# microcutting Comparison of micro-waterjet, laser, EDM, NC, ... cutting ## micro-waterjet ### MicroMAX at OMAX Demo Lab - https://www.omax.com/omax-waterjet/micromax Nozzle: 7/15 MAXJET5 Minijet Nozzle with 0.007" ID diamond orifice and 0.015" Roctec 500 mixing tube Abrasive: 240 mesh Barton HPX garnet with a mean particle size of 60 um at a flow rate of 0.12 lb/min Pressure: 50 ~ 55 ksi Cutting time: 3.1 min ## solid-state laser micromachining <!-- (picture of machine, cost of machine, machining time, picture before and after post-processing) --> ## ultrafast laser micromachining ## EDM ### Full-scale Toolpathing We toolpathed the microspline part at the full ~2" long scale. This would be cut from a stack of six sheets of 0.03125" thick brass layered on top of a 1/16" thick piece of steel. We added slits in the frame to avoid pre-drilling any holes. We also removed all of the tabs. This may prove to be a bad idea but it allows us to get a sense of the speed of Wire-EDM vs uAWG without having to do a lot of pre-processing. The total path length of the full scale toolpath is 52.5 inches. With an expected cut speed of at most 0.22 inches/minute, the expected cut time is approximately 4 hours. ### 1/3-scale Testing Given the long machining time, we ultimately decided to do a 1/3-scale test cut from a stack of 0.01" brass sandwiched between 0.25" aluminum. The perimeter of this toolpath measures 17.5 inches. With an expected cut speed of 0.18 inches/minute, the expected cut time is just about 100 minutes or 1 hr 40 mins. ## [Micromachining using Zund G-3 L-2500](Zund/README.md) ## [Fablight fiber laser](http://cba.mit.edu/tools/display/?type=tool&id=fablight_3000_laser_cutter) Machining time: ~5 min Cost of machine: sheet only machine with the 3000 laser is around $80,000, and the tube & sheet is around $90,000 Machine settings:  Sample photos:    After burr removal  The brown seen on the edges of the piece are burn marks where the machine cut.   # ...