When to Waterjet, When to Mill
A composite parts manufacturer in Nebraska recently installed a combined five-axis waterjet/milling machine to position itself to win large-scale aerospace work it sees on the horizon.
This Composites Machining Cell enables Royal Composites to perform both five-axis waterjet and milling operations for large aerospace components.
Abrasive waterjet machines offer distinct advantages for trimming composite materials. For example, waterjet machining has inherently low cutting forces, so fixtures need not be as bulky as those required for conventional milling operations. Plus, garnet abrasive media serve as a waterjet stream’s “cutting edges,” and fresh media are continually introduced into the stream. Therefore, the stream’s cutting edges are always sharp, whereas conventional routing and drill bits can wear, possibly resulting in delamination or burred edge finishes. However, in some cases, milling is the only viable machining process due to fixturing interference or other issues.
In this story, learn how Royal Engineered Composites will use a machine that features both five-axis waterjet and milling capabilities to perform both of those operations as it goes after large-scale aerospace work.
Related Content
-
Best Practices: Machining Difficult Materials
Cutting hardened steel, titanium and other difficult materials requires picking the right tools, eliminating spindle runout and relying on best practices to achieve tight part tolerances.
-
Horizontal High-Speed Machining Saves Hundreds of Work Hours
High-speed machining is the latest change at Blair-HSM South, helping this once old-fashioned shop improve productivity and morale while enabling new work.
-
Toolpath-Level Machine Monitoring Improves Aerospace OEE
Machine monitoring software that records historical efficiency to the toolpath level helped aerospace manufacturer Leesta improve its OEE by ten points.