Fedtech FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a page dedicated to our waterjet and laser cutting customers. We receive a variety of questions on numerous occasions so it seemed to be a good idea to make it easier for our customers to get answers! If your question or concern does not fall into any of these categories, feel free to contact us and ask a Fedtech associate.

Q) Does abrasive waterjet cutting cost the same as laser cutting?
A) No, waterjet cutting is actually the more expensive process. This is due to the slower processing rates, coupled with the large amount of consumable material involved. Although multiple cutting heads, tight nesting capabilities and the ability to layer some materials do help to offset these additional costs, generally speaking, abrasive waterjet cutting is a more costly process than laser cutting.

Q) Do you cut glass? 
A) Yes! Abrasive waterjet does a great job for contour cutting of glass. We have done countless projects involving cutting glass, and the cuts look amazing when they're done. However some types of glass may be more fragile than others. If there is a specific type of glass you'd like to cut but are unsure about it, feel free to ask a member of our sales team.

Q) Do you reverse engineer?
A) Yes, we can reverse engineer depending on the part and what needs to be done. Our laser QC machine gives us the ability to reverse engineer parts as large as 48" x 48", by generating a CAD file that can be used in our waterjet cutting and laser cutting process.

Q) What file type do I need to send in to get a quote on my part(s)? 
A) We will take files in many forms including; DXF, IGES, DWG, and PCX. If you have another type of file, feel free to consult with a member of our sales team before requesting a quote.

Q) Do you have in-house inventory that you can use on my job?
A) Of course! We stock all kinds of material, including; 300 series of stainless steel (such as 303, 304, 316, and 321), Aluminum (including 2024, 3003, 6061, 5052, and 7075), carbon steels (CRS, HRS), super alloys, plastics, rubber, foam and more.

Q) How fast can you have these done?
A) Lead-time for waterjet cutting and laser cutting orders is typically 1-2 weeks and often times, deliveries in just a couple days are possible.

Q) Do you cut titanium? 
A) Yes, abrasive waterjet is an ideal process for cutting titanium.

Q) Do you do titanium welding?
A) Yes, we do offer titanium welding depending on the application and requirements of each project. 

Q) Do you do laser welding?
A) No, laser welding is one area that we do not specialize in at Fedtech.

Q) Do you cut customer supplied materials? 
A) Yes, we also inventory a large variety of materials such as 300 series of stainless steel (including 304 and 316), carbon steels and several alloys of aluminum.

Q) How thin/thick of material does your abrasive waterjet cut?
A) Abrasive waterjet processes materials from .001" to 12".

Q) What is the largest plate size you can cut?
A) Our largest plate size to waterjet cut would be 144” x 360”.

Q) Does abrasive waterjet cut hardened metals?
A) Yes, we can use waterjet to process hardened metals ranging from 20-70 Rockwell C.

Q) What size of kerf is generated with the abrasive waterjet process?
A) The kerf width can be as small as 0.020” for waterjet processing of thin materials or up to 0.055” in thick materials.

Q) Is there any taper on the part after cutting?
A) Yes, there is often times a taper when waterjet cutting a part, however it can be eliminated on certain materials.

Q) What tolerance can you hold?
A) Our common tolerance for waterjet cutting is plus/minus .005”, however a tolerance of plus/minus .003" is very achievable as well.

Q) What are your prices?
A) There's only one way to find out, we quote each project based on the waterjet cutting, laser cutting, or in-house processing that will need to be done. We also vary the price depending on material costs, and the size of each project so there really isn't a way to give prices without knowing these factors.

Q) How thick can you cut?
A) Our waterjet can process materials up to 12" thick. On the water-only waterjet, we have processed materials up to 3", however it really depends on the material. Laser metal cutting can process materials up to about 5/8" in thickness.

Q) What are the limitations of waterjet cutting?
A) Three materials that we do not use waterjet cutting for are; Tungsten, Tungsten Carbide, and Beryllium Copper. Tungsten is an extremely hard material, and Beryllium Copper releases poisonous Beryllium into the air. Because of this, these are materials that we do not process with our waterjets.

Q) What kind of abrasive is used in abrasive waterjet cutting?
A) Typically Garnet is the most commonly used abrasive for waterjet cutting. Since abrasive is one of the most expensive things in abrasive waterjet cutting, Garnet is a nice choice as it's one of the least expensive options.

Q) What types of materials can you laser cut?
A) We can use laser cutting to process many different types of materials (typically stainless steel, acrylics, Hastelloy, aluminum, titanium, wood, carbon steel, etc.), but some materials that might come as a surprise include foams, fabrics, magnetic sheets, rubbers, and even teflon.

Q) Can you describe abrasive waterjet cutting?
A) As you might know, waterjet cutting has been around for years. The process is a means of cutting countless types of material, much faster and with much higher quality than traditional methods of tooling. Waterjet has the capability to easily process materials like stainless steel, titanium, alloy steels, and many more. The best part about waterjet cutting is the fact that it has no heat-affected zones. This means that the metals do not get hardened or damaged in any way during the process of cutting, leaving no further work to be done with the parts.

With that being said, it’s important to point out that there are two types of waterjet cutting; abrasive waterjet cutting, and water-only cutting (also known as pure waterjet). Today we’ll be covering the abrasive portion, and next time will be the water-only segment. In water-only cutting, the cutting stream erodes the material. However in abrasive waterjet cutting, the abrasive particles shear the material, after being accelerated through the waterjet stream. This process is much more powerful than water-only cutting.

The abrasive is (more often than not) composed of tiny garnet particles. The particles start as a pile of abrasive, and are delivered through tubing to arrive in the mixing chamber. From there the abrasive is mixed in with the water and the two are rapidly projected down through the nozzle. The nozzle creates a perfect cutting stream to produce exact cuts with exceptionally smooth edges.

Q) I've heard of water-only waterjet cutting, but what is it and why would I choose that over abrasive waterjet cutting?
A) The most obvious difference between the two is the lack of abrasive in pure waterjet cutting. Since abrasive waterjet is more commonly used on hard and thick materials, water-only is often used for processing materials such as; PTFE, plastics, neoprene rubber, foam board, composites, cellular silicone, nylon reinforced rubber, and virtually any flexible material.

Water-only processing has no heat affected zones, as to not alter any of the materials being processed. Water-only waterjet generates a fine jet of water with very high energy. Water-only cutting is a non-contact process which means there is minimal lateral effect on the part. It can also be used to process materials ranging from .004” to .010” in diameter.

Another reason why you might choose water-only processing is for its cleaner processing. When abrasives stream through soft, light-colored materials, they often leave a dirty trail behind them. However in water-only cutting, there are no abrasives, thus no trail and the results look much more pleasing.

Abrasive waterjet cutting and water-only cutting both offer many benefits. Both have: cutting tolerance up to +/- .003”, burr-free parts, multiple-head cutting, tight nesting of parts, and the ability to produce parts for many different industries. These industries include; defense, architectural, automotive, food processing, agriculture, mining, packaging, public utilities, pulp and paper, shipping, medical, aerospace, power plants, and more. 

Q) Can you laser cut HY-80 material?
A) Yes. HY-80 can be laser cut, ideally only up to about 3/4" though. If the material is thicker than this, a good alternative might be waterjet cutting, which can cut up to 12" HY-80.

Q) Can 1000w laser cut through UHMW?
A) No. UHMW (or Ultra-high Molecular Weight) Polyethylene is better left suited for waterjet cutting.

Q) When should I use drilling for holes instead of laser cutting?
A) Generally speaking, drilling is used for thin materials, since it holds a tighter tolerance than laser cutting would. Laser cutting is generally used for thicker materials, or when the hole is wider in diameter than the thickness of the material.

Q) When should I choose waterjet cutting over laser cutting?
A) If your project involves cutting thick material over 5/8", then you should use waterjet cutting. If your project involves cutting aluminum, copper, brass, titanium, wood, acrylic, plastic, or requires no heat affected zones... then you should use waterjet cutting.

If your project involves processing thinner stainless steels, or carbon steels, then you most likely will choose the laser cutting route. This route is also a little less expensive, as it uses less consumables than waterjet cutting.

Q) How thick of steel can waterjet cut?
A) Our waterjets can cut up to 12" thick in nearly every material, steel included. If you require material that is thicker than 12", feel free to contact one of our sales team members and they can help guide you in the right direction.

Q) What is 'burr'?
A) A burr is a raised or jagged edge on a metal part, most often appearing after it has been processed. Generally speaking, it's unwanted material that can be fixed using a process called deburring. To learn more about deburring, you can take a peek at our value-added page of our website, or listen to our deburring podcast.