Abrasive Waterjet Machining of Engineering Materials

Manufacturing industry is becoming ever more time-conscious with regard to the global economy, and the need for rapid prototyping and small production batches is increasing. These trends have placed a premium on the use of new and advanced technologies for quickly turning raw materials into usable goods; with no time being required for tooling. The need for advanced processing technologies is particularly evident when machining advanced materials, such as ceramics, composites and thermo-sensitive materials that have wide application but are considered to be "difficult-to-machine" using conventional machining technologies such as turning and milling. Abrasive waterjet (AWJ) machining has been found to be one of the advanced technologies that meet these processing requirements; due to its distinct advantages over other machining technologies.