WARDJet of Ohio, USA is a leading manufacturer of abrasive waterjet cutting machines with a focus on setting business owners’ imaginations free when it comes to the automation of almost anything. Its goal has been to design and build a CNC waterjet gantry that would be recognised as the leading waterjet cutting platform in the industry, yet be sturdy, stable and rigid enough to be considered the most versatile automation platform ever available to consumers.

Engineered to achieve these goals and more, a WARDJet waterjet system is “not just a waterjet”. Using the WARDJet X-Series Controller for example, if users want to cut a pipe, drill, tap, mark, dispense liquids, etch, counter sink, put light surface finishes, edge finishes, add plasma, tool changers, bar code readers, laser sensors, height sensors, crash sensors, 5 axis AB cutting heads, 5 axis AC cutting heads, multiple 5 axis heads all on one cross beam, pre-programmed automatic spacing of multiple heads on one cross beam, use dual touch screens, use your cell phone as a wireless pendant – it is all possible with a WARDJet. The list just goes on and on.

Not just a waterjet

WARDJet waterjet systems have earned the respect of thousands of companies and customers all over the world. WARDJet is not satisfied with just having a great waterjet, however. It believes the future lies in being able to use a waterjet system as a CNC platform to grow and expand upon. It wants its customers to dream about the additional things that could be done with a waterjet other than just waterjet cutting. The company seeks to provide everything from a powerful, easy to use CNC controller packed with intelligent programming and intuitive software, to a machine built with the strength and rigidity needed to add any option imaginable, all backed by a team of people who get excited when asked if something off-the-wall can be done with one of their units.

WARDJet has recently been selected to provide its top-of-the-line X-Series waterjet cutting machines to the University of Sheffield AMRC with Boeing. The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing is a £60million partnership that builds on the shared scientific excellence, expertise and technological innovation of the world's leading aerospace company and the worldclass research within the University of Sheffield's faculty of engineering.

The company has also just released its new “Psy-Winder” 5-axis waterjet cutting head, which will revolutionise the way parts can be cut with a waterjet. Like all WARDJet features, the “Psy-Winder” can be added to any existing WARDJet system at any time, making the expandability and upgradeability of WARDJet machines almost limitless. Using a WARDJet X-Series Controller, multiple “Psy- Winder” heads can be run simultaneously on one machine.

WARDJet X-Series Controllers have continued to grow and expand their already impressive feature set with new features requested by current WARDJet partners. Recently, the ability to “Teach” a 2- dimensional part has been integrated into the system, allowing users to effectively use the waterjet as a digitiser. It is possible to use the machines’ jog controls to trace lines, arcs and circles to produce perfect CNC parts that can be duplicated time and time again, from existing template to cut part in just a matter of minutes.

Newly released is the WARD Pro, the latest version of the company’s patented W.A.R.D. (Waterjet Abrasive Recycling Dispenser), which allows users to recycle and reuse in some cases up to eighty percent of their waterjet abrasive, cutting costs and increasing the effectiveness of companies around the world. The WARD Pro has the smallest footprint of any of the WARD Recycling Units and has been designed for easy worldwide export.