Water Jet Cutting Table Cleaning

First Environmental • Apr 01, 2024

What is a Water jet Cutting Table?

As the name suggests this is a cutting system that utilizes a stream of high-pressure water to gradually slice through a material. While not the quickest method of cutting it is known for its extreme precision and maneuverability. This makes it the preferred cutting method for many applications both industrial and otherwise. There is a nearly endless variety of cutting table configurations. Some are small enough to be placed on a desk in the office while others are closer to the size of a shipping container. The levels of water pressure used by these systems also vary greatly, with most staying in the 30,000 to 90,000 psi range. On the high end this is strong enough to cut through steel up to about 10 inches thick. The power and flow of the water is incredibly strong, but to cut faster and more accurately it must be mixed with at least one of a variety of abrasives. This is why the water is mixed with an abrasive. Some of the most common abrasives include garnet, sand, coal slag, or glass because they are naturally quite hard, angular and flow well in water. 

Parts of the Cutting System

The main components of the cutting table are the water pump, abrasive hopper, gantry, cutting head, table, and the catch tank. The pump provides the pressure to the system while the abrasive mixes in the cutting head right before exiting the nozzle. The cutting head is positioned by the gantry. The gantry is the moving bridge over the table structure. The table simply works to hold the material being cut. It is typically made of slats that must be replaced periodically as they are also cut by the harsh blast of the stream. The last component of the table is the catch tank. This often-overlooked component is where First Environmental comes into play.

Maintenance of the Catch Tank

As the automated table cuts away at the material there is a slow and steady build up of the spent abrasive in the catch tank. Falling into the tank are the small often sharp shapes being cut out and the ultra-fine particles of the object as they are removed. This leads to a serious maintenance question. “How to remove this accumulating material?” While there are systems that can remove these particles, they are often cost prohibitive or not suited for certain applications. This means that over time there will be a buildup of sludge in the tank. This sludge can be very difficult to move as it is made of extremely dense, fine particles that do not retain water. Once settled the best way to remove this material is with a vacuum truck. 


A vacuum truck operated by a small crew can typically remove this stubborn sludge from even the biggest of cutting tables in a single day. The crew will use either high pressure or high flow water to agitate the material and allow the pull of the vacuum truck to lift the material out of the tank and into the truck of a vacuum box for disposal.

Provided by G Brown from our field evaluation team.

sampling

What You Need to Know About Analytical/Sampling

23 Feb, 2024
Sampling and analytical are the collection method and test results used to make decisions about certain materials. For First Environmental, this is usually about waste disposal and profiling, but it can also be about abatement or health & safety. We utilize third party companies to do the analytical work, but helping our clients collect samples and finding the most appropriate (or required) test methods and sampling approach is something we get involved in daily. We also use trained experts to monitor specific materials that have toxicity to humans (asbestos, heavy metals). Sampling for disposal purposes The sampling is usually about the characteristics of certain waste materials, and the focus is on physical properties of the waste. Examples such as ignitability, corrosivity and reactivity, as well as various metal and organic materials are derived directly from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and its supporting regulations found in the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR 261). These sampling methods are designed to test for these physical properties or the presence of materials when tested that exceed a specified threshold which is identified in this section. “Totals” analytical provides a quantifiable result about the presence of certain materials in a sample. A TCLP (toxic characteristic leaching procedure) analytical is the basis for RCRA determination. Sampling for each of these items varies according to the test method, but ultimately are about determining whether the waste is hazardous or non-hazardous by these definitions. Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDF’s) have requirements about what types of materials they can receive and manage, including hazardous waste or non-RCRA waste, and this analytical or testing allows them to corroborate their ability to handle it. While the focus here is on hazardous waste, it can also apply to other property types including radioactive, TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act), etc… 
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steel tank

40K Waterblasting for Cutting Steel

By First Environmental • 28 Nov, 2023
Water Stuff Using water to clean surfaces is as common as it gets. We wash our hands, we clean the dishes, we use a shower to get clean, and so on. This leads to one of our favorite discussions, flow versus pressure. The shower is pretty low pressure, so is the faucet. Even the Grand Canyon is an example of flow that is pretty low pressure (even the rapids). The flow of water will ‘cut’ stuff, it just takes a really long time. Same thing if you’ve ever left the hose on in the backyard for too long and it ‘cuts’ into the soil creating its own canyon. These are low-pressure circumstances. Adding pressure to that water changes a few things, but we are pretty familiar with those effects. If you add a nozzle to a garden hose, the sharper focus can remove/move more effectively. A garden hose without a nozzle moves easy items (leaves, debris…) and with a nozzle it is more focused and moves thicker items (caked on dirt/soil). If we turn that nozzle into a “pressure-washer” at 2000-4000 PSI, it removes certain “dirts/oils” with ease cleaning a patio or driveway making it look like new. When we kick up the pressure, the flow actually decreases, so you start to get the impact of the water in a more focused way where it is used to remove stubborn materials (resins, paints, hardened materials). Using a 10K or 20K water-blaster is a common way to clean tanks, trenches, grates, and other surfaces that get build-up of various types. On our path towards the 40K, it worth noting that a 10K or 20K water-blaster can cut softer materials (fiberglass, plastic, etc…).
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