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==Description==
==Description==
The waterjet Cutter is a machine that uses highly pressurized water with a flow of an abrasive material to perform computer controlled cuts on a wide variety of materials, including 1" steel. This is helpful for creating parts with intricate designs for car engines, mounting brackets, and decorative plates. Another benefit of the water jet is that there is minimal temperature change during the process which makes it perfect for cutting temperature sensitive materials. Check out the video below to see the water jet in action.
The waterjet Cutter is a machine that uses highly pressurized water with a flow of an abrasive material to perform computer controlled cuts on a wide variety of materials, including 1" steel. This is helpful for creating parts with intricate designs for car engines, mounting brackets, and decorative plates. Another benefit of the waterjet is that there is minimal temperature change during the process which makes it perfect for cutting temperature sensitive materials. Check out the video below to see the waterjet in action.
{{#evu:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE4Fz8v0Lms&feature=youtu.be}}
{{#evu:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE4Fz8v0Lms&feature=youtu.be}}
====Terminology====
====Terminology====
* Tool path - The path that the water jet will follow when cutting out a part. This includes more than just the outline of the part because the water jet must pierce through the material before performing a cut.
* Tool path - The path that the waterjet will follow when cutting out a part. This includes more than just the outline of the part because the waterjet must pierce through the material before performing a cut.
* ProtoMAX LAYOUT- This is the software used to set up a tool path for the water jet and can be found on the laptop that is used with the waterjet.
* ProtoMAX LAYOUT- This is the software used to set up a tool path for the water jet and can be found on the laptop that is used with the waterjet.
* MAKE - This is the software that directly communicates with the waterjet to perform a cut from a tool path. It can also be found on the waterjet's laptop.
* MAKE - This is the software that directly communicates with the waterjet to perform a cut from a tool path. It can also be found on the waterjet's laptop.
====Overview====
====Overview====
The waterjet cutter is an amazing tool that can be used on a wide variety of materials including 1" steel! However, it is limited to a 12" by 12" cut area with a 1" thickness being its maximum. Make sure the waterjet cutter is capable of handling your part and your material before going through all of the setup procedures. Like cutting many other two dimensional cutting tools, the cutting process should begin with a DXF file created from Solidworks or a similar software. Once a DXF fie has been created it can then be used to create a tool path using ProtoMAX LAYOUT. The detailed steps to do do this can be found in the general procedure but the most important step is to ensure that the water jet pierces the material outside of the part outline. After the tool path is created and the machine has been properly set up, the job can be posted to the MAKE software, which is installed on the water jet's laptop computer, to perform the cut.
The waterjet cutter is an amazing tool that can be used on a wide variety of materials including 1" steel! However, it is limited to a 12" by 12" cut area with a 1" thickness being its maximum. Make sure the waterjet cutter is capable of handling your part and your material before going through all of the setup procedures. Like cutting many other two dimensional cutting tools, the cutting process should begin with a DXF file created from Solidworks or a similar software. Once a DXF fie has been created it can then be used to create a tool path using ProtoMAX LAYOUT. The detailed steps to do do this can be found in the general procedure but the most important step is to ensure that the waterjet pierces the material outside of the part outline. After the tool path is created and the machine has been properly set up, the job can be posted to the MAKE software, which is installed on the waterjet's laptop computer, to perform the cut.
====Demonstration====
====Demonstration====
Most of the time, you will not be using ProtoMAX LAYOUT to design a part. Thankfully, this program can accept ".dxf" files, but you still have to create the tool paths. If using a ".dxf" file, import the file to skip the last section and start here to give it a tool path.
Most of the time, you will not be using ProtoMAX LAYOUT to design a part. Thankfully, this program can accept ".dxf" files, but you still have to create the tool paths. If using a ".dxf" file, import the file to skip the last section and start here to give it a tool path.
Before showing you how to create a tool path, there are a couple of things that you must keep in mind. When the water jet cuts it has a kerf which means it will take away some of the material it is cutting and you do not want it to be taking material away from your part. Instead, you want to remove material from the scrap that is not critical to the part's function and as a result the tool path must be created with this in mind. To do this, you must first keep in mind that the waterjet will always cut on the left side of the tool path lines. This changes based on the direction the nozzle is traveling; for example if the nozzle travels clockwise around a circle it will remove excess material outside of the circle and if it travels counterclockwise it will remove excess material from the inside of the circle. Because of this, you must control the direction that the nozzle will travel. For an outside cut, you want it to cut on the outside of the line to preserve the proper dimensions of the part. For and inside cut, you want the opposite of that. For a ring, you would want the nozzle to travel clockwise for the outside cut and counter-clockwise for the inside cut. To control the direction of the nozzle, place lead-in and lead-out lines to specify the start or end of a cut and the cut direction. It is better to cut the inner bits first and then the outer bits last; and don't let the nozzle travel over any holes that are already cut.
Before showing you how to create a tool path, there are a couple of things that you must keep in mind. When the waterjet cuts it has a kerf which means it will take away some of the material it is cutting and you do not want it to be taking material away from your part. Instead, you want to remove material from the scrap that is not critical to the part's function and as a result the tool path must be created with this in mind. To do this, you must first keep in mind that the waterjet will always cut on the left side of the tool path lines. This changes based on the direction the nozzle is traveling; for example if the nozzle travels clockwise around a circle it will remove excess material outside of the circle and if it travels counterclockwise it will remove excess material from the inside of the circle. Because of this, you must control the direction that the nozzle will travel. For an outside cut, you want it to cut on the outside of the line to preserve the proper dimensions of the part. For and inside cut, you want the opposite of that. For a ring, you would want the nozzle to travel clockwise for the outside cut and counter-clockwise for the inside cut. To control the direction of the nozzle, place lead-in and lead-out lines to specify the start or end of a cut and the cut direction. It is better to cut the inner bits first and then the outer bits last; and don't let the nozzle travel over any holes that are already cut.
# Zoom in closer to the circle. Select the "Lead i/o" tool from the "Draw" menu on the left of the screen. Select the bottom edge of the circle and move the cursor upwards and click to create a lead in and out from the center of the circle. This will tell the water jet to cut on the inside of the circle. Looking at this picture, you can see that one line is longer than the other. This longer line is the lead-in line. The nozzle will penetrate the material from the beginning of the long line and work its way down to the bottom of the circle. Once the nozzle hits the bottom, it will start counter-clockwise because the lead-in line is positioned at a slight angle to make counter-clockwise and easier direction than clockwise. This is how you tell the nozzle which direction to cut.[[File:Lead_i-o.png|none|thumb|600x600px]]
# Zoom in closer to the circle. Select the "Lead i/o" tool from the "Draw" menu on the left of the screen. Select the bottom edge of the circle and move the cursor upwards and click to create a lead in and out from the center of the circle. This will tell the waterjet to cut on the inside of the circle. Looking at this picture, you can see that one line is longer than the other. This longer line is the lead-in line. The nozzle will penetrate the material from the beginning of the long line and work its way down to the bottom of the circle. Once the nozzle hits the bottom, it will start counter-clockwise because the lead-in line is positioned at a slight angle to make counter-clockwise and easier direction than clockwise. This is how you tell the nozzle which direction to cut.[[File:Lead_i-o.png|none|thumb|600x600px]]
# Next, place a "Lead i/o" near the bottom of the left wall on the square moving your cursor to the left and clicking to tell the machine to cut on the outside of the box.[[File:Lead_io2.png|none|thumb|600x600px]]
# Next, place a "Lead i/o" near the bottom of the left wall on the square moving your cursor to the left and clicking to tell the machine to cut on the outside of the box.[[File:Lead_io2.png|none|thumb|600x600px]]
# Select the "Line" tool and connect the long, lead-in line of the box to the short, lead-out line of the circle. This is a traverse line telling the machine to move from the circle to the box after it has finished cutting the circle.
# Select the "Line" tool and connect the long, lead-in line of the box to the short, lead-out line of the circle. This is a traverse line telling the machine to move from the circle to the box after it has finished cutting the circle.