Avoid heat-affected zones (HAZ) and mechanical stress with ultra precise waterjet cutting from Clifton Steel. Using erosion based abrasive cutting technology, we deliver meticulous tolerances without introducing thermal distortion, surface hardening, or material degradation to your wear-resistant plates, armor steel, or custom fabrications.
Whether you need refined machined components or rapid plate separation, Clifton Steel provides comprehensive in-house waterjet cutting capabilities to keep your project moving on schedule.
AVAILABILITY
| Thickness | Up to and including 8" thick |
| Sizes | 96" x 240" |
| 156" x 312" |
Zero Heat-Affected Zone Processing
Thermal cutting processes like plasma, oxy-fuel, and laser rely on extreme heat to melt or burn through steel. This heat transfers into the surrounding metal, creating a Heat-Affected Zone (HAZ) along the cut edge. For high-performance steels, thermal exposure alters the grain structure, compromises mechanical properties, and causes severe operational issues:
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Edge Hardening & Embrittlement: Rapid heating and cooling leave cut edges brittle and prone to micro-cracking under heavy impact or stress.
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Loss of Abrasion Resistance: Thermal exposure breaks down the carefully engineered temper of wear-resistant plates, softening the material right where wear protection is needed most.
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Material Distortion & Warping: Uncontrolled heat causes thermal expansion, resulting in bowing, plate distortion, and out-of-spec dimensions.
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Secondary Processing Challenges: Hardened thermal edges rapidly wear out drill bits, taps, and machining inserts during down-stream fabrication.
Cold Cutting Advantage
Clifton Steel’s abrasive waterjet cutting is a purely mechanical, cold-cutting process. By utilizing a high-velocity stream of water and garnet abrasive, our waterjet equipment erodes material rather than melting it.
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Preserves Metallurgical Integrity: Maintains the original hardness, yield strength, and toughness of specialty alloys, armor plate, and wear plate from edge to edge.
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Zero Thermal Stress: Eliminates heat-induced warping, micro-cracking, and material distortion, even on complex geometries or thin-gauge parts.
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Ready for Immediate Fabrication: Produces clean, unhardened edges that can be directly welded, tapped, machined, or formed without requiring costly edge-grinding or secondary heat treatment.
Large format waterjet cutting envelope
Our waterjet tables can accommodate material in sizes up to 96″ wide x 240″ long or 156″ wide x 312″ long
Waterjet Edge Qualities
Q5
Our fastest and most affordable separation cut. Designed for raw stock sizing where cut finish is non-critical and maximum operational efficiency is required.
Waterjet Cutting Edge Quality
| Edge Quality | Description | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Rough Edge | $ |
| 4 | Coarse Edge | $$ |
| 3 | Medium Edge | $$$ |
| 2 | Smooth Edge | $$$$ |
| 1 | Fine Edge | $$$$$ |
Q4
Q3
Q2
Q1
Steel Cutting Comparisons
Steel Cutting Options
| Cutting Style | Price | Benefits | Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterjet | $$$$ | No Heat Affected Zone Tightest tolerance Any material | Price/lead time |
| Laser | $$$ | Speed Tighter tolerance than Plasma | 1" thick max |
| Plasma | $ | Short lead time Any metal | Edge quality Tolerance |
| Oxyfuel | $ | Short lead time Any metal Thicknesses up to 24" | Edge quality |
Tips for requesting a waterjet quote
When requesting a waterjet quote, it’s important to include a couple of additional pieces of information initially to get the quickest and most accurate response. In addition to typical quote requests like size, thickness, material, and grade, please identify:
- What tolerance is needed
- What edge quality is needed (numerical value 1-5, default is a 3)
Waterjet FAQ
What is waterjet cutting?
Waterjet is a cold cutting process, using pressurized water mixed with a cutting media under extreme pressure focused through a narrow cutting head to administer a precise cut of material.
What can be cut?
Clifton Steel will waterjet cut steel, aluminum, stainless steel, or titanium.
What industries can benefit from waterjet cutting?
Armor, industrial, heavy equipment, oil & gas, transportation, energy & infrastructure, marine, or recycling industries. Any industry can benefit from the precision waterjet cutting offers.
How thick can material be when waterjet cutting?
Clifton Steel’s waterjet table can accommodate up to (and including) 8″ thick material.
The material I want cut is oversized, is that possible?
The cutting envelope size of Clifton Steel’s waterjet table allows us to work with material that is very large. We can accommodate plates that are 96″ x 240″ or
156″ x 312″.