Broadway Metal Works is proud to offer precision Waterjet cutting services. Our waterjet table is 5’ x 10’ enabling us to handle large jobs. Materials up to 6” thick (or sandwiches of materials up to 6” thick) make complex parts easier to machine. The dual heads on our machine give us the ability to provide a precision finished product. The most intricate profiles and shapes are quickly duplicated using CAD programming and our CNC (Computer Numeric Control) controlled Waterjet.

CNC waterjet cutting is an economical way to cut 2D shapes in a very wide range of materials with no tooling costs. The unique process of CNC waterjet cutting provides reasonably good edge quality, no burrs and usually eliminates the need for secondary finishing processes. The process also generates no heat so the material edge is unaffected and there is no distortion.
Please call us for further information or to arrange a live demonstration of our Waterjet.

HOW A WATERJET WORKS

A waterjet is a tool used in machine shops to cut metal parts with a (very) high-pressure stream of water. As amazing as it sounds, if you get water flowing fast enough it can actually cut metal. Think of a waterjet as something with about 30 times the pressure of the power washer wand at your local car wash. Power washing at car washes is an everyday example of a dirt film being "cut" off the body, wheels and tires of an automobile.

The key to cutting metal with water is to keep the spray coherent. Waterjets are able to cut because the spray is channeled through a very narrow jeweled nozzle at a very high pressure to keep the spray coherent. Unlike metal cutters, a waterjet never gets dull and it cannot overheat.

Low pressure waterjets were first used for mining gold in California in 1852. Steam and hot water jets were used in the early 1900s for cleaning. High pressure waterjets were used for mining in the 1960s, and about 10 years ago industry began using waterjets for cutting. Abrasive water jets (abrasivejets) were first used in industry in about 1980.

Computer-controlled waterjet and abrasivejet cutting are used today in industry to cut many soft and hard materials. The plain water-abrasive mixture leaves the nozzle at more than 900 mph. The latest machines can cut to within two thousandths of an inch, and have jet speeds around Mach 3.

WATERJETS CAN CUT:

• Marble
• Granite
• Stone
• Metal
• Plastic
• Wood
• Stainless steel

A water jet can cut a "sandwich" of different materials up to four inches thick. This odorless, dust-free and relatively heat-free process can also cut something as thin as five thousandths of an inch. The tiny jet stream permits the first cut to also be the final finished surface. This single cutting process saves material costs and machining costs.