ABSTRACT
Abrasive Water Jet Machining (AWJM) process combines the principles of Water Jet Machining and Abrasive Jet Machining (AJM) to create a unique process that relies on the erosive action of an abrasive-laden water jet for application to cutting and drilling hard materials and for general cleaning. The AWJM process uses a conventional, high-velocity water jet in combination with abrasive particles to produce a slurry cutting jet. An AWJM system consists of four major components. Specifically, these are the pumping system, abrasive feed system, water jet, and abrasive jet nozzle. A consideration when cutting glass and glass products with AWJM is that of stray cutting which, as with AJM, can result in frosting of the top surface near the edge of the cut. A promising AWJM application that has been investigated is cutting the sandwiched honeycomb structural material used in the aerospace industry.
