December Delights in Manufacturing

Well December has definitely arrived and you can definitely feel it. This morning was the first time I drove into work with snow on the ground and it was certainly an unwelcomed change. These past few weeks have been in the mid-40's so it's been nice. Now it was 17° F this morning and I think my car was crying on the way in... But welcome to Minnesota, huh?

Along with December 2009 (can you even believe it's that time of year again??) have come many new projects. Though confidential, we've been hard at work on parts for the defense and military industry. Which gives us a little extra skip in our step this holiday season to know that we're helping to protect the troops as well.

We've also taken a large step into a new kind of industry. Lately, we've been helping case manufacturers cut thick foam for padding in their cases like the photo seen here. This photo is of a Newport F-BK2 optical fiber cleaving tool. We don't make these ones, but it's the best photo that I could find as I haven't had a chance to get any of the ones we've made. The projects are a great fit for water-only waterjet cutting as it requires no abrasive and is very cost-effective. Leadtimes are also very short on our water-only waterjet table right now so if you're looking to custom pad cases of your own, Fedtech may be a good fit for you to look into! (www.fedtech.com/quote.php)

Another industry that has been popular for Fedtech is gasket cutting. We've had a lot of requests for copper gaskets, aluminum gaskets, rubber gaskets, and more. These are also a great fit for us, because waterjet is able to cut all these materials and more. Not only this, but it can cut tight tolerances and produce precise products (now say that ten times fast!)

Well now it's time for the questions of the week...

Question 1: Can hard, high density teflon be cut with waterjet?
Answer: Yes it can! We can use water-only waterjet for these types of projects.

Question 2: Can you laser cut tungsten?
Answer: We do not laser cut tungsten, not a good idea. Waterjet is a better choice for us to use on this material.

Question 3: How can I cut stainless steel circles?
Answer: Depending on the thickness of the stainless steel, you could use either laser or waterjet. If you want to cut steel thicker than 5/8" thick, you'll want to use waterjet for this project.

Question 4: What are some plastics that can be waterjet cut?
Answer: Oh goodness, well... it's going to be a lengthy list as waterjet cuts through nearly all plastics. This includes ABS, Acetron, Acetal, Acrylic, Celazole, Delrin, Ertalon, Ertalyte, Fluorosint, HDPE, Ketron, Nylon, Nylotron, PEEK, Polycarbonate, Proteus, Plexiglass, Polyethylene, PTFE, PVC, Sanalite, Semitron, Symalit, Techtron, Teflon, Thermoplastics, Tivar, Torlon, UHMW, Vespel, and more... *breathe*

Question 5: Which uses more energy; waterjet cutting or laser cutting?
Answer: That is a phenomenal questions. Since many of us are concerned with being green, and environmentally friendly, energy usage is a hot topic in nearly any industry. Now in the case of waterjet vs. laser cutting, it's obviously going to depend on the size of the project. However I don't have the ability to say which takes up more energy at the time.

That's the last of the questions for this week! Come back and visit again soon!

Warm holidays and weather,

Sarah