WAZER

Most small business owners or DIY makers don’t have access to a waterjet cutter. It’s too expensive and for most small workshops, way too bulky and takes up much-needed space. With the average cost of commercial waterjets costing around $100,000, WAZER has decided to create the first ever affordable desktop waterjet. With the hope of democratizing light manufacturing, the WAZER waterjet cuts anything with digital precision.

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Whether it’s steel, aluminum, glass, stone, carbon fiber, etc. – users can all sorts of materials to make bicycle belt drives, penny necklaces, custom knives, custom tiles, wheelchair umbrella mounts, and glass sculptures. Simply load your design into WAZER’s proprietary software program and let the waterjet work its magic. A custom knife, for example, takes approximately 118 minutes of cutting time with 39 lbs of abrasive “garnet” used.

WAZER’s portable desktop waterjet is compact, easily adjustable, equipped with onboard controls, and comes with an intuitive abrasive removal system. The benefits of using waterjet cutting range from industrial-grade precision to no heat-induced material warping. With no ventilation needed, WAZER uses a “sand-like” abrasive with a high-pressure water stream to cut through some of the toughest materials.

According to the company’s well-funded ($1.3 million) Kickstarter campaign, the technology is rather impressive:

From designing a metal bike chain in 168 minutes to cutting a baker’s rack in 95 minutes, the abrasive rock particles are powerful enough to craft a smooth surface finish. The craftsmanship could never be done by hand and since WAZER is a desktop solution, small businesses could instantly add “advanced technology to any sized workshop.”

So how does it work? First and foremost, users can use their favorite design program (Solidworks, Adobe Illustrator, Google SketchUp) to lay out the specs. From there, simply load the drawing file (DXF and SVG) in WAZER’s software program and let the wizard walk you through the initial setup including the type of material and design parameters. Finally, run the pump box from the machine to a nearby drain/sink. Let the precision cutting begin and the water runoff.

Since waterjet cutting uses a non-toxic abrasive particle and water pressure, the run-off is easily disposable – so it’s eco-friendly. No special storage is needed. It’s just sand and water. With an estimated ship date scheduled for December (2017), the highly anticipated WAZER is poised to democratize light manufacturing with its desktop waterjet. We shall see how it performs once it’s released to the first round of backers.