Waterjet Group

DanMcN · Member

Cutting Lexan sheet material

TFabian · Veteran Member

1) You need to use the garnet.
2) Remove any nozzle guard or spray containment that can trap the abrasive down below and "bounce around" on your material
3) Pierce a good distance away if you can (3/4" or roughly 20mm).
4) Pre pierce all your points if your machine control allows it
5) Make sure your material is flat
6) Run the mixing tube as close to the material as you can

If these don't work, try putting tape or luaun material above the lexan during cutting.

Good luck,
Tim

watjerbob · Newbie

I'd say turn the garnet off and slow your feed down. I cut .250 lexan this way and got a very smooth edge. My psi was 58,000. You will need something under it to prevent scratches and splash back from the slats. I usually use a piece of wood as noted above.

Jeramie · Newbie

I cut several different sizes of lexan I leave film on it use static pierce, use garnet and run on bricks I cut it fast and don't have any issues with finish on sides. Leaving film on it and using bricks should take care of the haze look. We build machines for the bakery industry and use a lot of lexan and have great luck this way

Industrial Metal Enterprises · Newbie

I think all these guys recommendations are very good. We have cut many sheets of Lexan of various thicknesses and have had no problems. Make pierces away from actual cut. We use garnet with the film still on the material. Pierce with low pressure and we cut usually with low pressure. Sacrificial material always helps if you want to minimize splash-back.

Industrial Metal Enterprises · Newbie

I would agree with the comments from the others. We usually use low pressure to pierce (keeping pierce points away from the actual part) and high pressure during cutting. I have cut many Lexan sheets of various thicknesses and have had no problems. We use garnet and leave the film on. A sacrificial piece of material will always help when dealing with delicate materials such as this to eliminate splash-back. I have not ever had the reason to try and eliminate the minuscule haze that is left on the edge of the material due to the abrasive cut, so I'm not sure about that. I suppose water-only quality might help with this.