REVIEW OF THE PRESENT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCE IN THE FIELD OF WATER JET CUTTING

Water jet cutting (WJC) is a relative recent technology that has a high interest due to its results. The main advantage in using this flexible non-conventional technology is that there is no heat-affected zone (HAZ). Another particular use of water jet cutting is when machining heat-sensitive, soft or very hard materials and complex 2D or 3D geometry. Water jet cutting is successfully used in industries like aerospace, automotive, electronics, food, munitions demilitarization, textiles. Present studies in this filed reveal the necessity of developing this technology as micro scale water jet machining. The main goal is to develop new technologies in order to approach alternatives like abrasive water jet machining (AWJM), thermally enhanced abrasive (TEAWJM), cryogenic assisted abrasive (CAJM), ice assisted jet machining (IAJM), submerged jet conditions (SJM). Another important aspect is the simulation of abrasive water jet milling (AWJMi). By means of computer simulation software the method combines calculations of particle-workpiece interactions with water jet characteristics. In order for the water jet technology to be efficient parameters like high pressure and velocity, large array of materials, low energy consumption and high productivity has to be achieved. It is also concluded that this technology allows different processes to be integrated into it, making this a hybrid process.