Could Portable Water Jet Cutting Machines Transform The Building Industry?

The standard way for water jet cutting projects to be undertaken is at a specialist facility.

A client will contact a water jet cutter, discuss the job, and then the work will be carried out at the water jet cutting plant and then shipped to the required destination.

For most jobs this is likely to remain the case. Specialist facilities mean economies of scale and having the leading water jet cutting machinery. Any client can be certain that their parts will arrive in perfect order and to deadline.

However, what about spontaneous cutting jobs elsewhere?

How could the building trade utilise water jet cutting?

At present, they might have parts water jet cut in advance, then delivered to site as required. What is clearly not practical is for small jobs to be water-jet cut on the day – if there is a need to cut metres of tiles, or piping (for instance) then sending away top a water jet cutter might not provide fast enough turnaround.

Instead, traditional methods will be used – tile cutters, saws and other typical on-site options.

In future, might we see portable water jet cutters utilised on-site, or even at domestic properties where work is undertaken?

There is no reason why not. Portable water jet cutting machines already exist, even if they are not commonly used in the UK. The price of buying one would put off most standard building firms.

In practical terms, though, they could be used whether there is access to water supply and drainage – and that is almost everywhere. A trained operator could then make accurate cuts of any material with accuracy, speed and a level of cost efficiency that is hard to match. Certainly, the degree of accuracy would far eclipse the likes of sawing – there would also be no danger of structural imperfections as there is no heat caused to the cut edge.

A first step could be on developments such as new build housing with multiple new homes being constructed. A dedicated water jet cutting machine, or even a series of machines could potentially be of enormous use – helping to both reduce overheads and also increase the speed of building.

Any on-site water jet cutting also enables measurements to be made on the day – measure the length of the part required and then cut it. This can obviously be done with electrical saws and other options, but the compromise on accuracy remains.

However, none of this is to say that we are close to the day that water jet cutting is seen at building sites – less so on small jobs at individual houses.

There is though a huge trend towards using water jet cutting ever more and in many industries, those who have not embraced this technology are no longer competitive.

For now, however, if you want to experience the advantages of water jet cutting you will need to contact specialist providers. As leading UK exponents, we would be happy to discuss your needs.