The basic operating principle of HPWD relies on the impact force of a high-velocity waterjet exiting from a small-diameter orifice to knock away chips, debris, and burrs from the surface. The process does not cut or compromise the basic part features, nor is it intended to. It removes material that is an unintended consequence of the machining process. The high-pressure water removes material that is not solidly attached to the surface. The burr, in a sense, is qualified. Loosely attached burrs come off, and firmly attached burrs, burrs that cannot be removed with 10,000 psi water, do not. Feather-edge burrs seen only with a microscope are removed.
In general, high pressure water deburring does not chamfer edges; in softer materials, such as aluminum, edges can be dulled. In harder materials, edges stay sharp.
The most suitable materials for waterjet deburring are soft metals like aluminum, cast iron, and materials of lower tensile strength. Harder materials require higher pressures, softer materials lower pressure. The time it takes to deburr a part is a function of the type of machine, the power of the machine's pump, the sophistication of the nozzle tooling and-most importantly-the number of features that need to be deburred. With generic tooling, cycle times are generally longer, but fewer stations are needed.
High-pressure water deburring is very well suited for applications that require inaccessible features to be deburred, when parts must be very clean, when consistent quality is required, or when parts cannot be subjected to heat or corrosive chemicals. The deburring medium, conditioned water, is very good in a number of respects. It's friendly to the environment, and the process occurs at room temperature and does not use abrasives or corrosive chemicals.
If you think high pressure water deburring may be of use to your company please get in touch.