Service
Microwaterjet
Microwaterjet cutting
Micro waterjet cutting AWJmm® is a refined process with a high-precision micro water jet, was developed by Walter Maurer and the Waterjet AG team. It diminishes the diameter of the jet by factor 5 and specifies water jet cutting by factor 10. The micro water jet reaches a cutting precision of +/- 0.01 mm and a positioning accuracy of ±0.005 mm. The proven advantages of the cold cutting process remain. Microwaterjet cutting is economical, resource and cost saving, precise, gentle on materials and causes no post-processing.
Microwaterjet significantly reduced the cutting width of work pieces, with a maximum size of 600x1000 mm. In pure water processes (for soft materials such as wood and plastic), the average width is reduced to 0.25 mm, and in abrasive processes (for hard materials such as steel and glass) it is reduced to 0.3 mm. At the same time, the rotating bore of the penetrating water jet can be maintained – a key consideration for cutting precision.
Macrowaterjet
Water jet cutting
Water jet cutting is a cold cutting process. A high pressure water jet is accelerated by up to 6000 bar to a velocity of up to 1000 m/s and cuts a wide variety of materials.
This process is highly efficient and protecting at the same time. Low process forces and thermal loads prevent bending or ablating. So, we cut most delicate contours out of almost all materials.
Pure water jet cutting and abrasive waterjet cutting
Only the jet energy of water is used for pure water jet cutting. A fine water jet with a diameter of 0.1 mm hits the material to be cut at up to three times the speed of sound.
For abrasive waterjet cutting, the cutting performance and the cutting quality of water is increased by an abrasive cutting tool. In doing so, harder materials can be cut, which are not separable by a pure water jet. Water serves as an element for acceleration for the abrasive particles that remove the material to be cut at a speed of ca. 800 m/s.
Materials
A material thickness of 150 mm and more is no problem for our waterjet cutting process (micro process of 50 mm). The water jet reaches best qualities of cutting edges both for simple and highly complex contours.
We use the abrasive cutting process for the separation of compact and hard materials, all metals, hard rock, bulletproof glass, ceramic and so on.
- Steel and stainless steel
- Aluminium
- Non-ferrous metal
- Noble metals
- Chromium, nickel, titanium, tantalum etc.
- Remaining metals
- Carbide metal
- Ceramic
- Glass, bulletproof glass
- Stone, granite, marble
- Sandwich materials
- Structural materials
- Rubber
- Sealants
- Rigid foams
- Flexible foams
- Insulating materials
- Reinforced plastics (CFK, GFK)
- Thermoplastics
- Duroplasts
- Wood
- Paper / cardboard
- Textiles / leather
Area of application
One tool for many applications
We apply water jet cutting – no matter if in the macro area or in the micro area with our newly developed precision water jet technology AWJmm® – for a variety of industrial areas.
In doing so, we implement processes for the areas 2D, 2.5D and 3D. The precision water jet technology (micro water jet cutting) is exclusively implemented in the 2D area. We cover all three areas in the macro area.
We achieve a higher performance by means of several cutting heads in the 2D area and are able to cut multilayer. In the 2.5D area (CNC controlled rotation axis) we offer processing of tubes, profiles and turning of material. In the 3D area, we process cages three-dimensionally on the biggest 3D machine in Switzerland.
The practicable works range from cutting up to complex complete solutions with milling, abrading, drilling, reaming, grinding, barrel finishing (rotofinishing).
In doing so, we offer our customers the advantage of appearing as a general contractor and therefore, we procure materials, process them and take over their manufacturing (welding, assembly).
Overview of industries:
- Mechanical engineering
- Electronics and automotive industry, including suppliers
- Medical technology
- Watch industry
- Chemical and food industry
- Jewelry industry
- Aircraft and aerospace industry
- Residential and industrial construction industry
- Glass industry
- Wood processing industry
- Textile and paper industry
Research & Development
Laboratory
5 Areas of research
The waterjet cutting research within our internal laboratory has a focus on five areas:
Development of new cutting devices and cutting processes
In our laboratory, we developed our unique micro water jet cutting process AWJmm®, the most precise one in the world. This exclusive technology links the known advantages of the water jet cutting technology to the precision of a YAG laser. The cutting device Microwaterjet® is built and distributed by a competent partner (mechanical engineering).
Material tests
The third core competence of our laboratory is to execute material tests in combination with different cutting devices, abrasives and different pressures. Acoustic panels made of glass are a perfect example. They revolutionised the field of micro acoustic and were developed together with the college (Fachhochschule).
Process development and prototyping
Our fourth and fifth key competence are individualised process developments for the manufacturing processes of our customers as well as manufacturing of prototypes.
Feasabilities Studies
Feasibility studies are a targeted service, executed by our laboratory for our customers.
These include questions concerning different materials and their ideal utilisation. In doing so, we compare different processes. The customer gets an overview of different processes and has therefore decisive means to accelerate his evaluation processes.
Machining Centres
The cutting systems Microwaterjet® and Womajet® are both products of the Micromachining AG.
Micromachining AG is the inventor and owner of AWJmm® (abrasive waterjet micromachining) and has built all prototypes of the waterjet CNC cutting centres Microwaterjet® und Womajet®. As patent holder the company continually develops the cutting machines and CNC cutting centres in its resarch centre.
Micromachining AG is a centre of excellence for research and development work in the domain of waterjet cutting. It develops both new cutting methods and new cutting systems for all the companies of the Waterjet Group.
After intensive research and development work toward the manufacture of a precision water jet cutting machine, the initial prototype was able to be commissioned. The newly developed procedure, which uses precision water jet technology AWJmm®, uses a high-precision water jet with a cutting accuracy of +/- 0.01mm and a positioning accuracy of ±0.005mm.
Micromachining AG was founded in 2003 and can be traced back to when a customer was looking for products which until then could not be cut with a waterjet cutting system: never before had cutting in such small dimensions been accomplished.
Cutting head systems
Cutting head systems for abrasive water jet cutting
The cutting heads for water jet cutting, developed by micromachining AG, ensure a maximum of efficiency and cost effectiveness for any provider in the field of water jet cutting. micromachining AG is the only manufacturer worldwide that has developed a patented water jet system with a jet diameter of only 0.2 mm – and that produces, if required, a water jet even finer than 0.2 mm. micromachining AG has developed 4 of these unique precision cutting heads.
SK11-200 (0.2 mm)
SK11-300 (0.3 mm)
SK11-500 (0.5 mm)
SK11-800 (0.8 mm)
On the one hand, their precision is based on the finest water jet currently available on the market. On the other hand, this patented water jet system ensures that the jet remains circular, even in case of high pressure and a diameter of 0.2 mm.
The cutting systems including the CNC processing centers BAZ and AWJ® technology developed by micromachining AG prove themselves in daily use. Long operating periods and minimised waiting periods are benefits provided, thanks to persistent materials and innovative construction of the individual components.
By means of close collaboration between microwaterjet AG and Waterjet AG during the development of the water jet cutting machines and the cutting heads, we guarantee qualitative top performance worldwide upon daily use of various water jet applications.
The cutting systems are exclusively delivered to licensees of micromachining AG and are distributed among the brand microwaterjet®. micromachining AG owns the rights to the registered brand microwaterjet® to their full extent.
The current licensees of micromachining AG are:
WATERjet Robotics AG
Micromachining AG
Microwaterjet AG
Software
MWJT Tool (Microwaterjet Tool)
This tool covers the high requirements of water jet cutting and the producers‘ demands in the best possible way. Microwaterjet uses the Microwaterjet Tool besides the self-developed AWJmm® technology (Abrasive Waterjet micromachining).
Its operation is innovative and easy at the same time, thanks to its clear management system; the tool has a live monitoring function for all processes due to the AVOR System. Remote management is possible by means of a smart phone app which makes the optimised control including live monitoring of the device even more flexible. Further advantages are the programme optimisation and the application of a barcode scanner. Therefore, the complete production process is optimised according to the latest technical knowledge, as single processing steps are logged.
Two versions of the Microwaterjet Tool MWJT are available:
- Basis Version: Material and technology data base. Enrichment of the CNC code via tool with all cutting information.
- Advanced Version: Optionally with six different modules
Both technologies have been developed in close collaboration with experienced practitioners and scientists of technology departments of universities.
