MetPlas offers 2-D abrasive water jet cutting through virtually any material, including difficult to machine composites. Our water jet cutting system uses a combination of water and an abrasive garnet grit to cut through materials considered too costly to cut by conventional cutting methods. Using small amounts of water, while eliminating the friction caused by tool-to-part contact, abrasive water jet cutting avoids thermal damage which can adversely affect metallurgic properties in materials being cut. The ability to pierce through material eliminates the cost (and time) of drilling starter holes. Because the abrasive water jet cuts with a narrow kerf, parts can be tightly grouped, maximizing material usage. The system provides excellent edge quality to the most exacting specifications. MetPlas' Water Jet Cutting Capabilities - Multiple Machines
- 10' x 13' table size
- 6 inch thick capacity
- Tolerance up to +/- .002 inches depending on material
Materials Commonly Used With Water Jet Cutting - Ferrous/Non-ferrous metals
- Armor Plate
- Thermoplastics
- Thermosets
- Glass
- Rubber
- Foam
- Marble
- Wood
Water Jet Cutting: A Case Study The material being cut below is 2.5" thick aluminum 7075-T651. MetPlas was approached by a transportation OEM in desperate need of product for a domestic market retrofit. We were able to take an application that would normally require countless hours of machining being made from custom size bar stock and were able to waterjet cut blanks out of standard plate with secondary operations performed on our CNC's. Our waterjet software allowed us the added advantage of nesting the parts to obtain the maximum yield possible per sheet saving the customer a substantial amount of money associated with this very expensive grade of aluminum. MetPlas also met the customer's critical lot control requirement by engraving a part specific serial number into each of the more than 1,000 pieces. We completed the entire contract in less time than it would normally take for an aluminum mill just to produce the barstock for other manufacturers.
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