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In the previous article, we had discussed Electron Beam Machining, Ultrasonic Machining, Electrical Discharge Machining, and Electrochemical machining whereas, in today's article, we will learn various concepts of Water Jet Machining along with its Definition, Construction, Working Principle, Types, Applications, Advantages & Disadvantages in a detailed way.
If you look into the history, a Paper Patent Company used relatively low-pressure water for cutting soft materials whereas now, in the current scenario, it is used to cut various hard materials ranging from plastics to metals.
Water Jet Machining or Water Jet Cutting is a type of cutting tool widely used in many industrial applications by the usage of an extremely high-pressure jet of water onto the workpiece to get the desired shape and size.
There are two types of water jet machining processes and are as follows.
Water Jet Machining is applicable for soft materials. It acts as a cutting tool by the usage of an extremely high-pressure jet of water onto the workpiece to get the desired shape and size.
In this, no tool is used and the only nozzle is used to withstand higher pressures. Water is used as a medium and the wear ratio is infinity.
To overcome the limitations, the Abrasive water jet machining process came into existence.
To overcome the disadvantage of water jet machining, the abrasive particles will be added into the water so that the abrasive particles along with water also come out from the nozzle at a very high velocity to remove the material from the surface of a workpiece to get desired shape and size at high accuracy to get faster production in a small interval of time.
A detailed explanation of the Water Jet Machining Process was elaborated below.
The diagram of the Water jet machining process is shown below.
The main parts of the Water jet Machining Process are as follows
The reservoir acts as the basic unit in the setup which is used for storing water.
The pump acts as a mediator between the reservoir and the Intensifier. The pump sucks the water from the reservoir and sends it to the Intensifier. The pump creates pressure in the water ranging from 1500 to 4000 bars.
It is connected after the hydraulic pump and is used to increase the pressure of the water from 4 bar to the pressure ranging from 3000-4000 bar.
The accumulator is connected after the hydraulic intensifier and it is used to store the water temporarily. Accumulator supplies the water in the system when there is a need for either a drop of pressure or high-pressure water required in the system.
The duty of the control valve is to control the pressure of water and also the quantity of water to be passed into the system.
As the name flow regulator, it is used to regulate the flow of water which was arrived from the control valve and send that water towards the nozzle.
The duty of the nozzle is to convert high-pressure water into kinetic energy(K.E) and this K.E. is increased due to the decrease in the nozzle area. This high K.E. water is impinged onto the surface of the workpiece to get the desired shape and size.
The main duty of the drain is to collect the water coming away from the work region and is purified again to act as the main agent into the system i.e. the purified water is again sent to the reservoir.
These are the parts of the Water Jet Machining Process. Let's see the Working of WJM...
The working of WJM is as follows.
From this,
The applications of Water Jet Machining (WJM) are as follows.
The advantages of Water Jet machining are as follows.
The disadvantages of Water Jet machining are as follows.
This is a detailed explanation of the Water Jet Machining process. However, you can see the advance of WJM i.e. Abrasive Water Jet Machining process in the next article.
If you have any doubts, you can feel free to ask and we will reply to you as soon as possible.
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Media Credits:
Image: By Saubhik Roy- Design Team MechanicalEnotes
Video: By: Fireball Tool
