WaterJet Cutting Supplier

You have to asked the vendor if they have the active head to adjust for kerf ANGLE.

This is important with this thickness otherwise you could be as much as a 1/8"???? off

Also the quality through out the cut, i.e. on the exit end will the material be wavy. this can be compensated with slowing down the cut speed even further.

otherwise google or contact flow international to see if they have a waterjet in the area that has a kerf angle compensation, I think they call it an active head or something like that. Needless to say, it will be expensive.

Check in to laser cutting them.

You'll never get straight perpendicular cuts with a water jet through 4" of steel.

Or, post finish with a sanding belt.

Laser? that would require a very high wattage. are you sure about that?

which reminds me, there is also what's called a precision plasma, but edge quality would be an issue, depending on the quality of the operator. We had 3" material cut, a number of times, the price and delivery was reasonable, unfortunately, the quality varied from a little/not clean up, to a lot of cleanup. Again, depends on the operator.

On a water jet, the biggest issue is that of what you're cutting is 4" thick, and say 6" diameter. cut time would be at least 8 hours, depends how many lead-in's is required.

Right. Best to stick with water jet.

I might end up rolling some 2" x 4" 1018 since my diameter is around 60" ID. One water jet cutter already declined to quote since he would expect .040" slant across a 4" deep cut. I will let you know if I hear from the other RFQs.

Thank you,

That would be appreciated, I'm curious myself.

60" diameter, wow..... I mean wow$$$$$.

That would be appreciate, I'm curious myelf. Do these suppliers have an active head on their water jet to compensate for kerf angle?

Specify a Q5 finish on the cut parts; a water jet with kerf compensation will give you a perpendicular cut top to bottom. I know of several suppliers that can meet your requirements, if you can forward your email and location, I'll give you some contact names.

I think it would depend on your application for the half rings. We use to cut up to 12" thick with oxygen/natural gas for structural applications. The kerf was taken into account in the weld joint design. I haven't done anything over 3" in awhile, but the kerf can be a problem, again, depending on the application.

Sorry I cannot help you with U.S. suppliers. If you have any volume of work, ask your potential suppliers if they will make you a sample and then you can evaluate them, or ask them for references where they have made similar items.

It's not the kerf itself that's the problem, it's the kerf angle that's the issue

I got a quote for four pieces to make two complete rings with Inside Radius of 24.622 and Outside Radius of 26.622 A-36 material burned 4.000" thick with tolerance +/-.040 with cut quality of 20% smooth [whatever that means] price each is $4458 for total of $17832.

I do not know the type of equipment they use but this was from a large national steel manufacturer/supplier.

20% means 20% of the reference of the cutting speed inches per minute, which would be a Q5 finish

Here is the finishes (thanks to Ti QE for pointing out the finishes.)

If from a national supplier, I'm sure thaey would have an active head to adjust for kerf angle, best to call and make sure, or to have an email for records.

I like to also add, it pertains to the contractor, when we cut the 3" material, we had the standard pressurized drum for the garnet. (About 55 gallon) this was never enough, we would run out of garnet before it was half cut.

Not a problem we would just shut down, refill the garnet and then continue cutting. It is inconvenient.

Since this is a national supplier, I'm also sure they have the oversized drum for the garnet.

Thanks All but at that price I am not going to find out what kind head or drum they have. The application does not justify the cost in this case. This is just a carrying ring like on a small kiln riding on Cam Followers. +/-.040 on the radius would certainly be acceptable but not for a slant on the cut. I need a flatter surface or I will never be able to keep the kiln axially contained without a lot of complications.

Based on cost and tolerance across the cut this is not a good approach for this application.

But I learned some things and your comments were helpful.

Thanks Again.

Good luck

Thanks a lot Ti QE and Phoenix and everyone else. Your insights were very helpful for me. Ti QE reminded me of the drop. It is probably the drop that is driving the higher than expected cost.

Years ago before I finished college I once worked on a Plasma Table drawing and nesting parts...sometimes the 'drops' are more of a cost than the finished part.

Thanks All.