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Waterjet cutting

Waterjet cutting: a cold cut for thick material.

  • Reflective metals, stone and glass
  • No heat-affected zone
  • An edge that is usually ready to use
  • A price per part, in 24–48 hours
Get a quote

Your parts protected by an NDA.

Thick steel block cut by abrasive waterjet, with a clean square edge and no heat marksWaterjet · thick steelNo heat-affected zone

It cuts what a laser can’t.

That means thick, reflective or heat-sensitive metal, and materials that are not metal at all.

Thick plate, one pass

Steel to 50 mm, stainless and aluminum to 40, titanium to 30 — well beyond what a laser cuts.

Reflective metals

Thick copper and brass, which reflect a laser, cut like any other metal.

No heat, no hardening

Heat-treated and heat-sensitive alloys keep their properties to the edge.

Stone and ceramic

Marble, granite and tile, lettered or shaped, without a crack.

Glass

Cut cold, so the heat that would shatter it never reaches it.

Composites & laminates

Carbon, fiberglass and laminates, with no delamination at the edge.

Nested on the plate

Sharing a plate lowers each part’s cost.

Your parts share the plate and common-line cuts, so material and cutting time are shared too.

Parts nested on a steel plate on the waterjet cutting tableWaterjet · nested plate

Waterjet cutting, defined

Abrasive waterjet cuts with a high-pressure stream of water and garnet through a fine nozzle. It cuts cold — no heat-affected zone, no melting, no burnt edge — so it takes thick plate, reflective and heat-sensitive metals, and stone, glass and composites a laser cannot.

No HAZa cold cut, no edge burn
To 50 mmsteel; 40 stainless and aluminum
24–48 hto a price per part
Not just metalstone, glass, ceramic, composite

Everything about waterjet cutting

Spec sheet

MetalsCarbon and stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, copper and brass — reflective metals included.
Non-metalsStone, glass, ceramic, composites and laminates — materials a laser cannot cut cleanly.
ThicknessSteel up to 50 mm, stainless and aluminum up to 40 mm, titanium up to 30 mm, in one cold pass.
Tolerance & edgeAround ±0.1 mm, with a clean, square edge and no heat-affected zone.
NestingParts nested to use the plate, with common-line cuts where the geometry allows.

What to send

What you send, and what you get back.

The 3D model and the PDF drawing are enough.

Your 3D model (STEP) and the 2D PDF drawing

The model gives the geometry; the drawing carries what the model cannot say: critical dimensions and the edge quality each face needs. Material, thickness and quantity come with the part.

A price per part, in 24–48 hours

With the unit price and the lead time of every part.

If it can’t be cut as drawn, the change it needs

We tell you before anything is made, and requote it.

Questions

Questions about waterjet cutting

When should I choose waterjet over laser cutting?

When heat is the problem. Laser is faster and cheaper on thin steel and stainless, but waterjet wins on thick plate, reflective metals like copper and brass, heat-sensitive or hardened alloys, and non-metals like stone, glass and composites — anything where a heat-affected zone or a burnt edge will not do. If waterjet is not the right cut for your part, we say so and requote it: thin steel in volume as laser cutting, a three-dimensional part as machining.

What decides the cost of a waterjet-cut part?

The material and its thickness, the length of the cut and how many pierces it needs, and the quantity. Parts that share a plate and common-line cuts between them bring the cost down. You get a price per part in 24–48 hours, so you see the cost of each part, not one figure for the whole job.

What files do I need to send?

A STEP file of the part and a 2D PDF drawing. The model gives the geometry; the drawing carries the critical dimensions and the edge quality each face needs.

Can I order a single part?

Yes. Orders run from one part to production runs, and every part has its own price. The more parts share a plate, the lower the cost of each.

How thick can you cut?

Steel up to about 50 mm, stainless steel and aluminum up to about 40 mm and titanium up to about 30 mm, in a single cold pass — well past what the fiber laser takes. We confirm the limit for your exact material and edge requirement at quoting.

What is a heat-affected zone, and why does waterjet avoid it?

Thermal cutting melts the material, leaving a band along the edge that is hardened, tempered or distorted by heat — the heat-affected zone. Waterjet cuts cold with water and abrasive, so there is no HAZ, no hardening and no distortion; the edge is unchanged and usually ready to use.

What tolerance and edge quality can I expect?

Around ±0.1 mm on typical parts, with a clean, square edge. Because there is no burn, most parts need no secondary cleanup before welding, forming or use.

Can you really cut glass, stone and composites?

Yes — abrasive waterjet cuts non-metals a laser can't cut cleanly, including stone, glass, ceramic and composite laminates, without the heat that would crack or delaminate them.

Can bending and finishing be in the same order?

Yes. A cut part can go on to bending, finishing, assembly and packaging in the same order, so it comes back ready to use rather than as a flat blank.

Is my drawing confidential?

Yes. A mutual NDA is signed before you upload, so your drawings and models are covered from the first file.

Related capabilities

Laser cutting →

Faster and cheaper on thin sheet.

CNC machining →

When the part needs a third dimension.

Sheet metal bending →

When the cut part has to fold.

Get started

Upload your part and get its quote.

Upload one part or your whole BOM. You get a price and lead time in 24–48 h.

Get a quote →

Your parts protected by an NDA.