Arka Technologies Launches Water Jet Cutting Service
A cost effective alternative to expensive tooling costs for prototyping
Arka Technologies, specialists in the design and production of EMI (electromagnetic interference) shielding and thermal management products, today announces the launch of its Waterjet cutting service. Waterjet cutting is a cost effect alternative to the expensive tooling costs usually associated with prototyping low volumes of electronic components.
The WaterJet cutting process uses water of the highest purity and is pressurised to 50,000 psi and then released through a small opening. The excess material is then eroded away with a tolerance accuracy of up to 0.2mm. This process is used for soft materials, such as thermal interface materials and silicones.
For hard materials, such as metal, glass, and stone, an abrasive is added to the Waterjet stream and is accelerated faster than the speed of sound. The momentum and speed of the erosion process allows the manipulation of harder materials up to 6" thick.
Waterjet cutting offers a clean and precise cut, which is free from heat-affected zones and accommodates highly polished and reflective surfaces and eliminates many secondary-finishing operations.
The cutting process is controlled by CAD software, and Arka Technologies’ engineers have capability of generating custom-made designs in order to meet client specifications or use in conjunction with existing files or drawings. The CAD/CAM nesting also ensure highly economical material usage.
Craig Rochford, Director, commented: “Our Waterjet cutting service offers impressive operational advantages over more conventional profile cutting methods. It cuts virtually any sheet material, including metallic and non-metallic composites and honeycomb constructions. It is also extremely accurate, even on the most complicated designs.”