Patent ID: 8905817

Claim:
A clamping assembly for clamping a workpiece within a waterjet, said waterjet having an abrasive blast nozzle for cutting through said workpiece and having a housing defining a reservoir and having a generally flat bed overlying said said reservoir, said housing defining a generally vertical, upwardly extending edge that extends around said bed, said bed structured to support the workpiece to be cut by said waterjet, said clamping assembly comprising: a primary plate; an air cylinder assembly, said air cylinder assembly having a piston rod structured to move between a retracted position and an extended position; said air cylinder piston rod coupled to said primary plate; said primary plate structured to slide over said bed; and wherein, when said piston rod moves toward said extended position, said primary plate moves toward said housing thereby biasing said workpiece between said primary plate and against said housing edge to clamp workpiece during a cutting operation.