Service Center with Largest Waterjet Tables in North America Adds Another One

Jacquet Mid Atlantic (Pottstown, PA) recently installed a new 21 ft x 13 ft large-format mid rail gantry waterjet system from Jet Edge, Inc. (St. Michael, MN). This mid rail gantry is the third Jet Edge waterjet system at Jacquet?s Mid Atlantic service center and the company?s sixth Jet Edge waterjet system nationwide. According to the company, its operates the largest waterjet tables in North America.

A subsidiary of Jacquet Metals of Lyon Saint Priest, France, Jacquet Mid Atlantic is one of four Jacquet metal service centers in North America. The company also has metal service centers in Houston, Racine, Wis., and Irvine, Calif. The company specializes in supplying and processing stainless steel and nickel alloys for OEMs, fabricators and machine shops that support primarily the oil and gas, power generation, pollution control systems and water purification industries.

These North American service centers provide waterjet and plasma part cutting. The company stocks 19 different grades of stainless steel and nickel alloy plates in a wide variety of sizes and thicknesses.

The new waterjet system in Pottstown features a 21 ft x 13 ft work envelope with a system design that easily accommodates overhead loading with the bridge clearing the tank. Jacquet equipped the waterjet table with two Permalign II abrasivejet cutting heads and a 100 hp intensifier pump to increase productivity. They also added an optional mirroring package, independent programmable Z carriages, programmable height sensing, a fully-functional remote pendant, large-capacity bulk abrasive hopper, submerged cutting package, closed-loop water filtration system, and garnet removal system.

?We have a very large inventory of stainless steel and nickel in many different grades, thicknesses and widths, and we are able to cut near net-shape parts,? said Jacquet CEO Terry Engle. ?Having this combination plus our fast turnaround has really helped our growth.?

When Jacquet opened its North American operations in 2006, Engle decided to install the largest waterjet cutting systems available on the market to meet a growing demand for large-format cold cutting. Over a two-year period, Engle installed massive Jet Edge low rail gantries at each of his plants. With waterjet tables as large at 15 ft x 22 ft, Jacquet can claim some of the largest waterjet cutting tables in North America.

?Because the tables are so large, we can hold extremely large plates, up to 15 ft x 21 ft,? noted Engle. ?We also have two cutting heads on each table, so we can process two plates simultaneously or utilize two heads on one nested plate of parts, doubling our productivity. This has gotten us some work because we can cut two parts at a time and reduce the cost and turn-around to the customer. We have run our waterjets 16 hours a day or more for over two and a half years.?

Engle added that the waterjet is the ideal cutting method for most of his applications because it eliminates heat-affected zones (HAZ) and reduces the need for secondary finishing operations, which results in lower finished part costs for his customers. If a customer desires a polished near-finished part, Jacquet typically cuts the part from polished plates. This saves time and money for customers because it eliminates the need for them to polish individual parts.

?Whenever we have customers who need small parts or tight tolerances or special sketch cuts, we push them toward waterjet,? smiled Engle. ?When we are cutting heavy plate, we try to convince them to go with waterjet because they can save on material. When you cut with plasma, you have to add additional kerf and material for machining. Waterjet saves on material and machining. When roughing material to allow for machining afterwards, waterjet does not put any heat into the part, allowing the material to be machined much easier and saving on tooling costs.?

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