News - Blog - JIT Company

What is Abrasive Waterjet Cutting?

21st June 2017 | JIT Companies

Abrasive waterjet cutting machine JIT Companies has capabilities to do two types of waterjet cutting to help you achieve the perfect finished product: Water-only water jet cutting and abrasive waterjet cutting. Today we are going explain how abrasive waterjet cutting works and how JIT Companies’ capabilities outweigh any limitations.

How Abrasive Waterjet Cutting Works

Abrasive waterjet cutting enables the processing of virtually any difficult-to-cut material and has far fewer limitations as opposed to other types of CNC cutting. Material types include metal of any alloy, glass, plastics, and ceramics, to name a few. In the abrasive waterjet cutting process, a metered amount of garnet abrasive is introduced into the water stream at the aperture. With the pressurized water traveling at 3000 feet per second, the garnet mineral is what actually does the cutting through the process of erosion, resulting in a smooth sandblasted edge finish on the piece. With JIT’s Ultra High-Pressure CNC controlled waterjets, material thickness is far less of a problem. Material as thick as 6” is easily processed. When multiple parts of the same configuration are needed, material can often be stacked to facilitate volume cutting. The Dynamic cutting heads automatically adjust for edge taper when cutting multiple layers to ensure consistent part geometry. Because of the small .040″ kerf, parts can be nested tightly together in order to maximize material yield. With JIT Companies as your project partner for your abrasive waterjet cutting, you now have a single source for all of your cutting needs.

Check out the Abrasive Waterjet Cutting Machine in Action!

Other JIT Companies Services:

Water-Only Waterjet Cutting
Metal Finishing
Laminated Glass Services

Next time you have an abrasive waterjet cutting challenge, contact JIT Companies at 507-326-5240 to find a solution!

What can Waterjet Machines Do?

17th May 2017 | JIT Companies

Water jet cutting of linoleum based flooring material with decorative elements

If you have heard of waterjet cutting, you might be under the impression that UHP – Ultra High Pressure water can cut through anything. In a way, you would be correct… to an extent. There are 2 types of waterjet machines that we utilize at JIT Companies.

2 Types of Waterjet Machines at JIT

Abrasive Waterjet: will cut through any thickness of metal or hard materials.
Water-only Waterjet: will cut through anything that can be cut with a scissor or knife.

Water-Only Waterjet Cutting

Today we will discuss water-only waterjet cutting. The types of material that process well with water-only waterjet cutting will range from hard rubbers to soft fabrics and everything in between. Material thickness will vary based on the type of material being cut, but at 60,000 psi, the jet stream is powerful enough to cut through several layers of material at one time. Basically, if it can be cut with a knife or scissor it would be an excellent candidate for water cutting. The beauty of water cutting is the small and almost invisible cutting kerf of the water stream. Unlike laser cutting, there is no burning of otherwise flammable materials to worry about.

12×12 VCT floor tiles with custom logo created by water jet cutting.

Water-only waterjet cutting enables very precise and intricate cuts to be performed which lends itself well to certain applications. For instance, inlaying custom designs or logos into materials such as carpeting would be very difficult for a carpet installer to do onsite. But, it would take no time at all if all of the elements were cut beforehand. Cutting of high-tolerance rubber parts, such as gaskets, would be next to impossible by any other means due to its flexible nature. This unique water-only waterjet cutting process will allow you to design your projects without limitations and at a very affordable price point.

Learn more about JIT Companies Waterjet Cutting Capabilities
See more Samples of JIT Companies Water-Only Waterjet Cutting Projects on our Facebook Page

Next time you have a waterjet cutting challenge, contact JIT Companies at 507-326-5240 to find a solution. You’ll be glad you did!

Achieving a Premium Brushed Finish with (Blemished) Stainless Steel Plates

25th April 2017 | JIT Companies

1- The surface had a lot of pits and pin markings.

So you want JIT Companies to quote a #4 brushed on 6ft x 6ft x 1/2″ stainless steel plates?

No problem, we would be happy to help with your metal surface finishing needs! But there are a few things that we all need to be aware of in advance. On a recent project, we provided pricing for this material. We assumed the metal surface would be relatively blemish-free because we were told that there were no significant pits or blemishes in the existing surface.

Well, you know what happens when you assume something….

2- The 2nd pass – long way to go.

The material we received was not in the condition we believed it would be in. Needless to say, our pricing was way off and we had to make the dreaded call to inform our client that there would be extra costs. At JIT Companies, we will only provide a premium finish on everything we do. We do not cut corners even if the opportunity presents itself.

After a brief conversation to discuss the matter with the end user, a decision was made to continue with the project on a time and material basis since all of the material had varying degrees of surface blemishes. The bottom-line, they wanted a beautiful, pit-free finish that we were happy to provide. Due to the material size, we needed to finish them with our long belt stroke sanders.

3- Finally, pits are out and now for the final surface blending!

A word of caution regarding stainless steel plate material and metal surface finishing: Save yourself some aggravation by asking questions regarding the surface specification and actual conditions about the material you are purchasing. There might be a better quality material available at a higher price but it would mean less time and money spent when it comes time for polishing at JIT.

Working with a nasty surface from the start is a time and labor consuming process. We see this issue frequently with the quality of materials that are currently available from metal suppliers. Because of this, we will be continually updating our equipment to speed the processing times and provide the quality you expect from the artisans at JIT Companies.

Oh, the end result? They were beautiful of course!
(See the finished plate surface below)

Ready to learn more about how JIT Companies can help you with your next metal surfacing project? Call us at 507-326-5240 or request a quote here.

4- The finished plate surface!

Blog