High pressure tubing does not explode because water is not very compressible. When a leak occurs, the pressure quickly drops to a safe level.
Eye protection
should always be worn to protect from the occasional splash of
dirty
water.
Ear
protection may be useful when operating some machines (though most
modern machines have quieter pumps and cut underwater to keep things
comfortably quiet.
 |
It is, however, very foolish to check the pressure with your fingers. A pressure gauge is usually provided for your comfort. |
Click here for info or to download an Abrasivejet Feed Rate Calculator This will answer many questions regarding cutting speed in a variety of materials and pump configurations.
Waterjet (water
only) cutting is usually much faster than abrasivejet cutting due to
the fact that you are usually cutting very soft stuff.
If you are still
curious, then be sure to contact a manufacturer of equipment and send
them a drawing. They would love the opportunity to show off what
they can do.
If you want to
cut steel that is thicker than 3" (75mm), then you need to ask how long
can you
afford to wait for your part to be finished? The thicker the
material, the longer the wait, and you just have to ask yourself if it
is cost effective. Sometimes it is, but usually it is not.
In the case of
exotic materials where the material is extremely expensive and
difficult to cut by other means, then 3" (75mm) and thicker may be
practical.
Titanium is an example of such a material.
If the cut is
along a straight line, or a shallow curve, then it is also more
practical to cut thick. However, if there are sharp corners or
curves, then the cutting very quickly becomes extremely slow.
For soft
materials, you can cut extremely thick. For example, you could
cut 2 foot (600mm) sponge pretty easy. For hard material, like
metal,
once you pass about 2" (50mm) thick, you have to really think about
whether or
not you are going to make money. It is possible to make very good
money, in special cases, on materials up to 5" (127mm) or 6" (152mm)
thick, but it is
not recommend that your average machine shop purchase a machine with
the primary purpose of doing stuff over 2" (50mm) thick.
About the
thickest steel I have seen anyone cut is 9". The thickest
Aluminum I have seen cut is 12", and the thickest Titanium I have seen
cut is 9". However, this is not the norm. The aluminum
piece was pretty simple, but took 20 some hours to cut.
If there is one thing that I hope you come away with after visiting this web site, it is the realization that abrasive / waterjet machines are not "weird" specialty machines for niche applications. They are general purpose tools that are useful in any machine shop / job shop . With that in mind, here is a small sampling of specialized applications:
My idea of an ideal abrasive waterjet shop would have several small machines, one medium sized one, and one huge one running 2 nozzles.
My idea of an ideal machine shop would have a multitude of various CNC and manual machine tools along with one or two small sized abrasivejets.
*When I say "Complete systems", I mean everything you need to get a new machine, and have it running such as: the pump, xy table, nozzles, abrasive delivery system, controller, software, installation, and training. However, these numbers are very 'ball park".
The above costs may seem high, but remember, an abrasive jet puts out a lot of parts per dollar spent. I.e. you can charge a lot for this service. Compare this to other machining methods, and remember to consider setup, clean up, and programming time.
Hopefully I will
have a complete financial breakdown here soon, as I have seen
calculations that basically say that you need to keep a small machine
running for 3 or 4 days a month, and it is paid for. The
remaining days are just profit.
![[picture of typical part machined with an abrasive waterjet]](part1.jpg)
No. this is like asking "should I buy a hammer instead of a saw?". Consider an abrasivejet to be a highly complimentary tool to the other machines in your shop. It will not necessarily replace them, but it will give you one more tool to work with. I think that you will find this particular tool to be much more productive than you expect, once you have one. On the other hand, if you already have mills, then by all means buy an abrasivejet! If you have a mill, and you don't have an abrasivejet, then your tool box is incomplete.
Frequency of maintenance:
Waterjets certainly require maintenance. Expect to change nozzle parts frequently (daily). Expect to change pump parts less frequently, but regularly enough that you wish you didn't have to. Expect that things will break when forced to operate at 35,000 to 60,000 PSI. That is a lot of pressure, to ask a seal to hold back! It is also wise to keep some critical spares at hand.
Generally speaking, the higher the pressure, and the more on/off cycles the equipment sees, the more frequently it will need maintaining.
Ease of maintenance:
For the most part, anyone who can change brake pads on a car can keep an abrasive jet going with a days training and a good manual, and the occasional phone call to tech support. Mixing tubes, (part of the nozzle) wear out and are easy to replace (often similar to replacing a drill bit). Pumps will need periodic seal changes. Depending on pump design, seals can be anywhere form relatively easy and quick to quite awkward and time consuming to replace.
Tip:
When maintaining your critical parts such as nozzle and seal components, do so with care. Critical components are very sensitive to dirt / dust, microscopic scratches, etc. My advice is to take these components into a different room, wash them down (often with soap and water / or ultrasonic cleaner), and then assemble them in a clean environment!
Also, if you have dirty or hard water, you will either need to maintain everything more often, or purchase a good water softener and /or filtration system.
Final word on maintenance:
You don't need to be an engineer, but if you are afraid of changing your cars spark plugs, consider hiring someone to help you.
(Note: Waterjet Technologies, located in Kent, WA, has a special patented process for milling that works fairly well in certain circumstances. This technology is beyond the scope of this web site, however, as it is really only practical under specific conditions. I have heard that other companies are working on this as well. If you absolutely have to mill some exotic material, then there is probably some benefit to this, otherwise, it is not a common use for this technology at this time.)
If you are
interested, there is a picture of a company logo milled out of steel,
and etched in glass on the pictures
page of this web site.
Ideally, you will want a machine that can produce the highest tolerance parts possible, as this will allow you to do more work than you otherwise could. In other words, you want to be able to make final parts that require minimal or no secondary machining, so that you won't have to turn high precision work away.
Jet Lag:
(Graphics courtesy of
OMAX Corporation )
This lag can usually be ignored when cutting in a straight line, but becomes critical when near a corner. As the jet approaches a corner, it becomes necessary to slow the motion down so the bottom of the jet can catch up to the top, and be perpendicular to your material. If you don't slow down, you will have an ugly corner indeed.
If you accelerate quickly when coming out of a corner, the jet will kick back, and mar your part.
Some modern Abrasivejet controllers compensate for this behavior automatically, which is why I say that programming is easy. There are pictures of cuts through Plexiglas on the pictures page of this web site, that demonstrate jet behavior with and without compensation.
Most controllers compensate for kerf width automatically, but don't fully compensate for the kerf growing as a function of speed.
Kerf width depends on the nozzle you are using. With low horsepower pumps, you have a narrower kerf. With high horsepower pumps, you have a larger kerf.
If you cut quickly, then the jet will not have a chance to completely remove all of the material, and you will get taper shaped like a "V".
If you cut slowly, then the jet will fan out, and "revers taper" will occur.
If you cut at just the right speed, then you may experience very little taper.
If you are cutting extremely thick parts, then you may experience "V" taper, reverse taper, or even "barrel" taper.
It is also possible to get a combination of both barrel and other kinds of taper.
Top: Taper caused by a fast cut No Taper Taper caused by a slow cut Bottom: Barrel Taper observed typically in thicker materials (for example, 2" steel)
Above:
an articulated tilting
nozzle for automatic taper removal. Devices such as this can
offer great improvements in taper for the highest precision
applications.
Note that
it is not possible to completely elliminate "barrel"
taper by tilting, so for very thick parts, some barrel will still
remain, but there is still some benifit in removing the standard V
shaped taper component.
Obviously, you need a machine that is capable of positioning to a precision that is higher than the part you want to make. You also don't want vibrations from your pump or other sources to effect your final part.
Control:
How well the controller is able to
compensate for all of the above will make the biggest difference in
precision, especially around curves and corners. (It will also
make a big difference in how quickly the parts can be made.)
Before we can answer the above question, it is first necessary to understand something about abrasivejet piercing:
For brittle materials:
In addition, thick materials are slow to pierce. For this reason, several piercing methods have been developed:
For quick clean piercing of thick material in the minimum amount of space. "Wiggle" piercing causes the cutting head to wiggle back and forth over a very short distance while piercing. This prevents the backwash from the jet from reducing the effectiveness of the pierce, as in a stationary pierce. If you cut thick (>.5" (13mm)) materials this is especially important.
(As a side note, I think that I invented this method back in 1994, although it is highly likely that someone else may have also thought of it independently. The need for wiggle piercing came about because I was using a a wimpy 10 horsepower pump, and had to cut thick materials. Wiggle piercing enabled us to cut steel effectively up to about 2" (50mm) thick, where previously, the practical limit with such a wimpy pump was around 1/2" (13mm) thick. A very dramatic improvement).
This is typically slower than
"wiggle piercing". The jet does not wiggle, but rather slowly
moves into the material, piercing as it moves. If properly implemented,
dynamic piercing can be quite fast - even faster than wiggle piercing.
If not properly implemented, which is usually the case, it can be
significantly slower than wiggle piercing. (The proper speed and
length of a dynamic pierce is a function of the cutting conditions and
is very hard to predict, which is why it is usually slower than wiggle
piercing.)
This is a pierce that is performed without moving the nozzle. The nozzle simply turns on, and waits until the material is pierced. This is the method of piercing if you do not have enough room to perform a Dynamic or Wiggle pierce. It is much, much slower, however, so is reserved only for piercing thin material or tiny holes. In some materials and thickness, it is virtually impossible to pierce using stationary piercing.
For brittle materials, it is often desirable to pierce at a lower pressure than you would normally cut with. This prevents cracking of the material. Low pressure piercing can be combined with any of the above methods.
Other piercing:
There are a handful of other
methods for piercing for special (weird) circumstances, but the above
are the most common methods. (Spiral piercing, coming in from the
edge of the material, pressure ramped piercing, etc.)
Like a fire hose. The jet starts out coherent, then fans out. When cutting thick metal, the jet will be held coherent by the metal you are cutting.
Nothing, they pay for themselves! Typical purchase price for a new complete 2 dimensional system with everything you need to make parts is between $80,000 to $200,000. Prices can go up from there for custom systems, multi-axis systems, or exceptionally large table sizes.Keep in mind that you will not have a large cost of additional tooling, as there is only one tool involved. However, there are additional costs in consumables such as the nozzle, abrasive, plumbing, electricity, and spare parts.
The distance between the tip and the nozzle is normally between 0.030 and 0.060 inches (0.75mm and 1.5mm ) or so. Having the nozzle closer to the material helps reduce taper, and give a better quality and faster cut. However, it is possible to cut with the nozzle much further from the material, which can be useful when cutting warped plate, round tubing, or materials with small surface features in the vertical direction. If you need tolerances greater than +/-0.005" (0.127mm), then keep it as low as you can go. If you don't need such high tolerances, then you can go up to perhaps an inch or more, if needed for the situation. At high stand off distances, you will also experience additional "frosting" around the top edge of the cut, and reduced cutting performance.
The simplest thing to do is to simply raise the cutting head so that it is high enough to clear the highest point on the plate. Since you are using warped plate, you are obviously not doing high precision work, so the slight increase in cutting stand-off will have negligible effect.
Otherwise, some machines have features for "terrain following" or automatically setting the stand-off at each pierce point, or pre-programming the Z heights along the tool path. All of these methods have advantages and disadvantages depending on the particular circumstances. Terrain following has it's own set of problems because of the water and garnet and tipped parts that can all intefere and make it unreliable. In general, though, simply setting the cutting height to clear the highest point on the plate works fine.
Yes. Stacking is often useful if the total stack height is less than 0.5" (13mm) or so. To determine optimum stack height, simply compute the tool path for several different material thickness'. For example, if you are cutting 1/8" aluminum, simply compute the path at 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", etc. and determine which stack size cuts fastest. You will loose some precision the higher you stack, but you will gain cutting speed up to a point. Depending on material and part geometry, the optimal stack height ranges from perhaps 1/4" to 1/2" (6 to 13mm).The more corners there are in your part, the shorter the optimal stack height. This is because to maintain precision, it is necessary to slow down the machine in corners, and the thicker the stack, the more you need to slow. In other words, optimal stack height is a function of geometry, which is why there is no "rule of thumb" to determine the optimal stack height.
Yes, but... It is often a brain-twister to make an efficient path where some features are common line cut. In addition, the accuracy of the parts will suffer because it is difficult to compensate for the kerf width of the jet precisely without re-creating the tool path as the nozzle wears. Common line cutting is also not practical when using tilting cutting heads for removing taper, since the taper will be removed from one side, but added to the other. So, the answer to the question is "yes, if you are willing to do the extra programming and also willing to live with less precision." It is perfectly reasonable to do common line cutting for low precision production work.
Typical Kerf widths vary from a diameter of about .020" to .060" (0.5mm to 1.5mm) . With higher horsepower pumps, it is required that you cut with a larger kerf width. Most systems out there have kerf widths from .030" to .040" (0.76mm to 1.0mm) . Specialty applications such as jewelry cutting use smaller 0.02" (0.5mm) nozzles.
Yes. This is a reasonable way to increase productivity without buying a second machine. You will need a large pump, or several small pumps to operate multiple nozzles at once. Then, simply mount your nozzles next to each other on the same machine. There is some risk, however, that a nozzle clog or snag on one nozzle can ruin all the parts underneath the other nozzles. I personally favor having a couple of smaller machines over a huge machine with many nozzles, but what is right for you will depend on your applications. Note that when running multiple nozzles, some precision is lost because of the inability to compensate for tool wear exactly over both nozzles, but in most applications it's still possible to get pretty good precision.
Yes, but not from your waterjet. Waterjets use between 1/2 and 2 gallons (1-4 liters or so) of water per minute when cutting. Some of the water is used for cutting, and some for cooling. Compare that to how much water it takes to make a pound of beef , and you quickly realize that you can conserve about the same amount of water by simply changing your diet. If you are still concerned about water consumption then buy an efficient pump that does not use a lot of excess water for cooling, and / or recycle the water. There are also a host of water recycling options out there. If you recycle the water, then you may also need a water cooler to prevent the tank water from getting hot and causing thermal expansion in your parts. Contact the vendor of your pump for more information.
YES! I think this is the most exciting development in the industry: There is a push towards smaller, more precise, and cheaper machines. These make great compliments to existing machine shop operations, or additions to existing waterjet shops. Expect to see a lot of new machines of this type.
I think of it kind of as being analogous to the printing industry:
A few years ago, if you wanted something printed, you went to a specialty shop that had a printing press, and paid an arm and a leg to get your printing work done. In order to get costs down, you printed huge quantities at once. The setup was tedious, the equipment was big and messy, and it required a lot of special skills.
Now days, in your office, you probably have several printers, and a photocopier. You might still send some work to the printers, for large volumes, but for the most part you do everything on your easy to use, small, and affordable desktop printer.
This exactly the trend that I see happening with abrasive waterjets. The trend is towards smaller, cheaper, easier to use and maintain equipment that allow you to make parts "Just In Time". And like the printing press, there will still be a market for huge machines and high production.
What size machine is best for you? That depends on your needs. Keep in mind that sales people will tend to push you into bigger machines, because that is where the money is. Often "bigger is better", but it can also be simply "bigger is more expensive". It all depends on your real needs.
In
general, this is something I strongly recommend against unless either
you think building it yourself would be fun, but you don't intend to
run it as a business, or there is no machine available on the market
that can do the particular highly specialized job that you want to do,
and none of the machine builders want to make a custom machine for you
(which some will).
Many of the early machines were home built systems consisting of purchased components such as pumps and nozzles married to other components for control and positioning. But these were prone to a lot of problems that have been addressed in the factory built systems.
Here are some recommendations:
- Learn what the new machines can do. Visit several manufacturers and trade shows. The reason for doing this is so that you understand what you are getting yourself into, and so that you can steal ideas if you still want to continue (watch out for patents, though!). My bet is that you will opt to buy a manufactured machine instead. Either way, though, you win by following this advice.
- Join the [waterjets] discussion group. There, you can ask questions and discuss ideas with other people who have done this.
- Use this web site as a resource for finding vendors of spare parts and accessories.
Here are some of the challenges
Final Warning: Don't expect to be competitive with a lot of the manufactured machines out there. These machines have years of development behind them in terms of software to control and optimize the tool paths, cutting models, and many other features and accessories that make them highly competitive. If you are doing this as a hobby, then have fun and be careful. If you are doing this for a business, know what you are getting yourself into.
- Making the XY positioning system is the easy part. Just be sure it is very well protected from dust, grit, and moisture, and that the operator of the machine is safely protected. Use enclosed bellows and non-rusting components wherever you can. Be wary of simply adapting an old plasma table, because it probably will not have the protection needed.
- Making your own controller is not easy. Definitely read the controller section of this web site for a brief overview of the complexity involved, and options in this regard. I've been involved in making several waterjet controllers, and doing it right is a huge effort, but the differences in ease of use, cutting speed, and part quality are dramatic. For example, for the same tolerance part, we were able to speed up cutting by well over 200% over traditional non-waterjet specific controllers by optimizing the tool paths based on precision cutting models and such. Precision and edge quality of the cut were also improved dramatically. The results are dramatic enough that traditional waterjet operators tend not to believe it until they see it. This is the main reason why I say that it is not worth making your own waterjet if you intend to operate it for business purposes - you simply won't compete. That said, if precision and cutting speed and cutting quality are of no concern to you, then there are a zillion controllers out there to choose from. (Though if this is the case, you may also want to consider some other technology for your cutting, such as plasma or torch cutting, etc.)
- Making your own pump is probably the hardest part. There are a lot of trade secrets to making a pump that can last more than just a few seconds without being dangerous. Instead of building your own, at least buy a used pump. There are quite a few used pumps on the market including factory rebuilt ones available from the pump manufacturers. There are also used pumps available on the internet, even EBay sometimes, but buyer beware! The [waterjets] discussion group is a good spot to post a "pump wanted" message.
Anywhere from zero to about 2 lb. (1 Kg) per minute of cutting. Obviously waterjets don't use abrasive, so they will cut at zero lb. (0 kg) per minute. Abrasivejets will run from 0.25 lb. (0.1Kg) per minute to 2.0 lb. (1 Kg) per minute depending on the pump / nozzle you are using. 1 lb. (0.45 kg) per minute is fairly typical.
Price varies from $0.15 / lb to $0.40 / lb, depending on the quality of the abrasive, and where you buy it. It is recommended that you pay the extra money for good abrasive, especially if you are new to this technology. Abrasive is one of the biggest operating costs associated with running the machine.Consider purchasing abrasive in large quantities for a discount. You might even coordinate your purchase with your competitor down the street, as you will both save money.
Yes. There are some other abrasive types out there, with various properties that can make your machining cheaper. For example, if you cut a lot of Aluminum, you can use a softer abrasive than you would use for steel. The advantage of using a softer abrasive is that you wear your mixing tube (nozzle) out slower. Garnet is a very good general purpose abrasive, which is why it is so popular.Warning: Be careful of, or avoid using abrasives containing silica. Silicosis, a deadly lung disease, can result from the dust generated!
Warning: Do not use silica based abrasives. Silica based abrasives can cause silicosis of the lungs, death, etc. I.e.. don't try to save money by using sand from the beach!In general, Garnet is an abrasive that is good for cutting a wide range of materials. For that reason, it is the most popular. There are other abrasives that are also popular for those who are cutting a lot of one specific type of material. For example, if you cut a lot of aluminum, it may be cheaper for you to choose a softer abrasive. This would allow you to cut the aluminum at perhaps just a slightly slower rate, while saving a lot of wear on your mixing tube, and perhaps also using a cheaper abrasive.
I don't recommend purchasing abrasive on price alone. Many brands are much more expensive than others. Often, it is the case that you get what you pay for. This is because there are many factors that determine a good abrasive. The advantage of using a high quality abrasive is that you will experience faster cutting, higher precision, and less frequent nozzle plugging.
Here are some qualities to look for in an abrasive that make it "good":
Double sifted: This means that the abrasive has the fine particles removed, as well as the big particles. Therefore, you have a consistent mesh size. Fine particles and large particles both contribute to nozzle plugging, inefficient cutting, and other problems.If you want maximum cutting speed, then you may want to choose a coarser abrasive, such as 60 mesh or 80 mesh. If you want smoother surface finish, then choose a finer abrasive such as 100, 120, or 150 mesh. Consult the manufacturer of your nozzle for recommendations.Sharp: The sharper the abrasive particle, the better it cuts. crushed garnet is sharper than garnet from a beach that has been worn into round beads.
Purity: Look for an abrasive that is pure. Obviously, if the abrasive is advertised as "garnet", but is full of dirt with only 10% garnet in the mixture, your cutting performance will suffer. Likewise, if it has unusually hard bits in it, such as aluminum oxide, you may cut marginally faster with a severe drop in nozzle life.
Hardness: The harder the abrasive, the better it will cut. Of course, for cutting soft materials, you may want to choose a softer abrasive as discussed previously, in order to save money on nozzle wear.
Price: Of course price should be a primary concern. Just keep in mind that you will sometimes get what you pay for. Also, understand that a higher priced abrasive may actually reduce your hourly cost of operation. This is because a good abrasive, that does a good job cutting, will allow you to cut faster. Thus, you can get more inches of cutting out per dollar spent on abrasive.
When you first get your machine, use the machine with whatever brand of abrasive your equipment manufacturer recommends. Most likely, they will recommend either their own brand, or one that causes the least trouble. Later, as you gain experience with the machine, shop around for better deals.
Caution: Be wary of being locked into long term deals on abrasive unless you are absolutely 100% sure that the abrasive you are ordering is right for your long term needs. I.e. If you think you are getting a good deal by signing a contract for 1 years worth of 80 mesh garnet to cut your 1/8" (3mm) aluminum, at $0.25 / lb, then discover that you could have used a softer or lower grade abrasive at $0.15/lb, then you are out for an entire year using the wrong stuff for the job.
Tip: 80 mesh abrasive is very popular, and in high demand. Therefore, it is also the most expensive. If you go with a coarser or finer abrasive, then you can save some money. The trade-off is that you may not cut as well. However, in some circumstances, it may be worth it.
Perhaps:There are two recyclers from WardJet. According to the manufacturer, the Ward (Water Abrasive Recycling Dispenser) recovers large percentage of used abrasive for re-use.
"The function of the WARD 24 is to remove the sludge from an abrasive waterjet cutting tank, separate out the sludge and all abrasive that is smaller than 100 mesh, then wash the abrasive larger than 100 mesh, dry it and screen it once more, simultaneously allowing operators to add new abrasive to the recycled abrasive at the desired ratio."Because I have no personal experience with this product, I can't comment on how good it works. I would suggest learning more from either the WardJet web site, or maybe discuss it with others at the [waterjets] discussion group.- Quote from EasiJet web site
I don't know of any other place that makes recycling, but if you do, let me know.
Not much. Abrasivejets have some trouble with piercing some materials, and may cause delamination of other materials. Often, in these cases, it is still possible to cut by reducing pressure, or by pre-drilling start holes, or coming from the edge of the material without piercing.
Tempered glass can not be cut with an abrasivejet. (Although just about any other kind of glass cuts nicely - where I work, we have done a lot of precision cutting of quartz glass, bullet proof glass, and all sorts of other amazing materials).
Not if it is fully tempered. It must be annealed first, cut, then re-tempered if you want to cut it. Some people may say that they have cut tempered glass successfully, but they are mistaken, and the glass was not fully tempered.
A: This really depends on what it is you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying to make short runs or just-in-time parts, then the PC is definitely the way to go. This is because they have very easy to use user interfaces, and are very easy to program. All you have to do is draw the part, and say "go". (This is also my personal bias, as I am heavily involved in making PC based controls).CNC's have the advantage of being able to do highly sophisticated multi-axis work, but are much more difficult to program, even for 2D work, especially in the area of setting speeds and accelerations. They are not recommended for low volume, just in time, or single part production work Typically they require a lot of "black art" programming, operator experience, and trial and error. They are also not efficient at setting feed rates, and require higher horsepower pumps to compensate for poor programming. This typically means that each part is more expensive than if made on a good PC based controller. However, CNC may be the only way to go for some kinds of multi-axis work where PC based controllers are simply not available, such as 3D cutting of automotive carpets.
Another advantage of the PC, is it allows you to run the same software on your office PC that you use to control the machine tool. This allows you to do everything off-line, including training, part simulation, costing, programming, etc.
PC's are also cheaper to buy, cheaper to fix, and cheaper to upgrade. When you upgrade, you can give your "old" PC to your kids to play with, or use it for off-line programming, etc.
For more details on what is needed in an abrasivejet controller, and an outline of 2 different PC based controllers that I worked on, check out the controller section of this web site.
#1: Because you are cutting with a "floppy tool" that is very picky about feed rates and accelerations. This is the #1 reason why manufactures are offering PC based controllers. CNC controllers are just not good at automatically setting feed rates and accelerations. Some can do it, but not very well. If the controller does not automatically handle this chore, you have to do it by hand, and you still can't do as good of a job as the PC, due to limitations of CNC controller design.
#2: Because controller technology is changing so rapidly that the software that runs the machine can mean big differences in both precision and speed. A good controller with a small low cost pump can cut faster and more precise than an average controller with a big expensive pump. (Much like Mario Andretti in my Honda could get to the grocery store faster than Grandma in a Ferrari.). So, with that in mind, imagine a great controller connected to a high end pump...
PC based controllers have revolutionized this industry, and changed it from a "black art" to a technology that is easily accessible to any machinist.
For more details check out the controller section of this web site.
A: This depends on what you want to do with the equipment. Obviously, if you want the most flexibility, you want the most precise machine. With a precise machine, you will not have to turn down high tolerance work.The more precise you can make parts, the fewer jobs you have to turn away. The fewer jobs you turn away, the more parts you will make. The more parts you make, the more money you make...Note, however, that precision is much more than machine positioning accuracy. The controller also plays an important role due to the behaviors of cutting with a "floppy tool". Please read the Buyers guide , and Controller discussion for more details on this very important point.
For abrasivejet machining, it is rarely necessary to go over 100 inches per minute (2500 mm/min). This is because your main limiting factor will be the cutting speed of the abrasive jet cutting process. You may want the machine to go a little faster than this during traversing, but the traverse speed will play a very minor role compared with the cutting speed.
For water only cutting, you will want to move much faster than this. If you do primarily water only work, you may want a machine as fast as 300 ipm (7600 mm/min) or faster. If, like most machine shops, you only do a little water only cutting, I would not worry about maximum speed.
Competition with conventional machine shops:Conventional machine shops are already doing a lot of the work that you can do with an abrasivejet. This is where you have a big advantage. Many parts are much cheaper and faster to make on an abrasivejet compared with other processes, and therefore, you can make a lot more money. Also, you can use an abrasivejet to do pre-machining to remove material prior to placing on a Mill, Lathe, or EDM.
Competition with abrasivejet job shops:
This is new technology that has only been embraced by "early innovators" so far. This means that the market is huge.
I am guessing that there are perhaps 2000-4000(?) abrasivejet installations in operation world wide. I am not sure of this figure because many of them may be doing stuff like diaper cutting, food processing, high pressure cleaning and paint removal, and other water only and specialty work. Also, I just don't have access to reliable information in this regard. Basically, there are few abrasivejet systems out there when compared to the demand for this kind of work, but this is changing rapidly. I have seen studies that suggest the market demand for abrasive waterjets in the US alone is around 50,000 installations.
This depends on the kind of work you want to do. If you are doing a lot of work in very thick metal, get an efficient pump that is capable of putting a lot of horsepower to the nozzle. If you are doing a lot of thin metal, or doing water only cutting, get a smaller pump. Smaller pumps are often cheaper, cost less to run, are easier to maintain, more reliable, and are quieter. Bigger pumps, however, allow you to cut faster.Q: What other differences does a different size pump make?Note: It is very important to understand that it is horsepower at the NOZZLE that is important, not the size of the motor turning the pump*. This is important because many pumps have big motors driving inefficient pumps, while other pumps have smaller motors running efficient pumps. For example, a 50hp intensifier pump will typically only put 30 hp to the nozzle, while a 30 hp crankshaft pump will put 28 hp to the nozzle. When you look at the price and maintenance differences between the two types of pumps, the lower hp pump quickly starts to look like the better choice:
Please read the Buyers guide for more details on this very important topic.
- 50 hp Intensifier ~ 30 hp at nozzle ~ 20 hp lost to inefficiencies!
- 30 hp crankshaft pump ~ 28 hp at nozzle ~ only 2 hp lost!
You may also want to download the abrasivejet feed rate calculator form the software downloads portion of this web site, as it has a feature for computing nozzle horsepower as well as cutting speeds.* actually, it's a little more complex than just nozzle horsepower. Nozzle geometry / energy density is also important, but this does not really effect the pumps.
Also, keep in mind that the purpose is usually to make the highest quality part as cheaply as possible. This does not necessarily translate into making parts as fast as possible by throwing horsepower at the problem. (Think of the differences between a Top Fuel dragster, and a Kenworth truck. The dragster is a heck of a lot faster, but the kenworth is a lot more reliable, and is a lot more productive for moving things around.)
The more power that makes it to the nozzle, the faster you can cut. The trade off with a higher power pump is cost, efficiency, a larger kerf width, and sometimes a slight loss in precision. However, you can almost always run a high horsepower pump at lower pressures to reduce the operating cost and maintenance, then run at higher pressures for special jobs that would otherwise try your patience.
If you are doing lots of the same part over and over, you can produce more at once with multiple heads. Of course cutting with multiple heads requires that you have more than one pump, or one really big pump. Also, if something goes wrong with one cutting head, your other parts will also be effected. Many high production waterjet shops cut with multiple cutting heads, and most job and machine shops use a single head.
Myth about pump horsepower: Pump horsepower, in marketing literature, almost always refers to the horsepower of the electric motor that drives the pump, and not the actual horsepower that makes it to the nozzle. For example, due to inefficiencies, a 50hp Intensifier pump typically puts out 30hp at the nozzle. Or a 20 hp Crankshaft type pump typically puts 19 hp to the pump. For this reason, talking about pump horsepower is misleading. Instead, consider nozzle, or cutting horsepower .With that understood, we can now talk about the relationship between cutting (nozzle) horsepower, nozzle sizes, abrasive selection, water pressure, etc.
Nozzle Horsepower: Nozzle horsepower is how much cutting power is at the nozzle. The more you have the faster you cut. A great way to compute nozzle horsepower, is to use the Feed Rate Calculator, which you can download from this web site .
Nozzle horsepower is computed from: So, if you have a .014" jewel, and you have a pressure of 40,000 PSI trying to push water through it, you are cutting with 19 Horsepower!
- Pressure
- Jewel Diameter
Or, if you have a 0.015" jewel, and 50,000 PSI, then you are cutting with 30.5 horsepower.
Nozzle sizes: In basic terms, there are two 3 critical dimensions in a nozzle. (in advanced terms, there is a lot of voo-doo that goes on inside a nozzle that you don't need to worry about. Leave that up to the manufacturer of the nozzle). The three critical dimensions are jewel diameter, mixing tube diameter, and mixing tube length.
Jewel (orifice) Diameter: As you can see in the picture, the jewel is where the high pressure exits the plumbing and enters the air in the nozzle. This jewel is sized so that it maintains pressure behind it, while allowing water to flow at extremely high velocity into the venturi mixing chamber of the nozzle. The larger the diameter of the hole in the jewel, the more water it flows, and the bigger the pump you need to maintain the same pressure.
Mixing tube diameter: The inside diameter of the mixing tube determines how fast the mixing tube will wear out, how precise of a cut you can make, and how quickly you can cut.
Properties of a small diameter mixing tube:
- Slightly improved cutting rate
- Slightly decreased nozzle life
- Improved precision
- Smaller kerf widthProperties of a large diameter mixing tube:
- Slightly reduced cutting rate
- Slightly increased nozzle life
- Slight decrease in precision
- Larger "kerf" widthMixing tube diameter directly relates to kerf width diameter
Mixing tube Length: Mixing tube length effects the ability of the nozzle to focus. Typically, longer mixing tubes focus better than shorter ones, due to their longer length. This will give you slightly more precision due to reduced taper.
Sometimes. For example:You start out enjoying all the benefits of a 0.030" mixing tube. You cut a little faster, and you have a narrower kerf.
Once the mixing tube is about 75% worn, you have it bored out to 0.040", using an EDM. Now, your 0.040" tube will not cut quite as fast, or as precisely, but you have extended it's life significantly! You will have to use an EDM to make the bore, but it can be done. Note: The nozzle cannot be completely worn out for this to work.
For a company that provides this service (Maxtec), click here :
Another company that does this service is:
JD Tool & Engineering, Inc.
P.O. Box 403
705 Old Hwy 9
Clinton, AR 72031
PH: 501-745-4780
FAX: 501-745-6127
email: jdtool@jdtoolonline.com
If you have a company that also provides this service, please let me know , and I'll list you also.
Is this really practical? I am not sure. I have heard opinions in both directions, but I consider it at least worth trying. (I personally don't recycle - but that is mostly a function of the environment where I am in, where from my point of view the mixing tubes are free, and we nearly always let them wear to 100% for the sake of research.)
The waste products are Abrasive, cut material, and dirty water.Typically solid waste product is Garnet abrasive, mixed small amounts of whatever you have been machining. It can usually be disposed of in land fill. If you are machining large amounts of toxic materials such as lead, then you may have to dispose of it as hazardous material.
The water is typically treated as "Gray water" which can be recycled, or sent directly to the sewer. Again, if you are cutting something toxic, you may need to filter water, and recycle or dispose of it in special circumstances.
Software is extremely important. You should look at your programming options thoroughly before purchasing a system. Make sure that you like the included software, and also make sure that you have other programming options available. (i.e. can you import files from AutoCAD, MasterCAM, Adobe Illustrator, and other popular CAD / CAM / Drawing packages?).Watch out for proprietary software with "secret", unpublished file formats to store your CAD data, or tool path files. If you decide later on that you don't like the software that comes with the system, it is very nice to be able to have a post processor written to allow you to use a different CAD package. That is, if the file format that drives your machine is published. You may also want to use some other third party software for Nesting, gear generation, or other special shape generation. In this case, you definitely will want to be able to create the necessary files.
Also watch out for software that you must pay lots of money to upgrade, or pay money for extra seats. Often, it is to your advantage to run the software on several computers. Perhaps one seat on the machine, one or two in the office, and another seat at home, or on your laptop. It is of course also to your advantage to run recent software with all the latest features and bug fixes.
! Beware of large maintenance and upgrade fees. These hidden costs can be very large, and upgrading software is something you will want to do at least once per year because of the rapid developments in this area, and for simple bug fixes.
Yes: There are many software companies that make "Nesting" software, and some controllers have basic nesting features built right in. Depending on the kind of production environment your shop is like, you may or may not have any need for nesting software. For most applications where you are simply cutting the same part over and over, you can simply "step and repeat", or manually nest your parts.
Nesting software ranges from very simple to extremely complex and capable. Some packages will even manage your plate inventory for you. Although each nesting software package does basically the same thing (fitting various shaped parts to a plate of material), they all go about it in very unique ways, and each has their advantages and disadvantages.
Because of the very high price of nesting software $1000.00 to $30,000.00, I recommend that you gain experience with your machine before you commit to purchasing such software. In most cases, I think you will find that it is not needed, and in other cases you will make a better decision about what kind of nesting software you need, once you understand the machine better.
Again, beware of large maintenance and upgrade fees, but keep in mind also that nesting software companies have to make their money somehow to stay in business.
For more information on software, see the Suppliers Page of this web site.
Yes. Ideally you would start with a CAD file, but if you don't have one then you can use other means to reverse engineer parts or artworks. There are many "raster to vector" software packages that are used for such purposes. Note: If you start with very clean black and white / high contrast artworks to begin with, then you will have much better results with this kind of software. To find such software, search for "Raster to vector conversions" on your favorite search engine. The two most popular packages are Adobe Streamline from Adobe corporation (though it's kind of out of date now), and the various offerings from Arbor Image Corporation. Contact the manufacturer of your equipment to see what they recommend.
For more information on software, see the Suppliers Page, and the Controllers Page of this web site.
A good cutting model is very important for obtaining precision, and for making good parts without a lot of manual trial and error.Not only is it important that the model accurately predict jet , behaviors it is also equally important that the controller is capable of somehow translating the cutting model into machine movements that can compensate for the jets . behaviors This is very much akin to a race car: Not only is it important to have a good driver, it is also important that the car can perform the drivers desired commands.
For more information on this, see the Controller discussion on this web site.
Super-Water® is a chemical that is added to the water of an abrasivejet or waterjet in order to focus the cutting stream, increase cutting speed, and reduce wear of high pressure components. Traditionally it has been used for high pressure cleaning and water-only cutting applications. While I have no personal experience with it, and have no opinion on it to express, it looks like it may offer benefits for abrasivejet cutting applications as well. Click here for more information on Super-Water®.
No. It is simply used to improve cutting performance and reduce maintenance. Most abrasivejet systems do not employ Super-Water®. I have never seen a system that uses it, so I can't say if it's any good or not. Let me know what you learn.
Of course! I have seen many shops purchase second, third, forth, twentieth, etc. machines. This is just the beginning, and the industry is growing rapidly...
This depends greatly on the equipment you purchase, and what you want to do with it. Many modern Abrasivejet machine tools are relatively easy to operate, program, and maintain. Note, that this has not traditionally been the case. Older generation Abrasivejet machinery was very difficult to program, awkward to maintain, messy to operate, noisy, low precision, etc. Until about 1995 or so, there was a lot of black art involved. This is no longer the case. If you shop around, you will quickly learn that some machines are much easier to use, and more capable than others.I have seen many people understand and comfortably operate this type of equipment after just 1 day of training. Others may take up to a week. But, once again, this is highly dependent on the equipment purchased. If you buy a lot of accessories, expect to require more training as well.
Of course, there will be the occasional things that confuse and frustrate you. Your first pump rebuild will probably not be that much fun, but once you learn it, it will be much easier the next time. If you have trouble, don't forget to call Technical Support, and have them hold your hand.
Tip: Start learning before your machine arrives. Get a copy of the software. Get the manuals and other training materials. read, and play. If the machine runs under DOS, then learn something about DOS. If the machine runs under Windows, then start learning Windows. If it a "G-Code" based machine, then start learning G-Code. That way, when the factory guy starts to train you, he doesn't have to start by teaching you the alphabet.
Tip 2: Once you have your machine, and are reasonably comfortable with how to use it, schedule follow up training. When you first get your machine, most of the training will go in one ear, and out the other. In 3-6 months, get another day or two of training. Plan for it.
Tip 3: If you are uncomfortable with computers, become comfortable. Get a computer, take some classes, and have fun. Good computer skills can go a long way in many areas of abrasive / waterjet machining, and life in general. They are also very handy for business, email, or just plain fun.
Side Note: Remember: the only reason why 12 year old children pick up computers so fast is because they are not afraid. Don't be afraid just because you're an adult - the rewards are well worth the effort, and becoming more so every second. Abrasive jet machining aside, NOW is the time to gain computer literacy. It is becoming such a fact of life that shortly those who are not computer literate will be in the same camp as those who are unable to read or write. If you don't own a computer, then buy one. I recommend buying from Dell (http://www.dell.com) because they will not rip you off, they offer great service, and they make the highest quality computer that I have ever seen. They are a bit on the expensive side, though, but I think worth the extra money. I have owned and worked with many brands of computers, and I can say with great confidence that Dell is the best. If you do buy from dell, buy as a business, and not a home user (This is very important). My experience with them says that buying as a business will insure that you get better service. Then, buy "Windows XP for dummies", and take a few classes. Have fun. Buy some video games (I recommend Half Life 2, Far Cry, or Battlefield 2, and World of Warcraft if you have a hot enough computer to run it. Otherwise, try Return To Castle Wolfenstein, Half Life (original version), and Star-Wars Jedi Knights II, or Battlefield 1942). Installing games is a good way to learn how to do things on a computer, and you are rewarded with fun. My favorite game related web site is GameSpot. If you need help, then send me an email.
Generally speaking, the higher the pressure of the water, the faster the speed of cutting. However, pressure is only one of many factors to consider. Among them are:Operating cost is often much lower for lower power machines. This is simply because lower pressures and lower water flow rates translate directly into longer life of every component that touches the water. It also translates into fewer consumables, because machines that run at lower pressure wear mixing tubes and jewels slower, and typically consume less garnet.
- Operating cost
- Maintenance
- Fatigue limits of all high pressure components
- Cutting speed
Fatigue: At pressures of 60,000 PSI and higher, metal fatigue becomes a serious issue on many components. Although pumps that can reach 100,000 PSI have been around for many years, nobody runs them at such pressures because of the extreme maintenance issues involved. For this reason, most manufacturers purposely limit their pumps to below 60,000 PSI.
Cutting speed boils down to how much cutting power is exiting the nozzle. This is determined not only by pressure, but also by the size of the hole you are sending the water through (jewel size).To illustrate this concept, have a look at a few nozzle combinations, at various pressures:
30,000 PSI 40,000 PSI 50,000 PSI 100,000 PSI 0.010" Jewel 5.84 HP 8.99 HP 12.56 HP 35.52 HP 0.012" Jewel 8.40 HP 12.94 HP 18.08 HP 51.15 HP 0.014" Jewel 11.44 HP 17.61 HP 24.61 HP 69.62 HP 0.016" Jewel 14.94 HP 23.0 HP 32.15 HP 90.93 HP As the above chart shows, even at 100,000 PSI, you are still cutting at 35.52 horsepower, if you run a 0.010" jewel. Compare that to a system pumping 50,000 PSI through a 0.016" jewel, which even at half the pressure, is still cutting at nearly the same rate.
Of course, few people really run at 100,000 PSI, because that puts an extreme amount of wear on all the high pressure components! Nevertheless, it is an important illustration that pressure by itself is not very meaningful.
To make the example even more extreme, consider the case of 1,000,000 PSI behind a jewel that does not have a hole in the middle. In this case, you have a lot of pressure, but no water coming out at all! How can that cut? It doesn't!
As a general rule of thumb, it is horsepower at the nozzle (cutting horsepower), not the power of the motor turning the pump (pump horsepower), or pressure that determines how quickly a given system can cut!
This is a generalization, though. The best way to answer questions about how the various factors effect cutting speed, is to use the Waterjet Web Reference Feed Rate Calculator. Click here for info or to download Win 95 / 98 / NT 4.0 / 2000 Abrasivejet feed rate calculator software. This will answer many questions regarding cutting speed in a variety of materials, pressures, nozzle, and pump configurations.
Because of metal fatigue. There have been many pumps developed that can put out pressures higher than 60,000 PSI, but it is not practical to run them at beyond that except for maybe in the testing laboratory. All the high pressure fittings, plumbing, etc., fatigue and fail quickly at higher pressures. Because of this, most manufacturers of pumps purposefully limit them to under 60,000 PSI to prevent their customers from being frustrated and loosing money.
Q: What can I do to make my waterjet as maintenance free as possible?
Waterjets do require periodic maintenance. Perhaps a little more maintenance than you are used to. Compared to other machines, you don't do nearly as much "per part" maintenance, but you do do a lot more "weekly maintenance". For example, you don't need to worry about replacing bits that wear out every few parts, but you do need to replace mixing tubes and jewels after 50 or so hours of cutting. Anyway here are some tips to minimize your maintenance:
One final note is that when you first get your machine, you will probably be overwhelmed during the few days of training that you get. Once training is complete, you will feel pretty confident that you know how to operate the machine, and you may have a general idea of how to maintain it. However, it may be a few weeks before you perform your first maintenance, and even longer before it's time to rebuild the pump. Once these items do come up, you probably will have forgotten everything you have been taught. Therefore, consider having someone from the factory or a distributor use your first pump rebuild as an opportunity to provide you with advanced training on the machine operation, and refresher training on how to do maintenance.
- Start with clean water:
- If your water has particles in it, or dissolved minerals, these will bang into or accumulate on high pressure components and accelerate wear. Dissolved minerals can accumulate as a deposit on the top of the jewel, and cause the jet to cut less efficiently, and worse yet, deflect it sideways so it's cutting the side of your mixing tube. Tiny invisible-to-the-naked-eye sized particles underneath the jewel can cause it to miss align, and eat your mixing tube quickly. Dirt in the high pressure plumbing can become bullets that crack the jewel. Etc. etc.
- Be clean. Tiny bits of dirt can have devastating effects on component life - especially the nozzle components. This is more important than you may think. When I see people who rebuild or store their spare parts in the dirt, I also see that they complain of low component life and other headaches.
- Always rebuild high pressure or nozzle components in the cleanest possible conditions.
- Do not store high pressure or nozzle components where dust (or worse yet microscopic abrasive particles) can settle on them.
- Rinse all dirt from components prior to disassembly, and go to another room to do maintenance.
- Get an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning nozzle components
- When rebuilding something up-stream of the nozzle, remove the nozzle, and flush the lines with low pressure prior to putting the nozzle back on. This prevents dirt in the lines from damaging the nozzle.
- Remember, anything you do upstream has only one way to exit - through the nozzle.
- Plungers and seals inside of the pump are also sensitive to particles.
- Avoid pressure cycles on high pressure components: Each time high pressure is applied to the plumbing, the metal expands. When the pressure is removed, it contracts. This causes fatigue that can cause the components to eventually crack. Operating at lower pressures is one for-sure way to solve this. Pressure fluctuations typically either come from the pump itself, or from turning the nozzle on and off. There are also methods employed in most equipment for maintaining relatively consistent pressure in the high pressure tubing even though the nozzle is being turned on and off. Understand, though, that all of the high pressure plumbing is considered "wear parts" and does need to be periodically replaced.
- Rotate your mixing tube every morning. In the event that the jewel is slightly miss aligned, it will hit one side of the mixing tube harder than another side. This causes uneven wear. By rotating the mixing tube once in a while, this is minimized.
- Understand the basic principals of how ultra-high pressure tube fittings work. They do not work on the same principals as your household plumbing! For example, the thread is not what makes the seal. Instead the screw threads force the parts to gether to make a metal-to-metal seal. The threads are only used to hold the pieces in place. Once in place, the cone of the tubing fits inside a negative cone in the mating piece.
- There is no need to over-tighten the components. You do have to make it tight enough to allow it to have a basic metal to metal seal, but you don't have to use your big muscles to do it.
- A small piece of dirt between the cones can scratch it, or otherwise prevent the seal from occurring. (Therefore, BE CLEAN!)
- If you find that you do need to put a lot of torque on the fittings to make a seal, then consider that something is wrong, such as a scratch, bend, or piece of dirt interfering with the seal. Another possibility is that the cones are not properly touching due to improper assembly of the high pressure seal. (I'll probably have more on this topic here some day, once I get some pictures.)
- If you have a leak, fix it soon. Otherwise, the leak will erode the components that make the seal, and you will have to replace it.
- If you are at all unsure of what I am talking about here, ask the manufacturer of your equipment to explain it better, because it's important.
Whether you are looking for used waterjets for sale, or new waterjets for sale, I would suggest that you join the Waterjet Web Reference e-group discussion. To do so, click here . This is also a great place to sell your used equipment.
Or, follow this link for a list of manufacturers of waterjet equipment.Also, search for "waterjet manufacturers" using your favorite search engine. Last I counted, there were more than 60 of them.
Caution: You are about to read pure speculation, and probably BS! When the walk-man first came out, I thought it would be a total failure because it was so ugly that nobody would be caught dead wearing one. So, what's the future hold? As far as I can tell, God has not inspired me to prophecy, so I will only guess. Also, I have to be careful about giving away sensitive knowledge about where I work (OMAX), so I'm not going to tell you everything. Anyway, here are some of my guesses:Between now and the year 2015:
Before the year 2030:
- We will see an increase in the total number of manufacturers making these machines. Most of them will be system integrators who buy existing components and assemble them in unique ways. Others will spawn from job shops that have abrasivejet equipment, but think they can make it better. (This is pretty much where we are right now.)
- We will see more and more machines out there in many different shops. Most of these shops at this moment do not think they have a need for such machines because they don't yet understand what they are really capable of.
- Engineers who have been using these machines in College will graduate knowing how to best design parts to take advantages of these machines. (Many big engineering universities now have at least one waterjet. Some of them have several. I think MIT has 5 or 6, for example.)
- We will see many improvements in terms of maintenance on the machines, and overall quality.
- We will see some incremental improvements in precision and speed
- We will see a lot of refinements and "polish" in the machines, making them more user friendly, nicer looking, easier to work on, etc.
- We will see a shift from older Intensifier pump designs to more efficient and faster cutting direct drive pumps. I would guess that nearly all manufacturers by 2015 will have direct drive pumps. Intensifier pumps will probably still be used on some older machines, or for specialty applications.
- We will see a few announcements of "revolutionary" technology that will turn out being marketing fluff.
- We will see perhaps some real revolutionary technology as well, but I don't know what. Or at least I won't say.
- Somebody will make an absolute fortune by introducing a cheap, long-life mixing tube.
After 2030, and WAY out into the future....
- There will be small size waterjet machine tools in nearly every shop that has a vertical machining center, or a lathe.
- There will be even more huge machines used for high production
- I think of the waterjet industry as being about the same place the automotive industry was in the 1920's. There are a lot of companies that are making a lot of strange contraptions, but as time goes on we will see a more "standard" look to the machines as all the manufacturers borrow the good ideas from their competitors.
- Of course, there will always be a lot of custom machines as well for custom applications.
- The total number of waterjet manufacturers will decrease as companies merge. A few of the others will appear and disappear. A few will be very successful.
- Throughout the machine tool world and other industries, controller technology will blow your mind. Remember C3PO in Star Wars? I believe that we will approach this kind of technology probably around 2050, and certainly by 2100. This will be driven by a combination of:
- Neural Network software,
- Genetic Algorithms,
- Nano technology
- Software and hardware architectures that use fractal like neural net structures (maybe)
- A continuation of the current trend of exponential increases in computer speed and memory,
- New processor architectures that exploit the various aspects of serial and parallel computing, as well as 3D design and advanced cooling and / or organic electro-optical materials and devices.
- Chemical computing (for example DNA), optical computing, and quantum computing may also play a part in this, though maybe not too soon.
- Other technologies yet to be discovered, such as holographic multidimensional computation and display devices...
- Eventually, this will lead to the ultimate machine tool controller. This will be one that you walk up to and say, "Make something that pleases me." From there on out, it gets even stranger from our point of view, so I'll stop.
- I hope to also some day...
- Have a "Replicator" like in Star Trek.
- Have a vacation home on Mars with a cool green-house full of yummy plants, and great low-gravity recreational facilities, and a space ship that I can use to go between Earth and Mars, and play in zero-g, etc.
- I believe that anything is possible - limited only by our petty disputes.