Glass Cutting with Waterjets

Clean, precise glass cutting is a common task faced by manufacturers in many industries all across the world. Many important factors come into play when a manufacturer is choosing glass cutting equipment for a job, including the thickness, hardness, and consistency of the material and the level of edge precision needed along the material cutline. Additionally, the manufacturer must consider which glass cutting equipment produces the least amount of waste, if materials used by the glass cutting machinery are recyclable, the operational safety of the equipment, and of course, the capital investment needed to acquire a given glass cutting machine.

Due to its numerous production, environmental, cost, and efficiency benefits, many glass cutting manufacturers are turning to waterjet equipment for their glass cutting needs. Waterjets harness the natural power of erosion to force a highly pressurized water stream through a small orifice for the purpose of clean, precise cutting of a wide variety of materials. Waterjet cutting machinery can be used with or without an added jewel abrasive, such as garnet or diamond, to effectively cut harder and thicker materials like glass. Waterjet cutting is a widely applicable method across many glass cutting industry sectors, and is the favored cutting method for those industries which require the cutting of heat-sensitive materials. Waterjet glass cutting does not cause the post-cutting material damage that is common to other cutting methods such as laser and plasma cutting.

Despite glass being a quite brittle material, glass cutting is often performed by abrasive waterjets, particularly for artistic or design purposes. Tempered glass, however, cannot be cut by waterjet machinery. The high level of precision guaranteed by using waterjet equipment provides a huge advantage when using waterjets for glass cutting, glass part fitting, and the inlay of other materials into glass.