WATERJET 5 BUYING TIPS: BUYING CHEAP CAN BE EXPENSIVE

Waterjet 5 buying tips :

There’s no shame in looking for the best deal, but sometimes, taking the cheap route can cost you a bundle. For example, buying a machine that was designed for other processes, such as plasma cutting, and then was retrofitted with waterjet cutting heads, will encounter problems with moisture and abrasives. The initial price may be less, but you’ll pay for it later.

Here are Waterjet 5 buying tips that could end up costing you in the long run:

1. Leaking bellows on an abrasive cutting machine
   Bellows protect precision components such as ball screws and rails. If they are not completely sealed, abrasives will damage these components over time, resulting in poor performance and little or no resale value.
2. Waterjet model with wrong control software
   Time is money! If the software is not designed for abrasive blast machining, the parts will take longer to program, take longer to cut and have smaller tolerances. You may not be able to cut complex parts.
3. An abrasive jet cutting machine with low quality component
   The result will be low-precision parts, frequent and costly maintenance, downtime and frustration.
4. Waterjet machine with a lack of support
   The manufacturer may not have the resources to provide you with the support you need, which puts you at a disadvantage in the event of a technical problem, and the accessibility of parts is very important. How quickly can you get parts and service?
5. The Waterjet cutting machine design
   Do you have access to all sides for loading and unloading? What about 5 axis or taper compensation? Make sure that the machine design can support the extra weight to maintain the tolerance over the full range of motion. The bridge design will give you better access to the workpieces and a more robust configuration when you add the extra weight.

You can pick up an ultra-cheap machine to do crude work at a high cost of operation, but if you want performance that leads to profit, you’ll want to invest in professional equipment designed for the task. Remember: you get what you pay for!

For more information or to speak with an expert, get in touch.