Saw-waterjet combinations

What the machine does

The SWJ-3621 is a saw-waterjet combination: a CNC bridge saw head with a diamond blade and an abrasive waterjet head on the same bridge, over one slatted worktable and catch tank. Both heads use the same X and Y axes and the same CNC program. A slab is loaded once, and the machine cuts the whole job without moving it to a second machine.

Division of work

Each process does the work it does fastest.

• Blade. Straight cuts, perimeter cuts, 45° miters for aprons and waterfall ends, backsplash strips. A blade cuts straight lines several times faster than a waterjet in the same material.
• Waterjet. Sink and cooktop cutouts, internal corners, tight radii, notches, faucet holes by piercing, and shapes a blade cannot reach.

A common sequence is to rough a cutout with straight blade cuts where the shape allows, then finish the corners and curves with the jet. Some builders describe this as removing most of the material with the saw and leaving the jet only the part a blade cannot do. It keeps jet time, and garnet use, to a minimum.

The comparison of bridge saws, saw-waterjets and CNC routers has published feed rates for both processes. As an example, a 3 cm engineered quartz slab cuts at about 250 mm/min (10 in/min) with a 60,000 psi jet. A sink cutout perimeter of 2.4 m therefore takes about 10 minutes of jet time.

Intensifier pump

The jet is fed by a hydraulic intensifier pump. A typical size for stone is 37 kW (50 HP) at up to about 4,100 bar (60,000 psi), delivering about 3.8 l/min (1.0 gpm) at maximum pressure. These are the published figures for a common 50 HP pump class. Higher-pressure pumps (around 90,000 psi) cut faster but cost more and wear seals faster.

The pump stands next to the machine, not on it, and needs its own floor area, power connection, cooling water and clean inlet water. Its wear parts (high-pressure seals, check valves, orifices, mixing tubes) are a regular running cost. Ask for the maintenance interval of each part in hours.

Garnet consumption and handling

Garnet is the main running cost of the jet. Published figures for stone are around 0.45–0.7 kg/min (1.0–1.5 lb/min) while the jet is cutting. The rate depends on orifice and mixing tube size, pressure and material. Garnet is consumed only when the jet runs, which is another reason to give the blade as much of the job as possible.

Garnet arrives in bags or bulk sacks. It is loaded into a bulk hopper, then fed under pressure to a metered feeder at the cutting head. A garnet flow sensor stops the cut if the feed fails, which protects the slab from a pure-water cut. Keep garnet dry: damp abrasive clogs the feed line.

Catch tank and slurry

The jet discharges into a water-filled catch tank under the slats. Spent garnet and stone fines settle at the bottom and must be removed, by hand or with an optional sludge removal system. This is a solid waste stream that a saw-only shop does not have. Slats wear and need replacing.

The blade water carries stone slurry as on any bridge saw and goes to settling tanks or a filter press. Check local discharge rules for both streams before choosing a site for the machine.

Footprint

The machine occupies about 8,000 × 6,000 mm, plus the pump, garnet hopper and service clearances. That is less floor area than a bridge saw and a standalone waterjet in separate bays. A layout drawing with all supply connections comes with the quotation.

Typical buyer

• Countertop shops with many undermount sinks, cooktops and tight inside corners per day, where floor space is the limit.
• Shops cutting a lot of porcelain / sintered stone, where the jet cuts cutouts without the vibration of a finger bit.
• Shops replacing a separate manual saw and waterjet with one machine and one operator.

When saw capacity is the bottleneck, two separate machines usually give more output, because each runs its own job. A shop that only needs straight and miter cuts is better served by the 4-axis or 5-axis CNC bridge saw.

Documentation supplied

• CE marking and the manufacturer’s EU Declaration of Conformity for machines delivered to the EU / EEA.
• Operating and maintenance manuals for the machine and the pump.
• Electrical and hydraulic diagrams and spare parts lists.
• Factory Acceptance Test report.
• Layout drawing and installation specification.

Buyer questions

Can the blade and the jet cut at the same time?

No. They share the bridge, so the program runs one process after the other. The gain is in handling, not in parallel cutting.

Which pump brand is fitted?

The pump is specified per order, like the CNC control. Choose a brand with service support in your country.

How is it priced?

Quoted per configuration. The pump, worktable, sludge removal and handling options all change the price.

Next step

Send your weekly count of straight meters, miters and cutouts through request a configuration and we will check whether a saw-waterjet combination or two machines fit your shop.