@OMAX.COM \| Privacy Policy