Waterjet cutter built with a cheap pressure washer

Building an abrasive waterjet cutter with a $150 pressure washer.

80 grit garnet abrasive - ebay

[BluntForceTrauma]

Dude, do you have _any idea_ how refreshing it is to watch a video where the creator has a SOLID understanding of what they are doing AND can also articulate that information to the viewer in a highly effective manner without 10, 000 "ummm's" and "uhhh's"? The bonus? No obnoxious distracting twinky urban electronica music. This should serve as a template for all other instructional/DIY videos.

[hlev]

Try cutting the bread with olive oil and use coarse salt for abrasive. Delish!

[skivvy]

The only channel where he tells and shows the end results within the first minute and *doesn’t do any sleazy dirty clickbait cliffhangers or titles like even our favorite channels like tech ingredients and practical engineering or medhi or NileRed do* . What a breath of fresh air this is. There’s nothing else like it. Except maybe AvE but that’s different lol

[malayrojak]

Hi Cody, we have a waterjet at work that I have access to. If the tungsten carbide focusing tube gets clogged again, try removing it, and assembling it in UPSIDE down. Then run the waterjet without garnet. This can unblock the focusing tube sometimes. Thanks for sharing.

[tobuslieven]

I love that you begin with a brief motivation, then show the results, and then go into a detailed explanation. Seeing the result at the start gets us up to speed and makes the explanation much easier to grasp. Cheers!

[jimmyoverly]

My present technique for producing soggy bread isn't nearly loud enough. This is perfect for me.

[smacurface]

No hmm's and ahh's..
Straight talk. And to the point.
Great instructions and in depth information. Well put together.
Thanks for the vid. Well done.

[ThisOldTony]

excellent! I bet that was a lot of fun to put together.

[Zoidberg]

A great deal of care is due around high pressure liquids. Around the cutting nozzle is obvious, but a pinhole leak in a hydraulic hose can be extremely dangerous. Don't ever search for leaks with your hands (or any other body part). Any injury from high pressure liquid systems warrant an immediate trip to the ER and likely emergency surgery. Jet injection injuries are no joke.

Cool project idea, just worth the consideration in a safety arena that a lot of people aren't aware of.

[robertlloyd]

hey cool project couple of tips though. i used to work as a hydro-demolitions operator (18, 000-20, 000 psi handheld water jet for demolishing concrete) i noticed at the top of your jet assembly the hose from the pump comes in at a 90degree angle with the gauge above it. if you swap them around the water wont need to make a hard turn. in these types of systems reducing the number and angle of bends can greatly increase efficiency. i would also suggest a short hose (1meter or so) or at the least run the hose out in a straight line, if it needs to have a bend make it a nice wide radius.
the result of bends etc causes friction in the movement of the water against the hose wall. in my experience when we operated our water blaster with a few too many bends, the water going into the pump would be ~10c(or average cold water temp) but the water coming out of the nozzle of the lance(gun) could be something in the order of 50c+ while at the same time having a noticeably lower pressure (and velocity). bare in mind most if the time we were operating the lance 80% of the hose would be submerged in the ocean. thus we went to considerable lengths to keep the 40meter hose as straight and bend free as practicable. cheers hope this can help obtain some improvement and efficiency

[thilltony]

I also had to look away when you fed it with your hands. That gave me chills. IF you slip, and that jet hits your hand, you might lose it... or worse.
Great video, and glad you didn't get hurt.

[jedclampett]

By outfitting your cutter to a CNC you've created a nice little business niche for yourself. Great job!

[Stainlessslayer]

I keep thinking I should do this! I run a waterjet for a living so I have a surplus of discarded parts. Love the ingenuity, thanks for sharing.

[theoldbigmoose]

Thanks for this video! For years I have wondered the specifics of waterjets, and also how low in pressure you can go. Your work answered so many questions. Thanks again!

[sevenproxies]

The water does play a very crucial role in itself actually. It serves as a coolant while simultaneously serving as a medium to accelerate the abrasive particles with.

A friend of mine who works at a metal workshop that both had a laser cutter and a water jet cutter (heavy duty variant that they used to cut through stainless steel plates that were inches thick) has told me that you get more precise cuts at the microscopic level using the waterjet, because even a fine tuned laser cutter creates irregular burns in the cuts, that might not be noticeable to the naked eye, but will get noticed during quality control and assembly of the manufactured parts.

[go]

Commenting on a video is rare for me but I want to let ya' know I really appreciate you sharing your experience in a easy to understand along with the in depth details. Have a great one and thanks again!

[ryanhughes]

A new Applied Science video?! My day has been made!

[antonrockoboac]

finally a way to slice bread for the modern man

[yamlcase]

I have that same pressure washer. I might not build a water jet cutter but I sure as hell am stripping off the housing, what a bunch of wasted bulk to make it look cool!

[kelseywatt]

Awesome work. I could see that it work a treat for cutting tiles. A straight edge would be all that was required. Free forming could also be done for curves and holes etc. Tile cutting involves either the scratch and snap method or diamond wheels and heaps of dust. The pros use a water bath for the wheel but the machines are big and expensive. Good luck with your development.