I know more than a few Asphalt & Rubber readers are do-it-yourselfers, so this news about the Wazer mass market water jet cutter should be of particular interest.
The $6,000 desktop water jet cutter by Wazer offers a key technology that previously was only available to larger fabrication outfits, with typical water jet cutters costing up to $50,000 for standard units, and north of $100,000 for industrial-level cutters.
Suitable for cutting metal, rock, composites, and other materials, water jut cutters are what the big boys bring out for cutting jobs, when laser cutter can’t…umm…cut it, making this of particular note to builders and creative-types who previously could not afford the technology.
This is of note, as we have already seen the rise of consumer-level 3D printers (additive printers, that build layers of material to build three-dimensional objects), as well as the rise of laser cutters that can cut paper, wood, and certain plastics with great speed.
There has been a creative renaissance with these previously expensive machines now affordably in the hands of builders and makers. Adding water jet cutters to this mix is another important step in this continued process of putting high-tech building processes into the hands of more people.
Granted, the $6,000 price tag is still pretty steep for true hobbyist users (its $3,600 right now on Kickstarter, by the way), making today’s news more of an important middle step to having truly mass market machines for the typical garage enthusiast.
Still, the Wazer water jet cutter is a massive step forward in not only minimizing the foot print of these devices (it can fit on your typical work table), and reducing the cost to something more affordable for single-person operations.
Source: Wazer via TechCrunch
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