Waterjet: no heat, almost any material, up to 50 mm thick
The right tool for thick non-ferrous metals, stone, glass, composites, and anything where heat-affected zones aren't acceptable. Slower per cut than laser or plasma — but the edge quality is hard to beat.
When waterjet beats laser or plasma
Thick aluminium and brass (where laser would either fail or burn), stone and granite worktops, tempered glass, composites and laminates, hardened tool steels. Anywhere the part can't tolerate being heated.
Tolerances
±0.13 mm typical on parts under 200 mm. The jet flares slightly as it exits the underside of thicker stock, so on 25+ mm material the bottom edge can be 0.3–0.5 mm wider than the top. Flag critical faces on your drawing if it matters.
Minimum hole size: 1× material thickness
Waterjet's stream is roughly 0.8 mm wide. The realistic minimum hole is the material thickness — 5 mm holes in 5 mm aluminium are fine. Anything smaller, switch to laser or specify drilling.
File formats
DXF, DWG, SVG, STEP, STP. The full laser file requirements apply identically — waterjet uses the same vector pipeline.
Materials we waterjet
Live from our partner network. Click any material to start a quote.
All thicknesses in mm. KERF cuts to whichever sheets your chosen partner stocks — if the thickness you want isn't shown, it's likely possible on a per-job basis.
Upload your design. Get a real price in under a minute.
Drop your DXF, SVG or STEP file — we'll size, nest and quote it on the spot. No login. No phone calls. Pay when you're ready.
More guidelines
Every cutting and secondary-ops service we offer, with the design rules that matter.