page_title: Water jet cutter
section_title: Versatility
hierarchical_section_title: Water jet cutter / Versatility
context_page_description: A water jet cutter, also known as a water jet or waterjet, is an industrial tool capable of cutting a wide variety of materials using a very high-pressure jet of water, or a mixture of water and an abrasive substance. The term abrasive jet refers specifically to the use of a mixture of water and abrasive to cut hard materials such as metal or granite, while the terms pure waterjet and water-only cutting refer to waterjet cutting without the use of added abrasives, often used for softer materials such as wood or rubber.
  Waterjet cutting is often used during fabrication of machine parts. It is the preferred method when the materials being cut are sensitive to the high temperatures generated by other methods. Waterjet cutting is used in various industries, including mining and aerospace, for cutting, shaping, and reaming.
context_section_description: Because the nature of the cutting stream can be easily modified the water jet can be used in nearly every industry; there are many different materials that the water jet can cut. Some of them have unique characteristics that require special attention when cutting.
  Materials commonly cut with a water jet include textiles, rubber, foam, plastics, leather, composites, stone, tile, glass, metals, food, paper and much more. "Most ceramics can also be cut on an abrasive water jet as long as the material is softer than the abrasive being used (between 7.5 and 8.5 on the Mohs scale)". Examples of materials that cannot be cut with a water jet are tempered glass and diamonds.  Water jets are capable of cutting up to 6 in (150 mm) of metals and 18 in (460 mm) of most materials,, though in specialized coal mining applications, water jets are capable of cutting up to 100 ft (30 m) using a 1 in (25 mm) nozzle.
  Specially designed water jet cutters are commonly used to remove excess bitumen from road surfaces that have become the subject of binder flushing. Flushing is a natural occurrence caused during hot weather where the aggregate becomes level with the bituminous binder layer creating a hazardously smooth road surface during wet weather.
caption: A water jet cutting a metal tool
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