Wightman Stewart Offers Waterjet Cutting Tables

Wightman Stewart is now offering the Wardjet R-Series of waterjet cutting tables in the UK. The waterjet cutting tables have been designed to meet the demand for the largest table sizes required for the fabrication of the larger parts typically found in the aerospace manufacturing and subcontract industries. A cross beam of up to 4.3m can be provided and, thanks to a modular design, the length of the table can be long as required, with standard sizes starting at 4m, 6m, 9m and 12m.

Designed for both abrasive and pure waterjet cutting, the R-Series Wardjet series comes in eight standard sizes. Features include a high-precision helical rack and split pinions to achieve longer travel distances with no backlash. The lip-seal design allows the inclusion of multiple, independent carriages on the Z axis. Multiple cutting heads and additional crossbeams can be mounted onto the same side rails. Therefore, a 6m or larger R-Series unit could have multiple heads, crossbeams and controllers and cut different parts simultaneously all on one table. The R-Series features an additional foot of travel provided in the left-to-right cutting direction.

This has been added as a standard feature because many waterjet subcontract cutting companies want to use multiple cutting heads to produce two parts in the same amount of time it takes to cut one part in order to increase production. Typically, the moment a second head is added, the distance of travel that the first head can move is reduced to make space for the addition of the second head. This is overcome with the extra foot. Each Z-Carriage has its own motor-driven height adjustment and can be configured to have an independent height sensor.

The selection of intensifiers to match required cutting needs is critical and Wardjet machines can be supplied with a variety of pumps with operating pressures up to 60,000lb/in2, with 30hp, 50hp, 75hp, 100hp and 150hp intensifiers available. For use in conjunction with the R-Series, Wardjet offers the X-Classic waterjet controller, which provides machine control for up to 32 separate axes, is fully networkable and comes standard with a webcam for live video technical support.

WJS Offers Panelone HMI For Waterjet Profilers

Water Jet Sweden (WJS) has introduced the Panelone human-machine interface (HMI) for waterjet cutting machine customers. According to Tony Ryd, WJS director, customers will no longer need to rely on operators having specific numerical control knowledge as Panelone presents a simple interface from which all aspects of the profiler can be intuitively controlled.

He added that the same basic platform will now be used as the standard for all waterjet profilers made by WJS across its entire range, right up to the full five-axis models. This will not only enable the company to hold down manufacturing costs but will also benefit customers requiring operator training at the factory. The same factory training course will apply to all; multiple customers can attend together without the need to arrange special one-off sessions for individual customer machines.

The ergonomically designed operator's panel is free from clutter, having minimum switches and buttons marking the presence of its joystick for full X-, Y- and Z-axis operation as its key control; override, cycle start/stop, NC reset, emergency stop and service key are the only other items of Panelone hardware present. The familiar qwerty keyboard is not required because the screen, vertically mounted above the panel itself, provides for real-time 3D representation of the job in hand and also enables all operator functions to be accessed through its touch-screen capabilities.

These functions include job management, grid management, operator messages and machine feedback, auto tool following and online radius compensation.

DMC-2153 Improves VLF Waterjet Cutters

CNCMI has selected the compact DMC-2153 five-axis Ethernet motion controller from Galil Motion Control to ensure precision and speed of its VLF waterjet cutters. CNC Machines International's (CNCMI) VLF series is a high-performance waterjet cutter that can precisely cut and inlay intricate logos into carpet and turf. A representative from CNCMI said: 'Waterjet cutters like our VLF system need to keep the water stream tangent to the material for precise cuts.

'This rotary water axis must be kept tangent to the XY motion at all times. 'A unique feature of the machine is that it allows a bevel cut to be specified up to 45 degrees. 'Bevel cutting is useful in carpet cutting when fitting a logo cutout into the base. 'A straight-edge cut would allow the logo to fall straight through the base material.' The DMC-2153 easily handles the motion required by the application: the XY axes control the linear and circular patterns (rack and pinion), the Z-axis controls the height of the water jet and the Y-axis controls two motors for gantry function.

The fifth or rotary axis controls the motion of the water jet stream by keeping it in tangent to the XY motion to maintain precision cutting. In addition to tangential motion, the DMC-2153 handles constant velocity, slaving and linear and circular interpolation. As is common with computer numerical control (CNC) machines, the VLF reads G-codes to enact motion. To accommodate this, CNCMI specified the Mach3 graphical user interface from Artsoft to translate the G-codes into motion commands for the Galil controller.

The software performs all calculations for precise control of up to six simultaneous axes using a trajectory planner that feeds the Galil controller a series of linear interpolation commands that are 4msec apart. The Mach3 software also comes with ready-made drivers for Galil controllers, which reduce set-up time.