Water jet cutting, a technology on the rise
Steadily increasing requirements in regard to precision, ease of handling and the weight of individual components requires not only new materials and technologies but also a competent partner with whom these market demands can be met. With the CNC high-end specialists NUM, we at MDC Max Daetwler AG have found this partner. Because the best way to predict the future is to create it.
The Daetwyler Group is a renowned medium-sized and second generation family-run business which has since 1951 had its headquarters in the Swiss midlands municipality of Bleienbach near Langenthal. Since its founding, Daetwyler has evolved as a precision machine builder and manufacturer of key components for a wide industrial spectrum. Worldwide, the Daetwyler Group employs around 800 workers, of which about 150 reside in production locations in the USA, Estonia, China and India. In addition, the Group has access to an international partner and affiliate network in over 40 countries.
Thanks to the global sales and service network, Daetwyler’s extensive presence wins over customers. These production locations ensure that the company has the most important supply and distribution chains under its control in regard to target dates and quality and can thereby fulfil its responsibilities to its customers.
Daetwyler Industries and Waterjet AG, in collaboration with NUM, have invested heavily in research and development in the field of water jet cutting technology. This is because many new materials react negatively to the effects of heat during their machining. When processing with a water jet, the material structure remains unchanged. Practically all materials can be processed, even foodstuffs, providing they are not water soluble. The WOMAJET® / microWATERJET© machine opens up new possibilities. The process ensures a stable, reproducible and precision manufacturing process for the finest contours with land widths to 0.02 mm.
With water jet cutting, optimal results can be achieved. A high-precision water jet > 0.3 mm, controlled by a Flexium control unit made by NUM, consumes considerably less water and abrasives, and thus raises not only the quality but also the efficiency. The desire for products that are smaller, lighter, more stable, more easily handled etc. demands new manufacturing options. With the WOMAJET® / microWATERJET©, you have a tool that can implement the finest cut with the greatest accuracy, efficiency and process reliability in a conservative technique.
Water jet cutting has nearly unlimited areas of application. In medical technologies, biocompatible materials with complex part contours machined with high precision pose great challenges. The WOMAJET® / microWATERJET© meets these without changing the structure and with high process reliability. Resource-conserving mobility and the materials necessary for it such as Kevlar, carbon and glass fibres as well as hybrid materials, particularly in the automotive industry, demand innovative manufacturing processes such as the WOMAJET® / microWATERJET© offers. In the aircraft and aerospace industries, water jet cutting processes can be used to machine heat-resistant, non-flammable, insulating, radiation absorbing composite materials such as laminate and structured materials without altering their characteristics. The WOMAJET® / microWATERJET© also combines high reproducibility and quality in the watch-making industry, currently celebrating a renaissance of the automatic, mechanical watch.
Rigid, wear-resistant and even extravagant materials can also be used. With water jet cutting, even artistic elements can be precisely implemented. The cutting of artful, complex and unusual shapes or unconventional elements of combined materials can be creatively moulded.
At the IMTS, September 13–18, 2010 in Chicago, USA, the Daetwyler Group as well as NUM will be represented at a large stand to present the WOMAJET® / microWATERJET© water jet cutting machine to a wide public. The advantages of this trendsetting technology with its wide range of applications can thus be seen first-hand.
Innovation, precision and reliability – the values that gave “Made in Switzerland” its stature, will be proudly and diligently furthered by MDC Max Daetwyler AG. It is also these values which bind the Daetwyler Group and NUM, since both companies share the same the philosophy. Our customers know: Only high performance satisfies us, since that is the basis of both your and our success.
(August 2010)