BrokeStonedBiker Posted May 22, 2004 Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 did you kow that water can cut throught steel? i new this for 5 years, was just wondering how many heads new about thins kind of insanity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman-hott Posted May 22, 2004 Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 Yeah and a stream of salt water will burn a hole right through you. Seen it a few times, they only use huge ass cutting tips at the mill though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotton eyed Joe Posted May 22, 2004 Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 I new a guy that had a water jet 10 years ago. The water picks up media in a stream of water that is travelling 3 times the speed of sound. It doesn't leave the best finish, but it will cut through thicker aluminun than laser cutting, and is more precise than plasma cutting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brock_fuzzy_69 Posted May 22, 2004 Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 yep they add a silicon abrasive to the sand and shoot it througha nozzle at i belive its close to 5K psi??? the machine can be a high maintenance pain in the ass tho compared to a laser cutter or plasma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stealthawd Posted May 22, 2004 Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 doesnt cut square...leaves a fantastic finish though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokeStonedBiker Posted May 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 doesnt cut square...leaves a fantastic finish though... like a plasma cutter may not vut square if its not setup right. should cut very accurate though. if itrs not cutting square i would say its th3 cuters/installers fault, i just hurd about this thng but it sounds like it shold cut with in .015. n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepman380 Posted May 22, 2004 Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 I seen one of those machines on American Chopper when they were making the Dixie Chopper custom bike. It's pretty amazing how far we've come from working with metal from fireplaces and using a hammer and an anvil to shooting water out of a nozzle at mach 3 or 4 and cutting metal to thicknesses of around 10 inches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MILO Posted May 22, 2004 Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 (edited) they've tried a water jet at my work before. we make fiberglass reinforced plastics. believe it or not, it didn't work too well. we still use diamond tipped blades instead. they work pretty slick and one of the few things that will hold up to it. Edited May 22, 2004 by MILO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stealthawd Posted May 22, 2004 Report Share Posted May 22, 2004 no, they don't cut square...they cut shapes accurately, but the thicker, harder material diverts the stream to one side and they don't cut square... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonman Posted May 23, 2004 Report Share Posted May 23, 2004 PLasma cutting, or any other cutting for that matter is all relative to the moron/operator that is setting it iup, and the maintenance on the machine. A sloppy machine, yields sloppt parts. A plasma table can burn material very accurately. By far better than any oxy table out there.. And water jet machining is very useful. And cutting fiberglass isn't one of it's uses. Fiber material is a PITA to machine no matter what you do. A plasma cutter is by far more versatile than a water machine. But, wait for laser technology to further itself and look out!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MILO Posted May 23, 2004 Report Share Posted May 23, 2004 my wife did a test with a laser on a piece of fiberglass i gave her. it was a project for school,(electrical & mechanical engineering). the laser barely made a mark on the part. lasers work awsome on plastic, but not fiberglass reinforced plastic. as far as fabrication work to fiberglass, the diamond tip blades, router bits, anything diamond tip is the only answer. carbide tips aren't bad, but don't last long either. i've used concrete blades here at home, but it tears them up quick too. i'm the fabrication supervisor at my work, so i have LOTS of experience with this. it's expensive, but diamond tipped tools are the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotton eyed Joe Posted May 23, 2004 Report Share Posted May 23, 2004 (edited) my wife did a test with a laser on a piece of fiberglass i gave her. it was a project for school,(electrical & mechanical engineering). the laser barely made a mark on the part. lasers work awsome on plastic, but not fiberglass reinforced plastic. as far as fabrication work to fiberglass, the diamond tip blades, router bits, anything diamond tip is the only answer. carbide tips aren't bad, but don't last long either. i've used concrete blades here at home, but it tears them up quick too. i'm the fabrication supervisor at my work, so i have LOTS of experience with this. it's expensive, but diamond tipped tools are the answer. Some of the best machined finishes in aluminum I have ever seen are with diamond tipped tools. I don't mess with composites. I cut a ton of plastic though. The fab shop that I have do my laser work just put in a 5kw laser. I guess they cut wood, glass, aluminum up to 3/8 or 1/2, steel, just about anything that will fit on their table. Something that they told me when they put it in, is its faster than their CNC punch at putting holes in 1/4" steel!!!!! Thats fast considering a punch takes almost no time to punch a hole in plate. With the laser you won't get the edge compression either. But I guess thats what you get when you spend something like $3mil on a laser table right? Edited May 23, 2004 by Cotton eyed Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtRider Posted May 23, 2004 Report Share Posted May 23, 2004 yeah thats a lot of loot? you would have to be doing some serious quantity work to get your moneys work on that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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