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Comparison matrix of different cuting process such as waterjet,
wire EDM, laser, plasma, milling, and punch.
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Waterjet |
Wire EDM |
Plasma |
Laser |
Milling |
Punch |
Accuracy |
Waterjet cutting accuracy average of ±0.003"
(±0.1 mm) Better result can be
achieve with more advanced software. |
Wire EDM is Extremely precise parts at
±0.0001" (±0.025mm) |
Plasma cutting accuracy is in the range of ±0.030 to
±0.060" |
Accuracy to ±0.001"
(±0.025 mm) or better in thin material. |
Very good, in the range of
±0.0003"
(±0.01mm) |
Fair |
Thickness |
Waterjet Machines mostly cut under 3" (75mm) Thicker parts can
be cut with reduced accuracy and slower speed. |
Very thick parts can be
cut with wire EDM. Over 12" (30 cm) reported. |
Plasma cutting usually cuts less than
1.25" |
Usually cuts thin mild
steel less than 0.25"(6.35mm) |
Able to work on 3D parts. |
Usually work well with
thin sheets. |
Cutting speed |
Waterjet machine cuts five to ten times faster
than EDM when thickness is under 1" |
Wire EDM cuts at very Slow speed compare to
waterjet (5-10 times slower) |
Fast with thin sheets |
Very fast cutting in thin,
non-reflective materials. |
Fair |
Fast batch production when
initial programming is done |
Quality of edge |
Waterjet cutter yields Good edge quality |
Excellent |
Fair |
Excellent |
Excellent |
Fair |
Heat affected zone (HAZ) |
Waterjet produces No HAZ |
Some HAZ |
Some HAZ |
Cuts by melting the
material, resulting HAZ, often need additional process to avoid micro
cracking. |
No HAZ |
No HAZ |
Material Distortion |
Waterjet machine generates No Distortion but may have
hazing near the cut. No internal stress built up. |
Wire EDM Cuts by melting, resulting
material heat distortion. |
Cuts by melting, resulting
material heat distortion. |
Cuts by melting, resulting
material heat distortion. |
No distortion |
Some distortion |
Other characteristics |
Waterjet cutter works well in
non-conductive and conductive materials. Can pierce material
directly without other drill equipment. Fast setup and rapid
programming. Minimal requirement of
fixture. |
EDM is limited to cutting
only conductive materials. |
Relatively low capital
costs. Special gas need for laser cutting. |
Limited to non-reflective materials. May need different gas for
cutting different materials. |
Needs special fixture and
tools, also requires skilled operator and usually can not work on very large
parts. |
Relatively low capital
costs. May need other special tools. Not work well on on brittle or hardened materials. |
Why buy waterjet machines |
Waterjet cutters competes
with other cutting methods with good accuracy, fast setup time and cutting
speed, and yields no HAZ. |
Wire EDM shops buy waterjet machines for fast
speed and to get into non-conductive materials business. |
Plasma shop owners buy precision water jet
cutters to cut non-conductive material or cut precision parts. |
Waterjet machines typically cost 1/3 of a
laser and can work on a much wider variety of materials, particularly aluminum
and stainless steel over 1⁄4 to 1⁄2" (6 mm to 13 mm). |
Traditional metal work
shop owners acquire waterjet cutters to do metal working such as cutting
large work piece with fast turn around and at setup low cost. |
Punch press owners would
buy waterjet cutters to improve turn around time in doing short runs and
prototype parts. Also to get into cutting thinker materials. |
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