A five axis waterjet machine from Jet Edge will help a South African mine to double productivity.
Jet Edge and its Africa representative Jetstream Cutting Solutions CC announced that the oeprators of a remote copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will use a Jet Edge Edge X-5 five axis waterjet machine to speed up the completion of a copper processing plant.
The Jet Edge machine is the mine’s second waterjet system. In 2012, they installed a new Jetstream three axis waterjet, powered by a 90,000 psi (6200 bar) 50hp Jet Edge X-stream xP90-50 hydraulic intensifier pump.
“They run their first machine 24/7,” said Jetstream Cutting Solutions director Malcolm Cruickshank. “The Jet Edge X-Stream pump was key to the success of the first machine because they could utilize the higher pressure to increase productivity.”
For their second waterjet system, the mine operators selected Jet Edge’s premiere 90,000 psi (6200 bar) Edge X-5 system with dual independently programmable five axis cutting heads and laser plate mapping system, Aquavision Di industrial PC controller, and five axis waterjet cutting software.
Cruickshank noted that the mine officials chose a Jet Edge system for their second machine based on the reliability of their first Jet Edge pump, and Jet Edge’s ability to quickly supply spare parts when needed.
“Reliability is very important to them due to the remoteness of the mine,” he said. “They appreciate the speed with which Jet Edge can supply spares.”
Jake Hall, a Jetstream subcontractor and director of Mobile Digital Solutions of Sylvania, Australia, oversaw the installation of the Jet Edge system and trained the mine’s waterjet operators how to use the new five axis machine.
“The Edge X-5 is a good system,” Hall noted. “It’s intuitive and easy to operate. I’ve seen lots of systems in my 11 years working with waterjets and it seems to do the job very well and is easy to teach. The Aquavision Di controller is extremely reliable. The software is great. It solves a lot of the problems of other CAD/CAM software. It’s been specifically designed with waterjetting in mind. Lead ins and outs are easy and it’s easy to nest multiple parts. Most importantly, you’re not stuck to a certain order. With some software, if you miss one step, you have to start all over again. Jet Edge’s software is flexible and it’s not labor intensive. The library of materials is good and the speed control is good.”
Hall added that he has been impressed with Jet Edge’s X-Stream intensifier pumps, service and training.
“The X-Stream pump is bullet-proof,” he said. “We feel comfortable that we have a good support network and that we can call Jet Edge any time, day or night.”
