1.  Maintain the Quality of Inlet Water – Ensuring that quality water is being introduced to your waterjet system is critical to ensuring the life of important consumable parts. These include high-pressure seals, check valves, fittings, and cutting head components. Testing the inlet water regularly and employing necessary water treatments such as water softeners and/or reverse osmosis systems, will allow you to maximize the life of many critical components and minimize down-time.

PRO TIP : Water temperature is critical as well. Ensure that you have a chiller sized appropriately for your machine.

2. Designate a “Clean Area” for Maintenance – When performing rebuilds or other maintenance activities, it is important that replacement parts are keep clean and free from debris (particularly abrasive particles!). Designating a clean area for maintenance can help prevent contamination of seals or marring of machined surfaces, significantly improving the life of wear items.

PRO TIP : Wear disposable gloves to prevent natural oils from being introduced to seal materials. They will also save your hands from being stained by thread lubricant!

3. Perform Regular Inspections – Develop a routine for leak-checking in and around your pump, high-pressure fittings, on/off valve, and cutting head. Typically, this can be done at the beginning of each shift but should also be done before starting any jobs with long run times.  Repairing any leaks as soon as they are discovered can prevent additional damage from occurring.

PRO TIP : Leaks not visible by the naked eye can often be discovered through the temperature of high-pressure cylinders. Place your hands on both cylinders (or end-bells) of an intensifier pump. If one is warmer than the other, that one is probably leaking.