INFLUENCE OF WATER PRESSURE ON SURFACE ROUGHNESS PARAMETERS IN ABRASIVE WATERJET CUTTING ON AM60 MAGNESIUM ALLOY

This paper presents the results of changing the water pressure and its influence on surface roughness parameters in abrasive water jet cutting. The pressure parameter of the water jet has an influence on the overall performance of the abrasive water jet cutting. The as machined surfaces were examined in 3 areas sections at different cutting depths by precision optical measurement system 3D profiler Talysurf CCI Lite. The results show that surface roughness parameters are lower when the water pressure is higher. Another relation is that the smallest values of surface roughness parameters are obtained for profile close to the upper edge cutting surface. On the contrary, the profile close to the bottom edge is characterized by a significant increase of surface roughness with decreasing water pressure. However, at lower water pressure the kinetic energy of the stream of abrasive particles is not sufficient to execute smooth cutting. This phenomenon causes deterioration of the surface quality and in extreme cases, may cause insufficient material removal. Abrasive water jet cutting seems to be promising tool for machining magnesium alloys like AM60.