ESAB Cutting Systems offers its Hydrocut LX waterjet shape cutting machine, a combined waterjet and plasma cutting system. The company reported that the Hydrocut CNC shape cutting machine uses the patented combination of thermal and non-thermal processes operating on the same gantry, allowing the machine to cut with the high accuracy of waterjet where needed, but employ the high speed and low cost of plasma whenever possible.
"By combining waterjet and plasma on the same machine, both tools can be used on the same parts," said a company spokesperson. "High-precision contours can be cut with waterjet, while non-critical contours can be cut with plasma. This patented system allows users to obtain precise cuts when needed without sacrificing speed on every cut. Parts that are suited for the waterjet-plasma combination can be cut in a fraction of the time, resulting in cost reduction and productivity increase when compared to waterjet cutting alone."
The Hydrocut LX is a heavy-duty gantry with a high-stiffness beam design featuring dual precision linear rails and precision rack and pinion drives. It is designed to cover large working areas and full size sheets, and can be equipped with up to four waterjet stations, and can also carry up to two high-definition plasma stations featuring ESAB's m3 Precision Plasmarc system.
The Hydrocut LX features KMT's 90,000 PSI capability for increased cutting speed and reduced abrasive consumption. By increasing the water pressure from 60K PSI to 90K PSI the abrasive is accelerated to a higher speed, thereby cutting faster while using less. "This helps lower operating cost, because the cost of abrasive can be as much as 75% of the operating cost of waterjet," said the spokesperson.
ESAB's m3 Precision Plasmarc system is designed to provide high-precision cutting on carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminum from gauge material up to 6" thick. ESAB's m3 gas control system is fully automated by ESAB's Vision T5 CNC, a Windows based touch-screen control.
"Flexibility in selection and mix of shield gases allows an operator to produce the best cut quality on any material," said the spokesperson. "The operator simply selects the material type and thickness, and the Vision control automatically selects and mixes the optimal start, cut and shield gas combination. Process parameters for most plasma cutting and marking applications are preloaded in the Vision T5 CNC, and custom parameter files can be easily created as needed.
"ESAB's Columbus III CAD/CAM programming and nesting software was specifically designed for plasma, oxy-fuel, laser and waterjet cutting. This advanced software handles simple to highly complex cuts, multi-process cuts, labeling and nesting jobs quickly and easily."
For more information contact:
ESAB Welding & Cutting Products
P.O. Box 100545
411 S. Ebenezer Road
Florence, SC 29501
888-372-2288
email@esab.com
www.esab-cutting.com