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Abrasive water jet sample surface roughness>>

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bry1975:
Chaps please check the abrasive water finishes below the top image show the ROUGHEST and 2nd roughest finish, with the below image it shows the best and 2nd best finish.

I wonder can laser produce a finer surface cut?

Jasonb:
All the lazer stuff I've had has needed drawfiling but I don't know if it can be done with a finer setting but expect it would put the cost up.

EDM may be smoother.

Are those images actual size or enlarged?

J

bry1975:
They're enlarged (sample thickness is 20mm)the best finish doesn't look bad if you can keep the part thickness thin say under 5mm, the roughest is rough it really depends what you need the part for etc.

I was quoted 17quid for 10 parts and 22quid for 5 parts the profiling work didn't sound to bad, haven't decided if I'm going down the CNC route yet as price is a little steeper.

bp:
When I had to work for a living I had to investigate the relative merits of water cutting, laser cutting and wire cutting (wire EDM).  It worked out something like this.....
Water cutting.... Cheapest, least accurate, especially over 20 odd millimetre thick material as the water jet dissipates and causes a wider kerf furthest from the jet, fairly accurate but may require some experimentation to establish tolerances

Laser cutting.....Fastest, can be very accurate, has limitations over 25mm, cutting of aluminium may require special equipment due to reflectivity of aluminium.  As with water cutting the laser beam scatters and may cause a tapered cut on thicker material.  Depending on material may also leave the cut surface as a heat affected area which can cause difficulties when machining.  Fantastic for producing kits of parts from sheet material (metal, wood.....)

Wire cutting.... Most accurate by a long way, effectively no cutting thickness limitations from memory 200mm was achievable depending on the machine, can produce tapered parts on 5 axis machines.  Can be very expensive as it is slow.

Horses for courses I suppose
cheers
Bill Pudney

bry1975:
Thanks Bill,

The firm did say they could achieve +-0.10mm with the water jet cutting I can see that being possible with thin sections.

I'm not that keen on laser not for decorative work as the sides cut will be very visible so will probably stick with cnc machining or water jet if very thin.

EDM is very good for tooling but as you say can be very expensive.

Bry

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