[modeleng] Re: Laser / water jet cutting

Hi Alan,

Both cutting methods still vary with operator skill and how much hurry
they're in. I spec and receive both water and laser cut parts every week at
work.

Thickness for waterjet cutting can be up to 9" in steel but the kerf angle
in the cut gets wide at that thickness. In materials up to .062 thick
accuracy is +/- .002 or so. The guy I use locally is fast but careful. He
has six speeds he can cut at depending on edge quality and edge kerf angle
required. He charges more for edges cut slow to get low angle. Surf finish
resembles light bead blasted finish, and there's no burning or heat affected
zone (HAZ). Any material including plastics, stacked fabric, glass,
ceramics, titanium and tungsten can be cut with these machines. Smallest
hole available with the local guy is .080". Costs with this local guy are
usually half of laser costs.

 Laser is limited by machine power, the biggest machine locally can cut 2"
steel plate. In materials up to .062" thick accuracy can be +/-.001 but
usually ends up +/-.004 due to carelessness and hurry. Surf finish is
sometimes very glossy and hard, with little burning, other times it is burnt
with a wide HAZ. Some jobs for laser come back as a no-quote if the surface
is too reflective, especially aluminum. Smallest hole available is .002" in
up to 1/8" thick material but at a premium cost.

I like waterjet for most jobs, but the local guy for it is a lot better than
the local laser guys. For a set of loco frames etc. I would recommend
waterjet.

Cheers, Jeff Dayman Waterloo Ontario Canada




----- Original Message -----
From: "alan Stepney" <alan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2005 3:43 PM
Subject: [modeleng] Laser / water jet cutting


> It is many years since I saw water jet cutting, and even longer since I
had
> anything to do with laser cutting.
> In both cases, there were limits on thickness, material they would cut,
etc,
> and the quality seemed to vary widely with different operators.
>
> I know that things have improved since then, but what is the latest on
such
> machines?
> Advantages and disadvantages of each, materials, thickness, tolerance,
> surface finish, etc.
>
> Anyone have any recent experience?
>
> Alan Stepney
>
> http://www.alanstepney.info
> Model Engineering & steam engine information pages
>
> MODEL ENGINEERING DISCUSSION LIST.
>
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