Patent ID: 7267605

Claim:
Abrasive slurry cutting plant comprising or including an abrasive supply system, a catcher tank, a nozzle for jetting as a slurry abrasive solids onto any appropriately positioned work piece over and/or in the catcher tank, partitioning apparatus, a pressure vessel, apparatus on demand to provide a supply of high pressure water into said pressure vessel with an ability to express water and/or a slurry therefrom, apparatus to convey as a slurry caught solids from the catcher tank to said partitioning apparatus, apparatus to convey a useable abrasive solids stream as a slurry from the partitioning apparatus on demand to the pressurisable vessel, apparatus on demand to provide a water feed to the catcher tank, apparatus to provide, as part of the apparatus to convey a usable abrasive solids stream, a feed of water for the solids stream to pass from the partitioning apparatus to the pressure vessel wherein the partitioning apparatus comprises or includes a housing having a first inlet, a first outlet, and a collection zone or second outlet, and a sieve disposed below said first inlet and said first outlet but above said collection zone or second outlet, wherein said first inlet is to receive and pass a slurry received from the catcher tank at a rate and velocity into the housing above the sieve such that at least some of the liquid component(s) of the slurry will, as a flow through, entrain a first part of the solids out through said first outlet, and wherein the rate and velocity of intake of the slurry into the housing via the first inlet above the sieve and the outflow via the first outlet is such as to enable at least some oversize material to settle on the sieve and at least some sieve passable solids of greater density than the entrained solids of the flow through to pass down through the sieve.