Choosing Between Laser Cutting & Water Jet Cutting for Parts Production Near San Francisco Bay Area

Advanced Tech Machining in Northern California - Fremont - San Francisco Bay Area provides both Metal Laser Cutting and Water Jet Cutting services. Call: 408-549-8448

Producing precision parts will require accurate metal cutting and depending on the requirements, this can be performed with either Laser Cutting or Water Jet Cutting. Advanced Tech Machining in Northern California - Fremont - San Francisco Bay Area provides both Metal Laser Cutting and Water Jet Cutting services to our customers with our ISO 9001:2015 Certified Machine Shop's state of the art facilities.

Comparing Laser Cutting with Water Jet Cutting

Laser Cutting can engrave materials as well as cut them, this means laser engraving can be done to add serial numbers, assembly marks or stylish touches.

Laser Cutting and Water Jet cutting are two popular methods for cutting metal. Here are some differences between the two methods:

Process of Operation

Laser Cutting uses a high-powered laser beam to melt or vaporize the metal. On the other hand, Water Jet cutting uses a high-pressure stream of water mixed with an abrasive material to cut through the metal.

Laser Cutting can engrave materials as well as cut them whereas the Water Jet process is only for cutting. This means laser engraving can be done to add serial numbers, assembly marks or stylish touches.

Water Jet Cutting is compatible with all materials because Water Jet Cutting does not produce heat, making it useable for all materials.

Materials

Both methods can cut a wide range of materials, including metals, but Laser Cutting is better suited for cutting thinner materials, while Water Jet Cutting is better suited for thicker materials.

Additionally, Water Jet Cutting is compatible with all materials whereas some thermosensitive and reflective materials are not suited for Laser Cutting. This is because Water Jet Cutting does not produce heat, making it useable for all materials.

Preciseness

Laser Cutting is more precise than Water Jet Cutting, with a minimum slit size of 0.006 inches compared to 0.02 inches for Water Jet Cutting.

Laser Cutting is generally faster than Water Jet cutting, with speeds ranging from 20 to 70 inches per minute.

Speed

Laser Cutting is generally faster than Water Jet cutting, with speeds ranging from 20 to 70 inches per minute compared to 1 to 20 inches per minute for Water Jet Cutting.

Operations Cost

The cost of Laser Cutting is generally lower than that of Water Jet Cutting, especially for thinner materials.

Both processes are suitable for aerospace components and auto industry parts and are available at Advanced Tech Machining's highly technical and precise machine shop facilities utilizing CNC operations to automate the metal cutting processes in order to produce consistent high-quality results.

Water Jet Cutting is better suited for thicker materials.

Reach out to us for questions and inquiries, give us a call we'd love to connect.

We offer Custom Quotes 408-549-8448

Advanced Tech Machining

Northern California Machine Shop

Machine Shop, CNC Machining, EDM, Sheet Metal, Tube Modification

An ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company

Our Location:

3095 Osgood Ct

Fremont, CA 94539

Phone: 408-549-8448

Email: bao.nguyen@atmachining.us

Advanced Tech Machining is a precision machine shop with state-of-the-art CNC machining centers and the most experienced machinists and programmers in Fremont, California. With over 30 years of experience working in the machining industry.

We make metal and plastic machine parts for aerospace, medical, automotive and semiconductor industries. Parts are manufactured using the finest equipment and decades of experience.