COMBO Waterjet – Precision of cutting water, speed of plasma

The cutting machines using waterjet technology become more and more popular cutting tools in European market. Water technology assures the high accuracy and precision of cut without a temperature effect. Low speed of cut and in result small efficiency is the only shortcoming of waterjet technology. To meet customer’s expectations ECKERT company developed and implemented solution which increase possibilities of the WATERJET cutting machines. The COMBO Waterjet cutting machine uses two modern technologies of cut:  plasma and water. The innovative system allows to get even ten times higher cutting speed and the reduction of costs even to 70%.

COMBO Waterjet cutting machine is an ideal solution for companies which want to increase efficiency of water cut in black steel, stainless steel or aluminium.

COMBO Waterjet will cut out the same elements in time 4,5 hours, and cost will be about 160 PLN.

Dwg.1 Stainless steel exemplary detail

Combo Waterjet has portal building. The frame of portal moves along  hardened linear motion guides. Perfect dynamic of machine is assured by AC servo-drives with inventors and the low weight of portal. Drive transmission is made by toothed bar and toothed wheel with special springing clamp. All elements which are responsible for motion and can be a subject of water acting are protected by bag casing.

Modern CNC ECK 872 controller with a touch screen and XP Windows system assures comfortable and effective connection between an operator and a machine. USB interface and Ethernet link allow sending cutting programmes by a USB flesh card or by lan connection directly from a technologist's computer.

A high pressure pump of UHDE company is the main element of hydroabrasive cutting system. It produces pressure of water up to  6000 bars. Depending on kind of material the maximum thickness of water effective cutting is even 150 mm. With a waterjet  technology we can cut different materials – e.g. steel, glass, stone and plastic.

	Machine  can be equipped with plasma source of Kjellberg, Hypertherm or Thermodynamic companies with current intensity up to 160A. In dependence on a source of plasma the maximum thickness of cutting material is even 25 mm. We can get the speed of plasma cut till 10 000 mm per minute.

The technology of waterjet cut allows to obtain the highest qualitative parameters and the technology of HighDefinition plasma cut assures the low costs of producing keeping sufficient technological parameters in edges of the element which do not require the highest standards.

Eckert company developed and implemented system which allows to use both technologies – the plasma and the water - directly at one cutting element. Connection of these technologies gives unattainable earlier possibility of curves cut of steel and different materials. COMBO Waterjet cutting machine equipped with a plasma torch and a high pressure water nozzle by implementation of software is able to fully automatically toggle between cutting tools in time of executing set programme.

ECKCAM Professional Plus - modern software for construction offices allows user to choose a cutting technology already in time of drawing a detail. It can decide which elements of detail will be cut by water technology and which by plasma.

	COMBO Waterjet cutting machine was honoured as the best innovation of year 2009 on the EUREKA! Fair in Brussels and was awarded with the golden medal of fair.
	COMBO WaterJet effectively uses two different technologies. Therefore by precise cut of the stainless steel and non-iron metals of thickness above 10 mm is unbeatable even for a laser machines. Combo Waterjet cutting machine proved its innovation on 2009  Mach-Tool Fair in Poznan where it won the golden medal of fair.