Machine Shop Realizes Greater Productivity,
Higher Quality Of Work With Abrasive Waterjet Technology

"After arraying a part with the waterjet we can turn it on and walk away."

Those are the words of Keith Hertzler, SPC Machining, Hiddenite, N.C., attesting to the many benefits his shop has realized as a result of abrasive waterjet technology.

SPC Machining, short for Statistical Process Controlled Machining, started as a family-owned business in 1987. Operations quickly blossomed from 5,000 to 20,000 square-feet, bringing in new projects and a new customer base. As the business grew, so did the need for technology. Hertzler and his family soon realized they would need to explore new cutting alternatives to keep up with the demand of their customers.

"When we first opened, we used CNC machines, which we still use for most jobs," said Hertzler. "But there were some projects for which we needed to obtain a faster cut time when profiling for our fabrication department. We had thought about implementing an EDM, but with a lot of shops going to EDM and the cost of EDM, we felt that it was way out of our league at this time."

It was during this time that Hertzler began talking to Ralph Rudnick of Machine Tool Systems, a distributor of the Bengal abrasive waterjet cutting system from Flow International Corporation. Once Hertzler realized the wide range of fabricated projects they could take on using waterjet, his company was sold. In September 1997, they implemented the Bengal 4 X 4, equipped with FlowMaster PC-based software. And, Hertzler says the start-up time to learn the system was so quick, they literally were cutting parts the same day the machine was installed.

Abrasive waterjet cutting uses water pressurized to 40,000 pounds per square inch (psi), with a garnet abrasive entrained in the jet stream. The water is forced through a precision orifice 0.013" in diameter. The water and abrasive mixture quickly and precisely cut materials with accuracies of +/- 0.003. Waterjets can also be a more cost-effective alternative because jobs that may normally take several hours to complete can be cut in just minutes. FlowMaster is a PC-based software program that was developed specifically for abrasivejet cutting. The Windows-based FlowMaster controller is preprogrammed with cutting parameters for a wide variety of materials, which dramatically simplifies abrasive waterjet machining. To produce parts from a DXF or CAD file, users simply select the material type and thickness and click on icons to execute waterjet commands. With FlowMaster's simple point and click technology, the controller determines optimum cutting parameters for the application, with no special knowledge of abrasivejet machining or CNC programming required.

With the waterjet, SPC Machining can cut virtually any type of material up to 3 inches thick including foam, rubber, plastic, acrylic, brass, stone, marble, tile, ceramics, glass, aluminum, inconel, titanium, and many more. The majority of projects SPC takes on calls for cutting numerous types of steel such as stainless steel, alloy steels and aluminum.

"The waterjet is perfect for applications such as blank profiling, blank development and machining of tool steels, regardless of how hard the material is," said Hertzler.

Another key benefit Hertzler has realized is the ability to quickly quote jobs using FlowMaster. "I can quickly bring up the design on the computer and quote the time and price of the job within minutes," he said.

Hertzler also has realized quicker roughing time, cutting parts faster than with other methods. Since waterjet cutting leaves no heat-affected zone (HAZ), no warping or structural changes in the materials, Hertzler gets the most out of each raw piece, resulting in less scrap product.

"In the relatively short time we've had our waterjet machine, we've realized greater productivity and quicker cut times," said Hertzler.

While SPC Machining has had the waterjet only a short time, they look forward to increasing their volume while maintaining their standard of high-quality work.

"We've been very pleased with what we've been able to accomplish with the waterjet."

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