Video: From 2D to Five-Axis
While waterjets are adept at cutting large, flat sheets of material, they aren’t limited to strictly vertical cuts. A video of a demo in Jet Edge’s IMTS booth demonstrates five-axis waterjet cutting.
Waterjet technology is well-suited to cutting large 2D workpieces out of sheets of material, but Jet Edge’s Edge X-5 demonstrates how a waterjet can effectively cut three-dimensional parts as well. The waterjet’s five-axis Permalign Edge cutting head enables it to produce features such as weld bevels and countersink holes, as well as reduce tapering in the jet stream. The waterjet offers a Z-axis travel of 12" and is available with a work envelope ranging from 5 × 5 feet to 24 × 8 feet.
In the video above, the Edge X-5 is cutting Jet Edge-branded bottle openers out of 1/4"-thick aluminum using 80 mesh garnet abrasive. The piece showcases the waterjet’s five-axis capability with features such as the angled “Jet Edge” lettering and the chamfering around the outer edges.
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