Water Jet Cutting Machines
CMS North America is a manufacturer of complete CNC machining center solutions, including water jet cutting machine integration. Water jet cutting has emerged as an important technology in the improvement of advanced materials manufacturing methods due to several significant inherent benefits:
- water jet cutting doesn't affect a material's basic makeup, it creates no heat along its cut path to affect the material's original integrity
- water jet cutting can accomplish remarkably complex cuts in 2, 3 or even 5 axis applications
- water jet cutting has a very small cut kerf so material loss is greatly minimized
- water jet cutting can achieve high accuracy in operations involving cutting, carving or reaming, while being able to obtain almost square inside corners, where needed
- water jet cutting with today's increased cutting pressures, available from 60,000 to 90,000# makes the range of materials cut, their thickness and the speed obtainable, even greater
- water jet cutting can be combined with a cutting media, such as garnet, allowing for a wide range of thick materials, such as steel, titanium, fiberglass, and so forth, to be readily cut
- water jet cutting with CMS Tecnocut's, IKC, Intelligent Kerf Compensation system, intelligently manages the increasing diameter of the water jet cone and adjusts for this phenomena, with CNC control of the cutting wall inclination accordingly, to yet obtain a straight side wall cut, even over inches of material thickness, both from the outside and inside of the cut path
CMS not only provides water jet cutting machine solutions in combination with its many CNC machining centers, including 5 axis capabilities, but CMS Group incorporates its own water jet cutting division: CMS Tecnocut, an internationally recognized manufacturer of water jet pump technology and standard CNC applications. In addition to Tecnocut's own full range of technological understanding and solutions regarding water jet cutting machines, CMS adds Tecnocut's equipment to its own special and unique applications required for aerospace and advanced materials manufacturers. CMS knows water jet cutting and its knowledge means the right application of this technology with a wide view of all the questions involved between strictly water jet cutting and traditional machining applications, or the combination thereof.
Products Used
Water Jet Cutting - Combined with machining on a range of machines
In addition to the many benefits of water jet cutting machines, there are yet applications that require a combination of technologies to finish work on a component. This photo shows a combination of CMS Tecnocut's high pressure water jet cutting system along with CMS' 5-axis working unit, PX5, on a large format Poseidon CNC machining center for carrying out a combination of required work on large aerospace components.
There are yet other component processing situations, for example, such as those having a cylindrical shape and made of a material that requires a cutting media, where the part would be damaged with a traditional water jet cutting approach, since the pressure to cut through the outside wall would still be sufficient to damage or cut through the opposing wall. For such component processing situations, CMS provides its unique total component submersion cutting system, in which the cutting, even 5-axis water jet cutting, takes place on the component while submerged in a bath of water, by which the water jet's cutting force is limited by the resistance of the water itself and the opposing wall is not affected, the 5-axis manipulation of the water jet cutting head can be safely carried out without concern for injury or harm to those in the area or the machine, as well as significant noise reduction. At the end of the cutting cycle, the water from the tank is removed through high volume transfer to a holding tank and the part may be removed and another one loaded. The methodology can even be applied for nonstop cycles as well, where needed.
The application of water jet cutting machine technology to CMS' various CNC machining centers, even in combination with its machining technology is available by request, and following upon technical review, across its range of CNC machining centers.
Water jet cutting - double robotic concurrent fashion
When the work to be carried out by water jet can be accomplished with just high pressure water, without the need of a cutting media, such as that for automotive interior liner components, more options for a particular solution are available, such as this photo showing a double robotic water jet cutting system, each with full control over its water jet cutting head. CMS' unique work management software has determined how both robots may work together at the same time on the same component to significantly reduce the time for processing, while at the same time each robot can manage its own range of required complex processing operations cooperatively with its partner. Since there is no cutting media used, there is no cutting media cleanup required and the water is captured below the part in a tank. To provide optimum cycle productivity, while maintaining safety, the system can also incorporate CMS' TR (Table Rotating) system, permitting the operator to load and unload from outside of the protected work envelop, while work continues inside the work envelop by the robots.
Water jet cutting - 2 or 5 axis applications metal sheet or plate cutting
A range of metal sheet components of various thickness can be easily cut with water jet cutting machines, with or without cutting media, depending upon the material and its thickness, in 2 axis or 5 axis processes. In this photo a curved sheet metal component has its outside trimmed and its fixing holes cut along its perimeter in a 5-axis water jet cutting process. The water is captured beneath the component in a tank.
Water jet cutting machines - design, application and manufacturer of the complete system
CMS benefits from its Tecnocut water jet cutting division through its fundamental understanding of water jet cutting from an early state of the technology and its competence in design, application and manufacturer of the entire water jet cutting system. In this photo is shown the heart of CMS Tecnocut's pressure generation system, with a pair of pumping triplets, each set of triplets providing power to its cutting head, with the cylinders pumping in parallel, so that if one of them develops a problem, the other two can continue their work until the system can be stopped for servicing - an important design consideration from the point of view of those who use the system.
Water jet cutting machines - Intelligent Kerf Compensation (IKC)
CMS Tecnocut's Intelligent Kerf Compensation system (IKC) allows management of an otherwise traditionally limiting phenomena in water jet cutting, the phenomena being that water in the nature of this highly concentrated and pressurized state, when leaving the cutting tip will for a certain distance, the focal distance, maintain the integrity of its stream with a constant diameter, but as the stream begins to lose its kinetic energy it begins to degrade and deform, which dilation increases in the stream the further its distance from the tip, taking on the shape of a cone.
Since this phenomena is natural and, in particular, since much important work remains to be done beyond an acceptable stream focal length, CMS Tecnocut's unique IKC system provides complete control of this predictable phenomena by use of combined CNC controlled axes at the cutting tip: the inclination of the stream with its cone wall and rotation of the cutting tip about its central axis, whether inside or outside of the cutting path. IKC's mathematically and experientially derived algorithms, along with its CNC control of both these axes, result in components with straight side walls, even when inches thick.
Water jet cutting machines - double heads, 4th axis rotation, partial submersion
This photo shows a combination of water jet cutting objectives. It combines both a 3 axis and 5 axis unit, that is a unit with IKC control, along with 4th axis rotation of a metal cylinder component, in a processing operation which takes advantage of IKC's edge compensation, as well as providing for a correct relative relationship of the cut path to cylinder's curved surface and, in addition, with its partial submersion, it avoids any potential damage of the opposing wall.
Additional Images
Composite helmet - water jet cutting
This photo features an ideal application for water jet cutting, based simply on water without need of cutting media for a composite helmet, although some helmets of special materials will require a cutting media. Whether motor cycle helmets or helmets for the armed services, and so forth, water jet cutting provides a fast, dust free, approach to cutting, trimming or hole creation, including CMS' special universal fixturing system, which holds a range of parts without need of a dedicated form for each different helmet.
Water jet - thick materials, complex shapes, good walls
This photo illustrates CMS Tecnocut's capability in cutting thick material, while obtaining good side walls and intricate detail. The top photo shows an aluminum blank 4" thick (100 mm) with straight walls and clean inside corners. The bottom left shows a significantly thick 5 sided leaf with thin hollow walls and a small pentagonal star in the center, while the bottom right shows a thick, complex, heat sink with very thin walls for heat dissipation. All are thick parts with good straight walls and high level detail.
Water jet cutting of Complex parts - prototypes, small run quantities
Water jet cutting makes it possible to provide high quality, precise parts for small run batch quantities, even prototype work, as well as production work. A range of complex interlocking gears, sprockets, and other spirally and elliptically shaped whimsical items with slots and keys cut in, as well as holes, are shown here to make the point, that water jet technology is a powerful tool for both designers and manufacturers.
Water jet cutting - automotive components
As shown in this photo, water jet cutting has a wide application range for a large number of automotive components such as: headliners, instrument panels, trunk liners, bumpers and carpets, being a fast, dust free solution.
Water jet cutting - decorative plastic components
Water jet cutting is also perfect for many thermoformed plastic parts, as illustrated in this photo with decorative plastic automotive components, being able to trim, cut openings and make holes fast, cleanly, and without dust or cleanup work.
Water jet cutting - plastic or fiberglass components
This photo shows a formed plastic part being cut by water jet in a 5 axis manner - which could just as easily have been made from fiberglass with the same outcome. Typically, just plain water may be used to cut thermoformed plastics, and fiberglass up to 10 mm thick, a real plus in not needing to use a cutting media to help the process.
Videos
CMS Tecnocut - Water jet technology overview
CMS' water jet cutting division, Tecnocut, premier and leading water jet designer and manufacturer is overviewed in this video. Besides being a leading producer of water jet systems in Europe, Tecnocut also designs the fundamental technology at the heart of water jet cutting, the pumping system. The video gives a quick, fundamental overview of the technology and CMS Tecnocut's abilities.
Water jet cutting automotive components - 5 axis CNC and dual robotic devices
This video presents the use of water jet cutting for plastic thermoformed automotive components being trimmed with a 5-axis CNC controlled water jet cutting head, as well as a dual anthropomorphic robotic system, capable of independently and simultaneously working on the same part at the same time, employing separation of work methodology thanks to a special CMS software for this purpose.
Water jet cutting - thermoformed plastic components, 5 axis, nonstop cycle
Presented in this video are several different thermoformed plastic components being trimmed and cut with water jet. In addition, it shows the use of a nonstop, protected work cycle for load/unload operations.
Water jet cutting - composite motorcycle helmets
This video presents the use of CMS Tecnocut's water jet cutting technology on a CMS Plast 5-axis CNC controlled machining center with TR (Table Rotating) system for nonstop, fully protected, work cycles. The video shows the operator loading composite helmets on CMS' special universal holding fixture, making it possible to hold a range of helmet styles without the need of separate support forms for each. The work involves the fast 5-axis trimming, along with the holes, of the helmet and a look at the finished product.
Downloads
Aerospace, CNC solutions
(click folder on the left to download)Water Jet Cutting and Fiat Engineering Case Study
(click folder on the left to download)