Waterjet cutter

Low maintenance costs of pump and head
The Kimla waterjet machines are equipped with a high-pressure pump with a pressure intensifier and accessories made by a renowned American company - Accustream. Pumps manufactured by Accustream are competitive with regard to the lowest maintenance costs, which amount to approximately U.S. $ 1.25 per hour of work. It is worth noting that the maintenance costs of some producers are even four times higher. This is especially important because in a competitive waterjet service market the operating costs may determine the success of the project.

Adjusting the amount of abrasive
Kimla machines are equipped with Accustream abrasive regulators with smoothly adjustable amount of the garnet supplied to the head. This allows you to fine-tune the amount of abrasive to the material cut and the specific treatment conditions.

Compact space-saving design
Kimla waterjet machines are characterized by an extremely compact design, which requires little space and is convenient to use. The material lying on the grate bath is accessible from four sides, which allows the operator to manipulate the material freely and enables the collection of the pieces cut-out.

200l abrasive tank with the hopper system
Abrasive tanks supplied with Kimla machines have a capacity of 200 liters, which allows for hours of cutting without stopping to refill the abrasive. The hopper allows for convenient refilling of abrasive through the use of the mushroom valve lifting up automatically.

Smooth regulation of the cutting speed
The feed speed during cutting with waterjet machines depends on the type of material, its thickness and quality which we want to achieve. In some machines it is not possible to choose a different feed rate than established by the manufacturer. Kimla machines enable smooth regulation of the feed speed allowing the operator to adjust the speed to the specific requirements.

Digital AC Servo Drives
Waterjet machines must be powered to enable reliable and repeatable mapping of the machined workpiece shape. Therefore, you should not economize on the drive. Some companies (including those well-known) use step motors for the feed drive, which have not a position feedback and in case of overload they may "lose steps" destroying all the material. The Kimla waterjet machines are equipped withmodern AC servo drives with vector control and the position feedback to control the position of the head continuously.

RTE Interpolator
Most control systems for CNC machine have had a similar logical structure of servo drive regulators for many years. It is a serial architecture. The nominal position of the interpolator is compared with the measured value and the offset is transmitted to the position of its output.The speed regulator output sets the torque and the servo drive is at the end. This approach results in significant delays by limiting the dynamics of adjustment. The Kimla machines have been equipped with regulators which set the position, the speed, the torque and the spurt concurrently, which is possible thanks to a very fast data transmission between the interpolator and servo drives using real-time Ethernet (RTE). As a result, the dynamic accuracy of machines has significantly increased . This is particularly evident at high speeds and complex shapes.

Low pressure piercing
Some materials such as glass, stone, ceramics, are prone to cracking and splintering when piercing. Therefore, the Kimla machines have been equipped with the possibility of low-pressure piercing, which can reduce the jet impact force during piercing the material.

Toolpath generating software
The dynamic control of operating speed in waterjet machine is extremely vital. The speed should depend on the shape of the toolpath. The Kimla machines software has the ability to generate toolpaths automatically on the basis of dxf, plt files, etc., and enable drawing elements oi the built-in editor. Toolpath generating module automatically generates the toolpath taking into account the dynamics of the speed and the diameter of the cutting jet. It is extremely important because in many machines from other manufacturers, particularly cheap ones(eg. Chinese ones), the producers are trying to use mill control systems in their machines, which forces operating with lower speeds at a given shape. The efficiency of this solution is much lower than in case of the Kimla machines and other leading manufacturers of waterjet machines.

Electronic gate angle correction
The use of the gate moving along the narrower side of the operating area causes significant increase in convenience of operations, but some manufacturers have problems with maintaining the correct angle of the gate because of its flexibility and lack of synchronization between its drives on both sides. Kimla company has developed and implemented the electronic system for correcting the angle of the gate, which automatically sets the correct angle regardless of the initial set of the drives.

The possibility of upgrades
The control systems of CNC machines are ageing (essentially) up to ten times faster than their mechanics due to the rapid development in the field. The control system of a ten-year-old machine often looks as archaic as one century-old mechanics. For that reason we have integrated the control system with a module which allows subsequent upgrades to the control system software. Kimla company aslo offers the exchange of entire control systems at very attractive prices for its regular customers.

Advanced diagnostics - oscilloscope
In the control system there has been integrated a diagnostics module which provides remote maintenance and diagnostics of the control system, which significantly simplifies and speeds troubleshooting.

Linear rolling bearings with preload
All Kimla machines have linearl bearings by means of the system of rails and rolling blocks with preload. This ensures a high rigidity of rolling elements and their durability is counted in tens of thousands of kilometers.

Adjustable grid
During frequent exchanges of the grid, it may occur that the accuracy of the duplicated ribs is insufficient. Therefore, there is a possibility of fine adjustment of the height of the grid in order to keep the gap between the nozzle and the material always within the optimal range.

Dual synchronous gate drive
Due to the large width of the gate the Kimla machines are always equipped with a dual independent gate drive at the both sides of servo drives, thus avoiding the twisting and the angulation of the gate, as in the case of individual drives.

High operating speed and accelerations
Most users of waterjet machines are convinced that these machines are slow and do not develop high-speed machining. However, the speed of waterjet technology development is high enough that you need to verify those claims. Thin and relatively soft materials, such as aluminium, ceramics, etc. can be cut much faster than a few years ago. For this reason, the cutting speed limit does not often result from the waterjet technology itself but from the restrictions arising from the capabilities of the control system and the drives. Therefore the Kimla machines are equipped with solutions allowing to achieve operating speed up to 0.5m/s. This leads to the opportunity of even multiple increase in cutting efficiency, especially for thin materials.

The rigid spatial construction of the bathtub and self-supporting structures
The main concepts of geometric bodies of the waterjet machine are basically divided into monolithic solutions and those in which the bathtub with a grate and the material are not mechanically connected with the head positioning set. Some producers explain that the separation the bathtub from the coordination system with a head is beneficial for the treatment, because any undesirable vibrations are not transmitted. However, if any vibrations appear, the cutting head and the cut material should move together. Such a solution occurs in the monolithic version, in which the coordinating system is mounted on the bathtub. Then there is no relative motion between these elements, which positively affects the accuracy of the machining. We can offer both solutions, depending on individual beliefs, but we tend toward the monolithic solution. Another aspect is an extension arm or a gate, but there is no doubt that the gate supported at both sides with independent drives is a better solution, and the companies which primarily have applied the extension arm eventually withdraw from such solutions.

Convenient mobile control panel
The Kimla machines are equipped with a mobile control panel which can be moved in the range of a few metres, which enables the convenient control of the machine.

Hot–dip galvanized tub
Waterjet machine is a considerable expense, and therefore this type of machine has to work for many years. Sand and water will damage even the best quality paint and after several years of use the machines with paint coating only look very old, and they are corroded and dented. Our machines are hot-dip galvanized before coating, which ensures deep penetration of zinc to allow long-term corrosion protection.

Stainless steel finish
Despite the galvanizing there are elements which are particularly vulnerable to torn and damages. In such cases, we finish these elements with stainless steel which looks aesthetically pleasing, even in extreme conditions.

All drives protected against water.
In waterjet machines water and sand is everywhere, which exposes drive components and linear bearings to damage. All drives are shielded from direct exposure to these factors.

Air bag
Waterjet machines are loud. And in particular, this is just a stream of water which is loud in the air. Even this short distance (about 2mm) which is covered by the water from the nozzle to the material generates loud noise. Therefore, Kimla waterjet machines are equipped with displacement chambers (air bag) which enable to raise the water level for the cutting time and then to lower it in order to remove the material. The process of raising water level lasts several seconds and provides more comfort also by reducing splashing.

Independent, external cooling system
The pump is equipped with external oil cooling system that allows to place the heat exchanger e.g. outside the building, which reduces the space requirements and the noise.

4.1 l/min at 50HP and 4150bar
Most 50HP pumps with a pressure of 4150 bar has the expenditure of 3.8l. Thanks to the modern construction of the pump the company Accustream has reached the expenditure of 4.1l/min

Modern pressure amplifier with symmetrical seals
High pressure cylinders seals are the same on the active and passive side as well, which reduces the range of components at replacing seals.

Unthreaded cylinders - pins
Most pressure amplifiers have threaded cylinders which are expensive and impractical. They often sinter, which leads to the need to replace not only the cylinders, but also the elements of bodies working with them. This leads to the multiplication of operating costs. The Accustream pumps are equipped with unthreaded pins and cylinders. In case of damage, such pins are very cheap and easy to replace.

Larger diameter cylinders
Cylinders have a much thicker wall, which increases the life of the cylinder which, therefore, has a higher resistance to weariness.

Nozzles 0.040 and tubes 0.014 (1.016 mm)
In Kimla machines with Accustream 50HP pumps you can apply nozzles up to 0.014 (0.36mm) and mixing tubes 0.040 (1.016 mm). For smaller pumps you can apply only tubes up to 0030 (0.76mm), which directly affects the productivity reduction.

Table made of strips of galvanized steel (no platform grating)
In waterjet machines the material lies on a special grid, under which there is water dissipating the energy of water jet. The material is cut, but the the grid is cut as well. Frequently, platform grating is used as a grid in waterjet machines. Unfortunately, because of its small thickness it quickly wears down and must be often replaced. The Kimla waterjet machines are equipped with a segment grid consisting of high galvanized steel strips, which ensures its long life and the opportunity to exchange individual ribs.

basic options

Waterjet type	Waterjet Kimla Streamcut 2111	Waterjet Kimla Streamcut 3116	Waterjet Kimla Streamcut 4121	Waterjet Kimla Streamcut 6121
Working range [mm]	2100 x 1100	3100 x 1600	4100 x 2100	6100 x 2100
Operating mass of the bathtub filled with water [kg]	4500	6200	9800	12000
Z axis range [mm]	200, 250, 300, inne na zapytanie
Maximum cutting thickness [mm]	200
Pump type	Intensifier pump with ceramic plungers (very durable)
Pump power	37kW (50KM) made by AccuStream (Hypertherm) - the USA
Maximum pump pressure [bar]	4150
Pressure expanding system of the pump	Reducing the pressure on the move and after switching the pump off
Cutting head drive	AC Servo with digital encoders
X, Y axes drive	AC Servo, no backlash helical drive Güdel - Switzerland
Z axis drive	AC Servo, ball screw
Maximum running speed: X, Y, Z [m/min]	54
Allowable load on the table [ kN/m2]	15
Bathtub	3D multi-chamber design with a very high stiffness
Positioning resolution [mm]	0,001
Abrasive grain size [mesh]	80-200
Abrasive feeder tank [kg]	300
Abrasive delivery system	Pneumatic