Waterjet cutting is s cutting process which uses a fine jet of water at very high pressure to cut a wide range of materials. Water is pumped through a fine nozzle at 50,000psi or more which is then able to very cleanly cut most materials without putting any heat into the material. As the cutting forces are very low, very soft materials like rubber are able to be cut without distortion of the part. A waterjet cut usually has a superior surface finish to other cutting methods. Often fine abrasives are included in the water to assist with the surface finish.
 

Waterjet cutting can cut a wide variety of materials such as steel, titanium, brass, granite, stone, ceramic, glass, rubber, fabric, wood, plastic, foods and is capable of cutting thicknesses from very thin plastic right up to steel plates more than a hundred millimeters thick. Water jet cutting is particularly useful when cutting thick aluminium or stainless steel plates which are not possible to cut using lasers.
 

Waterjet cutters are widely used in industry for cutting wood in decorative applications, plastics for signs, rubber components, foam parts and metal parts where low distortion and good surface finish are desired. Because no heat or melting action is used, waterjet cutting is well suited to the cutting of almost any non-metal materials.