Waterjet Cutting

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Not sure if these should be in cutting tools forum, but here we go...Currently i work part time for a guy running a water jet he bought, but doesn't even know how to turn on.  I got hooked up with him through a mutual friend.  Very small shop, just me and him, mostly sheet metal, but we are doing more architectural stuff lately. I do all programming, operating, and maintenance on the machine.  I've practically torn this machine down to the chassis and rebuilt it.  It came from a stone shop that doesn't believe in any sort of maintenance schedule.  I have it running almost 100 percent, its taken about 18 months to work all the bugs out.2001 Flow Independent flying bridge 6' X 12' 60,000 PSI pumpAnyways, here are some pics of some different stuff ive cut on the machine.pic 1: cutting stainless woven wire sheet.  This stuff will destroy the blades on a shear, so we jet it instead.  No special setting, just set for thickness of the wire and the come right out.pic 2: Had to extend some stone brackets for a pool.  With all the doo dads welded on to them there wasnt a good way to split them in a saw, so i drew a fixture and split them all in the jet, Welded in a 3" section and the customer was happier than a pig in sh...pic 3: 1" thick Lam glass, with leaves in the middle.  Really cool looking stuff.  had to cut a shape out of it for a customer who was making a mirror of some sort.  Cut a fixture to hold it and put some cardboard down to protect the glass.  Luckily i was able to pierce outside the material and move in with the machine already running.  Piercing glass and stone is where it blows out usually.  I got lucky on this one.Pic 4:  Sign for a friend of mine to hang outside her barn she trains at.  Her boyfriend was going to build a "wrought iron" stand of some kind for it.  She supplied an image file.  I converted it to a DXF and fixed the letters so the centers of the letters wouldnt drop out (rookie mistake with noob operators)pic 5:  This stuff is .3125" bullet proof steel.  Its for some rich techie guy, which have so many of in this area.  He didnt feel secure, so he replaced glass with 1" bulletproff, and .3125" bulletproof steel window mullions.  We built some aluminum security screen doors, and i had to notch one of these for our handles.  This stuff is harder than snot.  Sanding disk will barely take the burr from the waterjet off. Attached Images
Reply:more jobspic 1: logger buddy of mine who died in a motorcycle accident.  Hit a deer on his bike in the mountains where we live.  Another shop was making a memorial for him and asked if i could cut his name and dates into one of his bars.  I agreed and did it for free, obviously.  RIP TOMpic 2:Shop we buy alot of our shape steel calls and asks if i can jet some holes in flat bar, because theyre iron worked is tweaking the material when they strip it.  I say no problem, go to pickup and see this massive pallet.  Then he asks if he can have it in the morning?  No problem bud pic 3: Ripping I beam to unequal legs.  Makes a mess, incredibly loud and generally not very good many, but we do it anyway, because most other shops won't, and i hope they remember that when the big jobs come through.pic 4 and 5: Cutting 4X4 wood for a trellis.  If you have ever tried to do these by hand with a jigsaw or porta band you probably know what i pain it is.  Customer gave me a sketch, i scanned and traced the profile and heres the result. Attached Images
Reply:morepic 1: Customer wanted some slices of whatever this stuff was, for testing.  Harder than our bandsaw blade, so i made some slivers on the jet.  Left a tab about .015" at the end so that we wouldnt lose the pieces as the cut finished.Pic 2: one of the more confusing jobs ive done for a regular customer of ours. They are stair tread gussets.  Engineer called for this design  I asked why they couldnt be jet out of plate then formed in our power brake, but the engineer wouldnt budge on his design.  Desiging the program took about an hour.  The machine cut right up to the wall and scored the inside so he could go back later and hack the channel apart on his saw and get his pieces.  Hard to explain, you would have to see it, just take my word for itpic 3:  1"X2" brass solid bar, mitered and welded for nickel plated range hood we built.  This was the bottom trim.  I was notching it for the cabinets.  Very fragile. very tight tolerances.  The opposite side has a slot cut into it to accept the sheet metal.  Came out perfect.pic 4:  Cutting a cool, very flaky stone for another shop who was building a potting table with Ipe (sp?) , stainless, stone, huge stainless legs.  It was pretty crazy looking.  The people in the bay area have more dollars than sense, but it keeps people like me busy. Attached Images
Reply:I love a waterjet, they're amazing.
Reply:Looks like you have that jet dancing your tune. Fun projects - especially the rush jobs
Reply:Here are a couple more interesting jobsPic 1: Aluminum tile of some sort.  Totally flimsy, made up of a bunch of different sized, and height pieces of aluminum channel.  They tried cutting it on a tile saw, yea rightThey asked if i could cut them strips out of it, as my answer usually is "no problem"No pictures of it while cutting, took a little extra attention to do this job right.pic 2 and 3: Another waterjet shop asked me for a favor, rush job.The pieces sitting across the rails of the bed of my truck are 1.75" LVL parallam's the rest is the drop.We cut 39 wedges out of them.  They are the compression ring of a 12 sided structure for burning man this year.  They overlap and get screwed together. Little over 5 hours of setup and jet time.If you head out to the desert for this week of crazyness, enjoy watching my work go up in flames.  Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by drivethruboy54 ... The pieces sitting across the rails of the bed of my truck are 1.75" LVL parallam's the rest is the drop ...
Reply:LVL's are basically engineered plywood beams.  They also use pure waterjet for cutting food!The technology has been around since the 1950's believe it or not.  Everyday when i fire it up, it still amazes me.The sound it makes when it piereces through heavy material's gives me chills every time, it's unreal.
Reply:Couple more waterjet jobs1. 11ga aluminum dog tag for a girl i was dating (it was her room mates bday, a couple weeks after i made ir, we stopped dating) Vibrated finish with scotch brite pad.  Over an hour of programming to make the text come out correctly2. cutting some special hold downs for a machine shop across the street, 1.25" thick steel3. second setup cutting the slot4. bored on a friday night at the shop with a couple buddies, so we made throwing stars of course, they will go through a sheet of .5" sheetrock at 10' with no problem at all5.  The dog tag on the bull dog Attached Images
Reply:1. Rock rings for a very good friend of mine who owns Phase 5 tactical, if youre into AR-15's he is THE MAN2. One of the jobs i did for Florence Metal Products (Dualie) Tapering some heavy anglesAlso did 3 or so signs that i forgot to snap some pics of3.  Wake skate winch plate/hub adapter for a buddy of mine.  If you havent heard of one check them out on youtube, kind of cool. Attached Images
Reply:Cool! Never realized how versatile waterjet cutting is. I knew they used it for stone and steel, but have never seen it used on glass or wood before, though it makes perfect sense.I NEED one! .No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Do you know that manufacture or possession of shurikens (throwing stars) is a felony in Kalifornia and has been since the 70'sI was a Kenpo student back then..Nice work by the wayLast edited by killdozerd11; 02-27-2013 at 07:59 AM.Backed my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:I'd love to own one of those, but for now I have to go to my friends shop to use one.  Great work there!---No good deed goes unpunished---
Reply:Those aren't shurikens. They are custom made decorative reinforcing washers...I guess Kali was having major Ninja issues back in the 70's. .No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Yep DSW they outlawed most martial art weapons after the Bruce lee movies came to the US...Though there are some that you can have in the dojo onlyMy sensi study under Ed Parker Anyway i love the water jet thing seen those demoed at westec  years ago amazing machinesBacked my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:these arent throwing stars, they are life size replicas! hahaWaterjet cutting is extremely versatile, much more so than a laser or plasma.  Not always the most economical, but how else can you cut .005" shim stock cleanly, then right after cut some 1" plate!
Reply:I want to find someone by me to jet out a couple deck plates for 12v cummins motorsMiller bobcat 225g  - spoolmatic 1Mm250 - 30a spoolMiller spectrum 375Thermal arc 95 Everlast Ex 250As the boiler turns, these are the days of our lives
Reply:my buddy is swapping a 97 12v into his 93 ford f350.  Should have right around 550hp. Made a down pipe for him to mate his super B special turbo to a standard 5" exhaust for a 7.3.  Ill post a picture of it when i get home.I may also end up doing something cool with his valve covers, he hasnt decided exactly what he wants yet.
Reply:My 96 12v should be 1050-1100 ponies.It's a pulling truck. But I want to have a couple deck plates made with a jet, because of distortion issues with a plasma or Cnc torch.Miller bobcat 225g  - spoolmatic 1Mm250 - 30a spoolMiller spectrum 375Thermal arc 95 Everlast Ex 250As the boiler turns, these are the days of our lives
Reply:Can I come play in the shop?
Reply:I base my jobs around $150/hour, easy jobs that don't need to be babysat the price goes down. More involvement on my end, price goes up.Another local shop whom has a big OMAX machine run theirs at $235/hour.I've been told I'm too cheap, these things cost a lot to run. If the machine isn't running all the time it doesn't make money and actually ends up costing me money. There needs to be constant cash flow or else there isn't any money leftover for breakdown and consumables when you need them.
Reply:Tom died too young!
Reply:I'd like to raise my prices, but I've quoted large jobs/production work, and my prices are higher than other shops, with multiple newer machines, not even sure how they can stuff so cheap and still make money. I barely make any profit at $150 and my current work load, and I still get people complaining about prices.It seems that when people first start having waterjet they are blown away at quality and how "cheap" it is. Then they get accustom to having anything they want made, instead of carving stuff out with cutting wheels and grinders, then it turns into "any way we could shave some cost?"Such is life and the world of waterjetting.
Reply:Customer has been super stoked with the results of the signs so far and the angles were perfect.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Here is the down pipe i was talking aboutMates a Super Special Turbo to a Standard 7.3 5" exhaustMy buddy bought the wrong pre bent pieces so it took a little longer than expected, but turned out well.Aluminized tubing, tig welded, Ceramic coated after. Attached ImagesFor those interested here is a link to an article I wrote a couple of years ago for a trade magazine that compares Waterjet, Laser, Plasma and Oxy-Fuel cutting.http://www.fabricatingandmetalworkin...tting-process/These processes all have advantages and disadvantages. Cut quality, cut cost, cut part accuracy and cut speed (productivity) all need consideration when deciding the best process for a particular cutting job. I have been in many shops that have all of these processes undre one roof....and do their cutting based on the cutting method that provides the best finished product/price for the need.Hypertherm just bought a waterjet company called Accustream at the beginning of the year.....so we now have Plasma, Fiber Laser and Water Jet technology in our metal cutting arsenal....all necessary production cutting tools.Jim Colt  Hypertherm