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Author - D. S. Miller
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My background is industrial fluid engineering. This is reflected in my book Internal Flow Systems (www.internalflow.com) that has become the international de facto standard for flow system design in the automobile, aerospace, power and other industries. Empowering engineers and designers by providing both flow system performance data and the information to understand flow behaviour is a major reason why Companies adopt the Internal Flow System book. An objective for this web site is to provide information on flow behaviour that affects abrasive waterjet cutting performance.
I first became involved with abrasive waterjets in the late 1980s through setting up a number of European Collaborative R&D projects related to abrasive waterjets. Intrigued by the complexity of the flow processes within abrasive waterjet systems, and aware of the enormous commercial potential in extending abrasive waterjet cutting into micromachining, I have spent the past 15 years:
- Demonstrating that the minimum diameter for effective abasive waterjets is set by the practicalities of generating micro abrasive waterjets and not by any physical limitation – abrasive particles as small as 50 nanometers cut metals
- Establishing that the practical minimum diameter for micro abrasive waterjets is about 40 microns – means are not available to classify abrasive particles for cutting jets less than 40 microns diameter
- Proving that entrainment abrasive waterjet cutting heads can be developed for micromachining with cutting jet diameters below 100 microns – cutting trials have so far been carried out down to 80 microns
- Developing an easy to operate abrasive feed system for cutting heads that generate cutting jets down to 50 microns diameter
- Researching the manufacture of cutting head wear components for operation down to 50 microns cutting jet diameters
- Developing low flow ultrahigh pressure pumping system for micromachining abrasive waterjets.