Industrial Factory Automation

Wightman Stewart can now offer spare parts and consumables for major waterjet cutting products including Omax , Jet Edge, Flow, WSI and Accustream cutting heads and intensifiers. Designed to match original OEM quality, products available include abrasive nozzles, seals, valves, orifices, check valves, cylinders, hoses, tubing and many other wear parts. Wightman Stewart can estimate the mean time between failures for all these parts and advise users on predicted replacement schedules. This preventative approach to maintenance will help to eliminate unnecessary downtime due to component wear or failure. Most parts are available ex-stock and can normally be delivered within 24 hours. Wightman Stewart can also provide full maintenance and service for all types of intensifier. Literature on waterjet spares and consumables is available from Wightman Stewart, which is also the exclusive UK agent for Wardjet waterjet cutting tables and associated products.

Wightman Stewart is now offering the Wardjet R-Series of waterjet cutting tables in the UK. The waterjet cutting tables have been designed to meet the demand for the largest table sizes required for the fabrication of the larger parts typically found in the aerospace manufacturing and subcontract industries. A cross beam of up to 4.3m can be provided and, thanks to a modular design, the length of the table can be long as required, with standard sizes starting at 4m, 6m, 9m and 12m. Designed for both abrasive and pure waterjet cutting, the R-Series Wardjet series comes in eight standard sizes. Features include a high-precision helical rack and split pinions to achieve longer travel distances with no backlash. The lip-seal design allows the inclusion of multiple, independent carriages on the Z axis. Multiple cutting heads and additional crossbeams can be mounted onto the same side rails. Therefore, a 6m or larger R-Series unit could have multiple heads, crossbeams and controllers and cu...

Water Jet Sweden (WJS) has introduced the Panelone human-machine interface (HMI) for waterjet cutting machine customers. According to Tony Ryd, WJS director, customers will no longer need to rely on operators having specific numerical control knowledge as Panelone presents a simple interface from which all aspects of the profiler can be intuitively controlled. He added that the same basic platform will now be used as the standard for all waterjet profilers made by WJS across its entire range, right up to the full five-axis models. This will not only enable the company to hold down manufacturing costs but will also benefit customers requiring operator training at the factory. The same factory training course will apply to all; multiple customers can attend together without the need to arrange special one-off sessions for individual customer machines. The ergonomically designed operator's panel is free from clutter, having minimum switches and buttons marking the presence of its joy...

CNCMI has selected the compact DMC-2153 five-axis Ethernet motion controller from Galil Motion Control to ensure precision and speed of its VLF waterjet cutters. CNC Machines International's (CNCMI) VLF series is a high-performance waterjet cutter that can precisely cut and inlay intricate logos into carpet and turf. A representative from CNCMI said: 'Waterjet cutters like our VLF system need to keep the water stream tangent to the material for precise cuts. 'This rotary water axis must be kept tangent to the XY motion at all times. 'A unique feature of the machine is that it allows a bevel cut to be specified up to 45 degrees. 'Bevel cutting is useful in carpet cutting when fitting a logo cutout into the base. 'A straight-edge cut would allow the logo to fall straight through the base material.' The DMC-2153 easily handles the motion required by the application: the XY axes control the linear and circular patterns (rack and pinion), the Z-axis controls the...