The edge quality in waterjet cutting solutions is dependent on the speed that the cutting head travels at. Its correlation is simply a causal relationship as a negative linear regression. A slower cutting speed enables superior edge quality. There are 5 varying levels of different finishes: extra coarse, coarse, medium, fine and extra fine. See the image below for a visual representation.
Extra Coarse: It is a rough cut, measuring quality at about 20%. At this level, the WaterJet can cut at the fastest speed, and produce at the lowest cost. The primary use for extra coarse edges is for material separation.
Coarse: This type of cut has better finishing than extra coarse, measuring quality at about 40%. It is produced at a cost lower than even medium edge quality.
Medium: It has faintly higher finishing than coarse, measuring quality at about 60%. It is known to be the most common edge finish.
Fine: This level produces the highest finishing cut, measuring quality at about 80%. It still doesn’t have quite the tolerances of extra fine edge.
Extra Fine: It has the best edge quality, measuring at about 100%. Although it is the slowest cut rate, produced at the highest cost, it has the tightest tolerances.
The importance of choosing the right edge quality
The required edge quality is ultimately dependent on what the cut pieces will be used for. It directly affects the cost of the job as it requires more or less time depending on the chosen quality.
Edge Quality of Abrasive WaterJet Cutting Relative to Existing Machines
The edge quality and precision of WaterJet Cutting is similar to laser cutting for thin sheet metal only. For all other cutting methods of thick materials, the WaterJet is superior.
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