Putting on the pressure

Whether stone, metal, glass or ceramic – water under high pressure together with fine garnet sand can cut through a wide variety of materials just like butter – accurately, environment-friendly and in any desired shape. The water-jet cutting technique therefore offers great scope for creative and innovative designs, such as decorative contour cuts, claddings, borders, letters, logos and pictograms, plus any desired material combinations for facades, interior walls and floors. Different materials can be cut on the same water-jet cutting machine by adjusting a few parameters like pressure and cutting speed. Examples of alternative materials are glass and metals, which cannot be cut with conventional stonemasonry tools and machines.
Many stonemasons have been reluctant to buy their own system until now and have their products made by contract cutters. A water-jet system is certainly high-tech and has its price, but outsourcing cutting orders to external service providers means missing out on the opportunities and higher profit margins offered by own production: A stonemasonry firm that introduces the water-jet cutting technique can produce more complex products and stand out from the competition.

Competitive advantage

More complex products make it possible to reach more discriminating groups of customers, for example, interior designers or designers. The stonemason can also include additional materials in his range, which results in totally new possible combinations. This means he not only fulfils the customers’ existing wishes, but can also realize innovative ideas and show products that customers have never seen before. If many cutting orders are subcontracted to contract producers, customers for more complex products are in sight or cutting work that is too complex must be turned down due to lack of suitable machinery, then it is worth the stonemason buying his own system. This does require well-trained operating personnel, however.

Quality pays off

Apart from a simple control system, the pump equipment has a great influence on the cost-effectiveness of a system. The load on the components at a pressure of 4,000 bar or more is enormous, especially on the pump, the heart of every water-jet cutting system. Saving on the pump may well lead to annoying problems at a later stage with unsatisfactory service or long delivery times for spare parts. Before buying a system, make sure that spare parts are available quickly and that service response times are short; it is also an advantage if the hotline offers help in the buyer’s own language and spare parts and service technicians are available on site quickly.