Flow waterjet repair in Illinois

Ultra-high-pressure cutting, from the inventors

Flow International, based in Kent, Washington, pioneered ultra-high-pressure waterjet cutting, and its systems are common in Illinois fabrication shops, stone and glass shops, gasket and foam converters, aerospace suppliers and job shops that cut materials other machines can’t. You’ll find Flow Mach series tables, older Flow systems, intensifier pumps and direct-drive pumps, and Dynamic Waterjet cutting heads in shops across the Chicago area.

LocalSpindle techs work on Flow waterjets: the pump, the high-pressure plumbing, the cutting head, the abrasive delivery system, the table motion, the CNC and the controls. Waterjet problems usually involve several of those at once, and we look at the whole system.

The pump is the heart of the system

A waterjet pump makes the water pressure that does the cutting. Intensifier pumps use a hydraulic system to drive high-pressure plungers back and forth, and their common problems include high-pressure seal and check valve wear, plunger wear, hydraulic leaks and pressure problems, and intensifier stroke faults. Direct-drive pumps use a crankshaft and plungers, and their common problems include seal and valve wear, crankcase issues and motor or drive faults.

When a pump loses pressure, the usual causes are worn seals, leaking check valves, a leaking fitting or tube, a worn orifice or a water supply problem. We test pressure and find where it’s being lost before replacing parts.

High-pressure plumbing and safety

The tubing, fittings, swivels and valves between the pump and the cutting head carry water at extreme pressure. A leaking fitting or a cracked tube is a serious safety hazard and a source of pressure loss. We inspect high-pressure plumbing, replace worn components, and make sure the system is safe before we run it.

Cutting heads and abrasive delivery

The cutting head mixes water and abrasive and focuses them into a cutting stream. Worn orifices, worn mixing tubes, a clogged abrasive feed, wet abrasive, an abrasive hopper problem or a misaligned head all affect cut quality and cutting speed. Dynamic heads that tilt to control taper add mechanical and control complexity. We work on all of it.

Table motion and the CNC

Waterjet table motion problems, like worn bearings, rails, ballscrews or rack and pinion, servo tuning problems, and Z-axis issues, show up as dimensional errors and poor cut quality. We check the table along with the pump and head.

Maintenance that keeps a Flow waterjet cutting

Waterjets are maintenance-heavy machines, and the cost of running one depends on how well the wear parts are managed. A planned maintenance visit replaces high-pressure seals and check valves on schedule, inspects plumbing and fittings, checks the orifice and mixing tube, services the abrasive system, checks the water supply and filters, and checks the table. We schedule visits around your production.