IEEE.orgIEEE Xplore Digital LibraryIEEE StandardsMore Sites
      Sign InJoin IEEE
      This Water-Jet Cutter Can Slice Through Anything: Steel, Glass, or Steak
      Share
      FOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDER
      Explore by topic
      AerospaceArtificial IntelligenceBiomedicalComputingConsumer ElectronicsEnergyHistory of TechnologyRoboticsSemiconductorsSensorsTelecommunicationsTransportation
      IEEE Spectrum
      FOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDER

      Topics

      AerospaceArtificial IntelligenceBiomedicalComputingConsumer ElectronicsEnergyHistory of TechnologyRoboticsSemiconductorsSensorsTelecommunicationsTransportation

      Sections

      FeaturesNewsOpinionCareersDIYThe Big PictureEngineering Resources

      More

      Special ReportsCollectionsExplainersPodcastsVideosNewslettersTop Programming LanguagesRobots Guide

      For IEEE Members

      Current IssueMagazine ArchiveThe InstituteTI Archive

      For IEEE Members

      Current IssueMagazine ArchiveThe InstituteTI Archive

      IEEE Spectrum

      About UsContact UsReprints & PermissionsAdvertising

      Follow IEEE Spectrum

      Support IEEE Spectrum

      IEEE Spectrum is the flagship publication of the IEEE — the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences. Our articles, podcasts, and infographics inform our readers about developments in technology, engineering, and science.
      Join IEEE
      Subscribe
      About IEEEContact & SupportAccessibilityNondiscrimination PolicyTermsIEEE Privacy Policy
      © Copyright 2023 IEEE — All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

      IEEE websites place cookies on your device to give you the best user experience. By using our websites, you agree to the placement of these cookies. To learn more, read our Privacy Policy.

      view privacy policy accept & close

      Enjoy more free content and benefits by creating an account

      Saving articles to read later requires an IEEE Spectrum account

      The Institute content is only available for members

      Downloading full PDF issues is exclusive for IEEE Members

      Access to Spectrum's Digital Edition is exclusive for IEEE Members

      Following topics is a feature exclusive for IEEE Members

      Adding your response to an article requires an IEEE Spectrum account

      Create an account to access more content and features on IEEE Spectrum, including the ability to save articles to read later, download Spectrum Collections, and participate in conversations with readers and editors. For more exclusive content and features, consider Joining IEEE.

      Join the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to all of Spectrum’s articles, archives, PDF downloads, and other benefits. Learn more →

      CREATE AN ACCOUNTSIGN IN
      JOIN IEEESIGN IN
      Close

      Special offer: Join IEEE now for 2023 and save 50%!

      IEEE Members receive 12 print issues of IEEE Spectrum and enjoy PDF downloads, full access to our archive with thousands of in-depth articles, and other exclusive content and features. Join IEEE today for 2023 and save 50%!

      JOIN IEEE
      DIYTopicTypeVideo

      This Water-Jet Cutter Can Slice Through Anything: Steel, Glass, or Steak

      Wazer introduces the first desktop water-jet cutter, bringing CNC cutting technology out of the factory and into DIY workshops

      David Schneider
      Kristen Clark
      13 Sep 2016
      tools and toysgadgetstype:videowater jetDIYHAXhackerspace

      The phrase “desktop fabrication” has for the most part meant 3D printers and laser cutters. There are also small computer-numerical-control (CNC) mills and routers to be had, but until now you’d be hard pressed to find a small computerized machine hefty enough and flexible enough to cut complicated patterns in, say, steel. And you’d be totally out of luck if your material of choice was glass or ceramic.

      That may be about to change, thanks to Wazer, which yesterday began offering Kickstarter backers the possibility of purchasing a small-scale water-jet cutter appropriate for DIYers or small businesses.

      The company was founded by several young engineers who first met as students at the University of Pennsylvania, where they were involved in building small race cars and found themselves tediously fabricating many flat steel components by hand. “Even Penn didn’t have a water jet,” says Nisan Lerea, Wazer’s CEO. That frustration led Lerea and his colleagues to build a low-cost water jet as a senior design project in mechanical engineering.

      Water jets cut through material using a narrow, high-pressure stream of water that (typically) carries abrasive particles. While this is a standard industrial process, it’s been limited to settings where there’s plenty of room and even more money. The least expensive one I could readily price starts at upwards of US $42,000.

      Industrial water jets operate at anywhere from 60,000 to 90,000 pounds per square inch (414,000 to 621,000 kilopascals), says Lerea. “We’ve lowered the pressure so as to use off-the-shelf components from other industries.” As a result, the Wazer cuts relatively slowly, but if you’re not in industrial production, this shouldn’t matter much. More important is gaining the ability to cut things you couldn’t otherwise manage. “What a laser cutter does for plastics, we’re trying to do for metal and glass,” says Lerea, who claims that the Wazer can cut through 4-millimeter-thick steel with about 1 mm of kerf—and that the borders of the cut are smooth.

      The engineers at Wazer have designed their machine to run on 110 volts. Its 12-inch-by-18-inch (30-cm-by-46-cm) working bed is fully enclosed, so you could presumably put it in a small workshop and not end up with a watery mess everywhere.

      The machine being offered on Kickstarter costs between US $3,599 and $4,499, depending on how earlier you sign up for one. Retail pricing will be $5,999 once the company goes into regular production late in 2017, which is still low enough to be in a very different category from any water jet you can buy now.

      While $6,000 is more than a casual DIYer would likely be willing to spend, it’s easy to imagine groups investing in one. And it opens up this technology to small businesses and tradespeople—I can imagine some more-creative tile installers getting very jazzed about this, for example.

      What remains to be seen, of course, is whether this team will really be able to meet what is surely a huge engineering challenge: turning what is ordinarily a messy, expensive, and high-maintenance industrial cutting machine into something cheap and user-friendly enough to inhabit a hacker space or garage workshop. Only time will tell, but I’m certainly keeping my fingers crossed.

      The Conversation (0)

      Trending Stories

      The most-read stories on IEEE Spectrum right now

      TelecommunicationsTopicTypeComputingNews

      This Mirror Reverses How Light Travels in Time

      SemiconductorsTopicTypeComputingNews

      Nvidia Speeds Key Chipmaking Computation by 40x

      Artificial IntelligenceTopicTypeNews

      Protecting AI Models from “Data Poisoning”

      RoboticsTopicTypeSpecial ReportsVideo

      360 Video: Zoom Over Zanzibar With Tanzania’s Drone Startups

      Come along for the ride as drones soar over the farms and schools of Tanzania

      Evan Ackerman

      Evan Ackerman is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum. Since 2007, he has written over 6,000 articles on robotics and technology. He has a degree in Martian geology and is excellent at playing bagpipes.

      Michael Koziol

      Michael Koziol is an associate editor at IEEE Spectrum where he covers everything telecommunications. He graduated from Seattle University with bachelor's degrees in English and physics, and earned his master's degree in science journalism from New York University.

      Eliza Strickland

      Eliza Strickland is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum, where she covers AI, biomedical engineering, and other topics. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

      09 May 2019
      6:56
      Photo: IEEE Spectrum
      dronesgadgetstype:videoEast Africa dronesmappingTanzaniaAfricadelivery drones360 video

      With 360-degree video, IEEE Spectrum puts you aboard drones that are flying high above the Tanzanian landscape: You’ll ride along as drones soar above farms, towns, and the blue expanse of Lake Victoria. You’ll also meet the local entrepreneurs who are creating a new industry, finding applications for their drones in land surveying and delivery. And you’ll get a close-up view from a bamboo grove as a drone pilot named Bornlove builds a flying machine from bamboo and other materials.

      You can follow the action in a 360-degree video in three ways: 1) Watch on your computer, using your mouse to click and drag on the video; 2) watch on your phone, moving the phone around to change your view; or 3) watch on a VR headset for the full immersive experience.

      Keep Reading ↓Show less
      RoboticsTopicTypeSpecial ReportsVideo

      360 Video: Go on a Mission With Zipline’s Delivery Drones

      Immerse yourself in the action as Zipline catapults its drones into the Rwandan sky

      Evan Ackerman

      Evan Ackerman is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum. Since 2007, he has written over 6,000 articles on robotics and technology. He has a degree in Martian geology and is excellent at playing bagpipes.

      Michael Koziol

      Michael Koziol is an associate editor at IEEE Spectrum where he covers everything telecommunications. He graduated from Seattle University with bachelor's degrees in English and physics, and earned his master's degree in science journalism from New York University.

      Eliza Strickland

      Eliza Strickland is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum, where she covers AI, biomedical engineering, and other topics. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

      06 May 2019
      IEEE Spectrum
      dronestype:videoEast Africa dronesRwandadelivery dronesZipline360 video

      With 360 video, IEEE Spectrum takes you behind the scenes with one of the world’s first drone-delivery companies. Zipline, based in California, is using drones to deliver blood to hospitals throughout Rwanda. At an operations center in Muhanga, you’ll watch as Zipline technicians assemble the modular drones, fill their cargo holds, and launch them via catapult. You’ll see a package float down from the sky above a rural hospital, and you’ll get a closeup look at Zipline’s ingenious method for capturing returning drones.

      You can follow the action in a 360-degree video in three ways: 1) Watch on your computer, using your mouse to click and drag on the video; 2) watch on your phone, moving the phone around to change your view; or 3) watch on a VR headset for the full immersive experience.

      Keep Reading ↓Show less
      DIYTopicTypeVideo

      A Techie’s Tour of New York City

      Here are some NYC attractions that you won’t find in the guidebooks

      Stephen Cass

      Stephen Cass is the special projects editor at IEEE Spectrum. He currently helms Spectrum's Hands On column, and is also responsible for interactive projects such as the Top Programming Languages app. He has a bachelor's degree in experimental physics from Trinity College Dublin.

      17 Oct 2018
      A Techie's Tour Of NYC
      www.youtube.com
      type:videoNew York CityDIYtourismvideosrocketsNikola Teslahistorytechnologyeventshackerspacenew york citynikola teslanyc tourist videonyc tourist guidetech tour nycvideonyc tech tour

      Do your travel plans include New York City? Are you a techie? If the answer to those questions is yes, let IEEE Spectrum be your guide! We've put together a list of some of our favorite places to visit, including important locations in the history of electrotechnology (New York was once the center of the electrical and electronic world) and places where fun and interesting things are happening today. See where Nikola Tesla lived, check out cutting-edge artists working with technology, or take the kids to see an Atlas and Titan rocket.

      All the locations are accessible via the subway, and many are free to visit. If you do visit, take a selfie and post a link in the comments below.

      Keep Reading ↓Show less
      About IEEEContact & SupportAccessibilityNondiscrimination PolicyTermsIEEE Privacy Policy
      © Copyright 2023 IEEE — All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.