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Abrasive jets
have been in use in the industry since 1982. Waterjets, the precursor to
abrasive jets, have been in use since 1970.
Abrasive jets
are used in many industries, including the automobile, aerospace, and glass
industries, to create precision parts from hard-to-cut materials.
An abrasive jet
uses water that is pressurized up to 40,000 pounds per square inch (psi) and
then forced through a small sapphire orifice at 2500 feet per second, or about
two and half times the speed of sound.
Garnet abrasive
is then pulled into this high-speed stream of water and mixed with the water
in a long ceramic mixing tube. A stream of abrasive laden water moving at
1000 feet per second exits the ceramic tube. The jet of water and abrasive
is then directed at the material to be machined. The jet drags the abrasive
through the material in a curved path and the resulting centrifugal forces
on the particles press them against the work piece. The cutting action is
a grinding process where the forces and motions are provided by water, rather
than a solid grinding wheel. The result is a very small width of cut, in
most cases .030 which allows for precise machining configurations.
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