Have you ever been left high and dry by your present waterjet cutter on an important project?
You know, the project that everyone is depending on you to do your part at the last minute without any delays?

We’ve all been there and nothing is worse than having to scramble at the eleventh hour to try and pull off the seemingly impossible feat when your waterjet vendor goes missing in action.

Not All Waterjet Shops are the Same

Waterjet job shops are becoming commonplace in the fabrication industry but finding good ones that understand multiple industry requirements are hard to come by. Owners of CNC Waterjet Machining Centers can cut just about any material, but that doesn’t mean all operators are created equal in their abilities. Just because someone is capable of cutting 6” thick exotic metals doesn’t mean they know the first thing about cutting holes in laminated X-Ray shielding glass. We’ve heard many stories from our customers that handed their expensive materials to the local waterjet shop to be cut only to get back a box of unusable parts and material. All because they were unfamiliar with the material, how to handle it to prevent damage during processing or simply overlooking important design details related to the job. The last thing you want to do is place your expensive, one of a kind piece of imported Venetian marble in the hands of someone unfamiliar with it…who needs that kind of stress!

Precision Waterjet Cutting to Imported Stone

How to Find the Best Waterjet Cutter Near You

Start by doing your homework…if you are looking for a new waterjet company to work with, here are some important tips for you to follow.

1. Ask if they specialize in cutting certain materials. Some shops only like to deal with specific materials and may be reluctant to take on something they are unfamiliar with. How many waterjet work cells do they have? If they have more than one they are serious about what they do and you’ll never have to hear the standard excuse, “Our waterjet went down last night”.
2. Be wary of “We can cut anything” statements. Granted, waterjets can cut almost any material but that doesn’t mean the waterjet technician has the experience to cut your specific material. Ask to talk with waterjet machine operators as they can be a wealth of information and you will easily pick up on the inexperienced ones.
3. Ask to see their shop and cutting equipment. Most facilities are proud to show you their stable of equipment and explain their capabilities. A tour will give you the opportunity to see the operations and determine how well they take care of their facilities. Just like things in our homes, abrasive waterjets (AWJ) need to be well maintained for top performance and a dirty, unkempt shop will be an indicator of a waterjet cutter with potential problems. Remember, nobody likes visiting somebody’s dirty house.
4. Ask about Customer Supplied Material. Ask about their policy on customer-supplied material. Most operations will not accept liability of any kind if the material has been customer supplied for obvious reasons since they don’t have control over the material source. This shouldn’t excuse them if something is accidentally damaged while in their possession or destroyed in an unforeseen fire or other Act of God. A good company will make things right when things go wrong.
5. Check their Google Reviews. This will give you a clear indication if this is the kind of business you want to work with.
6. Pick up the phone and call them. Do they answer it with a friendly voice or does it just go to voice mail? Do the same with email and see how long it takes to get a response. Communication is HUGE these days and there’s nothing worse than waiting for someone to get back to you when you need help in the worst way.

Follow these tips and you will save yourself a lot of aggravation. Better yet, next time you need a miracle performed, pick up the phone and give JIT Companies a call at 507-326-5240 or if you’re not much of a talker, Contact us online. We can provide immediate assistance with your waterjet cutting, glass laminating, or metal finishing projects. You’ll be glad you did.