If a fabricating shop has cutting technologies such as electrical discharge machining (EDM), laser, milling and high-definition plasma, is waterjet necessary?
Yes, says Steve Heim, president of Brenco Industries Ltd., Delta, British Columbia, Canada. Brenco got involved with waterjet cutting to better meet the needs of the aluminum boat component market, says Heim.
"It is a competitive issue," he explains. "We want the flexibility that waterjet brings to Brenco's ability to more closely match cutting characteristics to customer needs. At the time we offered high-definition plasma cutting, but our boat-building customers wanted us to shift to a cutting process that avoided heat-affected zones." Heim knew that waterjet was the answer, but the equipment needed a large work area for the boat panels.