Water Jet Sweden has launched the Fine Abrasive Water Jet (FAWJ) Micro Head Package designed for cutting fine parts with narrow incisions and high precision, without the need for the most extreme micro part tolerances.
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The company launched the FAWJ (micro waterjet, finecut) cutting process back in 2008, with the technique applied to specially developed precision machinery designed to manufacture micro-components.
Now its use has been broadened with the FAWJ Micro Head Package able to be used on WJS’s ordinary machine models.
“FAWJ technique requires a special cutting head and is a waterjet cutting process suitable for very fine abrasives so metals and other hard materials could be processed with incisions as thin as 0.2mm,” the company says.
“The cutting process has all the advantages that water jet cutting means. It is simple and versatile, with a very smooth surface that requires no or very little post-processing, and there is no influence of the material constituent.
“The FAWJ technology also allows you to cut quite thick materials. The thickness varies depending on the type of material.”
Water Jet Sweden’s Micro (NCM 10) machine model is specially developed for the FAWJ process and is a popular alternative to Micro-EDM and Laser.
The Micro is a machine system based on Water Jet Sweden’s patented Gantry design and has a number of unique features for cutting with tolerances less than ± 0.01 mm. Some examples are the cutting table which is made of epoxy concrete, a material that also is used for measuring machines.
The machine’s positioning is determined by a micrometer scale from Renishaw, an invar scale that has a precision of 1nm.
“The Micro machine is a high precision tool used in precision mechanics, electronics, biotechnology and similar industry sectors, and for jewellery design and processing of exclusive materials,” WJS says.
The FAWJ cutting process can cut as narrow as 0.2 mm, compared to traditional waterjet for which the incision normally is 0.8-1.0 mm.
WJS says the FAWJ cutting process has led a growing number of customers around the world to see new opportunities, and there has been a growing demand for FAWJ cutting in general.
It was with this in mind that the FAWJ Micro Head Package upgrade was launched.
“It can be used on our regular machine models, X-series and Premium, which both have the size of cutting tables (1x1m to 4x2m) and a CNC control system that can that can handle the delicate sand feeding,” WJS says. “The FAWJ Micro Head Package can also be used as an upgrade for existing similar size machines.”