Testing Process Improvement
By cutting coupons on a waterjet, some manufactures are seeing up to nine times faster preparation speed. One company previously used four CNC machines to produce dog bone coupons for ASTM E8 tensile testing. The company required seven coupons for every heat-treated lot, and the preparation process took more than 45 minutes per coupon. Delays in testing time impacted part shipments to customers or rework based on non-conforming product lots. The company switched preparation methods to abrasive waterjet where they were able to cut parts ready for testing in about five minutes. Similar applications for cutting coupons on a waterjet are ASTM E9-19 compression testing, destructive testing, and cast porosity verification.

Waterjet Advantages in Testing
When cutting any type of metal coupon, traditional CNC machines impart heat and add oil or coolant as well as leave burrs. Cutting with laser, plasma, EDM, or traditional saws all impart some level of heat that will need to be dealt with in a secondary process in addition to leaving slag or chatter marks. ASTM standards require specimens for testing should be “free of cold work, notches, chatter marks, grooves, gouges, burrs, rough surfaces or edges, overheating or any other condition which can deleteriously affect the properties to be measured.” Using a waterjet does not impart any heat, meaning no additional processes needed. Cutting material on a waterjet with a slow speed can ensure a smooth finish for your testing specimen. Ultimately this means that the test sample will be truthful to the original material, eliminating doubt in the testing process.

Product recommendations
Choose what's right for you.
OMAX

For high precision, taper sensitive specimen preparation, geometrically complex material dissection and sample extraction.
- Accessories:
- A-Jet
- Tilt-A-Jet
- Rotary Axis
- Services:
- Quarterly Maintenance Program
MAXIEM

For precision specimen preparation, materials dissection and sample extraction.
- Accessories:
- A-Jet
- Services:
- Quarterly Maintenance Program
ProtoMAX

For specimen preparation, dissection and sample extraction from articles limited in size and thickness. Good for small labs with limited space.
- Accessories:
- Manual Z