Technology Comparison Between Waterjet, EDM & Laser
|
|
Process |
| |
|
EDM |
Laser |
Waterjet |
| Material Types |
|
Only metallic |
Mostly metallic (not reflective) |
Any material |
| Material Thickness |
|
1"/25,4 mm & above |
0.25"/6,35 mm & below |
0"/0,0 mm and above |
| Accuracy |
|
0.0001"/0,0025 mm
(tenths) |
0.001"/0,025 mm
(thousandths) |
0.001"/0,025 mm
(thousandths) |
| Cutting Feedrates |
|
Extremely slow
(in/hr / mm/hr) |
Fast
(in/min / mm/min) |
Moderately Fast
(in/min / mm/min) |
| Heat Affected Zones |
|
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Edge Quality |
|
High
4.45 µ" to 44.5µ"
0,13 µm to 1,3 µm |
Low
106.8 µ" & above
3,20 µm & above |
Medium
44.5 µ" & above
1,3 µm & above |
| Pre-Processing |
|
Pre-drill each hole
Re-thread wire |
None |
None |
| Post-Processing |
|
Remove HAZ |
Remove HAZ |
None |
| User-Friendly |
|
No |
No |
Yes |
| Machine Cost |
|
Low |
High |
Medium |
|
