Print PageCreative Edge Master Shop, Inc. - Fairfield, Iowa
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As the largest independent waterjet fabrication and design company in the United States, Creative Edge Master Shop puts its waterjet systems to the test.
The Fairfield, Iowa, company runs its nine waterjet systems more than 80 hours a week, cutting intricate pieces of mostly stone and tile for custom flooring designs that can be seen in fine homes, commercial buildings and civic institutions around the world. The company has contributed to numerous landmark architectural projects, including O'Hare International Airport, the Astronauts' Memorial at Kennedy Space Center , and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
The nature of such delicate cutting requires Creative Edge's waterjet operators to alter high-low water-pressure settings as many as 200 times a day, a process that can take 10 seconds per cycle and put tremendous strain on the intensifier pump that powers the waterjet, as well as the connecting high-pressure hoses.
"Ten seconds times 200 cycles per shift adds up to significant production gains, especially when you consider that we cut many small parts that may only take 30 seconds in actual profile cut time," said Mark McCabe, Creative Edge engineer. "If you're doing lots of high-low cycles, you are stressing every component. On one machine, I was replacing blown lines every week. Every week, I would have a leak somewhere and would have to spend $200 an hour for maintenance."
Wary of this time-consuming and costly downtime, McCabe decided to buy a Jet Edge Dual Pressure Valve for his overworked intensifier pump after determining that Jet Edge Dual Pressure Valves were already resulting in reduced maintenance on two other intensifier pumps in his shop.
"I believe that we purchased the very first Dual Pressure Valve ever produced by Jet Edge, and have had only routine seal changes for over five years," he said. It is very dependable."
The Jet Edge Dual Pressure Valve is a remotely mounted valve that allows waterjet operators to control water pressure independently of the intensifier pump. This enables operators to run a number of tables or cutting stations at various pressures. In low-pressure piercing applications, the Dual Pressure Valve can increase productivity by allowing operators to reduce and raise water pressure instantaneously. The Jet Edge Dual Pressure Valve will operate with any manufacturer's pump, cutting head, or cutting system, and is fully configurable for pressure change ratios. Connection points are standard 60,0000 psi-type. The Dual Pressure Valve is pneumatically operated and must be used in conjunction with another normally closed on/off valve or cutting head.
"We have also found that materials that require lower pierce pressure also cut well at lower overall pressure, so that a simple reduction of the intensifier's high pressure setting sets both pressures appropriately without loss of cutting speed, but increases component life at the reduced pressures," McCabe said.
Since installing the Jet Edge Dual Pressure Valve, McCabe has not had to service the offending intensifier pump, and has increased productivity by eliminating downtime between high-low cycles.
"That Dual Pressure Valve is amazing," he said. "It has just been a trooper. Nobody else has anything comparable on the market. It saves wear and tear on all the components."
In addition to the Dual Pressure Valve, Creative Edge also had a new Jet Edge attenuator installed in the intensifier pump despite the fact that pump was made by a different manufacturer (The pump's previous attenuator had failed due to the stress of fluctuating from high to low pressure prior to the installation of the Dual Pressure Valve.). McCabe explained that Jet Edge was willing to rebuild the attenuator until it was no longer serviceable, while the pump's manufacturer was willing to rebuild it only once.
Creative Edge also has switched to Jet Edge Omnijet cutting head valves, which McCabe said appear to be more reliable than competitor models and have repair costs that are one-third to half that of the competition. In addition, the company installed Jet Edge high-pressure orifice mounts on its cutting heads and has determined that they are getting twice the jewel life as competitor models
"We have used everybody's products," McCabe noted. "If the product's not good, I don't buy it. We are in production all the time so the significance of reliability is really big to me."
Customer service also is very important to McCabe, who praised Jet Edge's excellent service.
"If I call Jet Edge and tell them I need an Omnijet valve, it's here tomorrow," said McCabe, who noted that he has had to wait as long as two weeks to receive parts from other waterjet manufacturers.
"I've developed a relationship with Jet Edge, and relationships are very important in business," he said. Jet Edge treats me like they know me, and with respect and good response. I can call Jet Edge and say Can I talk to Jude [Jet Edge President Jude Lague]? and they will let me talk to Jude. A lot of companies won't let you talk to the president unless you are a president. Jet Edge is more like family. Everyone is on a first-name basis."
McCabe gave especially high marks to Jet Edge's service staff, who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"When you pick up the phone and you're in trouble, you want someone on the phone who cares," he said. Jet Edge is always there and they get to the bottom of it."
More Information
For more information about Creative Edge Master Shop, visit www.cec-waterjet.com or call 800-394-8145.
For more information about Jet Edge, visit www.jetedge.com or call 800-JET-EDGE.
About Jet Edge
Jet Edge is a global designer and manufacturer of ultra-high pressure waterjet systems for precision cutting, surface preparation, coating removal, and hydro demolition. Jet Edge systems are used around the world in a broad range of industries, from the world's leading airlines to automotive, aerospace, industrial manufacturers, machine and job shops. Jet Edge's customers include Ford, Toyota , General Motors, Boeing, American Airlines, and General Electric.
What is Waterjet Cutting?
Waterjet cutting uses a supersonic stream of water that is so powerful it can cut through any material in one pass without shredding or crushing it. The Jet Edge waterjet is created by pressurizing water up to 60,000 pounds per square inch (psi) with Jet Edge's legendary intensifier pumps. In many applications, an abrasive material such as garnet is added to the water to create an abrasive waterjet that can cleanly cut through hard surfaces.
Advantages of Jet Edge Waterjets
Jet Edge waterjets offer many productivity and flexibility advantages over traditional cutting methods including: no sharpening and no burrs requiring secondary finishing. Waterjets completely eliminate heat-affected zones, toxic fumes, recast layers, work hardening, and thermal stress, and offer a hygienic method for cutting food. Jet Edge waterjets can hold an accuracy of 0.005 inch with a repeatability of 0.001 inch over the entire work envelope. They have been known to cut materials up to 15 inches thick.
Waterjets are environmentally friendly and produce no hazardous waste, reducing waste disposal costs. They can cut off large pieces of reusable scrap material that might have been lost using traditional cutting methods, parts can be closely nested to maximize material use, and the waterjet saves material by creating very little kerf. Waterjets use very little water (a half gallon to approximately one gallon per minute depending on cutting head orifice size), and the water that is used can be recycled using a closed-looped system. Waste water usually is clean enough to filter and dispose of down a drain. The garnet abrasive is a non-toxic natural substance that can be recycled for repeated use. Garnet usually can be disposed of in a landfill.