Water jet is a very versatile, environmentally clean process. Its versatility in cutting almost any material, and its lack of impact on these materials is making water jet machining a tool of choice as either the only tool used, or to complement other processes.

The process of water jet cutting is quite simple. Water is pressurized to 60,000 psi by hydraulic intensification, and then forced through a small orifice in the cutting head. Inside a mixing tube, abrasive is mixed with the high pressure water, creating an abrasive water jet stream that exits the nozzle at about 1.5 times the speed of sound.

Through a combination of micro-erosion (grinding) and a shear yielding of the material a narrow section of material (called the kerf) is removed all the way through the thickness.

Virtually any material can be cut with abrasive water jet cutting.