Dr. Marko Jerman, univ. dipl. Inž., Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za strojništvo;
doc. dr. Andrej Lebar, univ. dipl. inž., Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za strojništvo, Zdravstvena fakulteta;
dr. Izidor Sabotin, univ. dipl. inž., izr. prof. dr. Joško Valentinčič, univ. dipl. inž., oba Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za strojništvo

Abstract:

In this study, we investigated the machining of 6061 aluminum alloy using abrasive water jet and compared it with the SN 214001 standard. Experiments were conducted at various water pressures and workpiece thicknesses, measuring surface roughness (Ra), kerf taper, inlet and outlet errors, and corner errors. The results indicate that the current machine control algorithms do not fully meet the required quality standards of SN 214001, especially at greater workpiece thicknesses. The research highlights the need for further improvements in algorithms and adjustments of process parameters to achieve better compliance with the standard. Additionally, it points out the excessive conservatism in setting cutting speeds for lower quality grades, which reduces process efficiency.

Keywords:

abrasive water jet, aluminium 6061, kerf taper, surface roughness, corner error, inlet-outlet error, cutting speed