In the world of abrasive waterjet cutting, maintaining precision and reliability starts from the ground up. One of the most fundamental components of your OMAX or MAXIEM waterjet system is the slat bed. These slats, typically made from stainless steel, provide essential support for the material being machined and play a critical role in ensuring accurate cuts and prolonging the lifespan of your equipment.
What Are Slats and Why Do They Matter?
Slats are the long, flat metal supports that form the bed on which your work material rests during cutting. Designed to be durable and highly versatile, the standard slats supplied with your OMAX abrasive waterjet can accommodate a wide range of materials; from thick metal plate and delicate glass to robust stone and lightweight plastics.
Because of their universal utility and mechanical stability, slats are the most effective method for supporting workpieces of varying size, shape, and composition. However, to maintain optimal cutting performance, they must be inspected, rotated, and replaced as needed.
Common Wear Patterns and How They Affect Performance
In most operational environments, users tend to cut repeatedly in the same section of the waterjet bed. For example, you may prefer to cut in the bottom-left corner of the table due to its proximity to the machine’s control panel. While convenient, this habit leads to uneven slat wear. Over time, this localised erosion can result in a non-uniform cutting surface, causing the material to rock or tilt slightly during machining.
Even minor instability can significantly affect the precision of your cuts, especially when using advanced cutting heads like the Tilt-A-Jet or A-Jet. Worn slats compromise accuracy and may lead to poor edge quality or dimensional errors. Therefore, regular slat bed maintenance is essential to uphold cutting performance and machine reliability.
How to Extend Slat Life: Rotating and Replacing
To extend the usable life of your slats, implement a consistent rotation and inspection routine. Slats are removable and can be rotated either horizontally or vertically. You can also redistribute slats across different areas of the cutting bed to even out wear. For best results, set up a monthly inspection schedule to assess slat condition and rotate them accordingly.
If any slats show signs of excessive wear, warping, or thinning, they should be replaced immediately. Equally important is checking the slat holders—these should be inspected for wear whenever slats are replaced. If the holders are damaged or compromised, they should also be replaced to maintain a secure and level cutting surface.
Replacement slats and holders, including galvanised steel options, can be ordered directly through OMAX or from authorised distributors.
Precision Cutting and Calibration Considerations
If your system includes a precision cutting head, such as the Tilt-A-Jet or A-Jet, it is imperative that any calibration procedures are performed on a level, stable surface. Worn or uneven slats will interfere with proper calibration and may lead to errors during cutting operations.
Taking the time to maintain a flat and stable slat bed ensures that the calibration is accurate and that your machine continues to operate at peak performance.
The Benefits of Drop Slats
In some specialised applications, drop slats can offer additional flexibility and cutting capability. These are modified slats with a section lowered several inches below the standard height, allowing operators to more easily cut thicker materials or reach specific surfaces on three-dimensional workpieces.
Drop slats are particularly useful when cutting beneath the water surface for submerged cutting, which helps minimise noise, splash, and kerf taper. Because drop slats effectively extend your Z-axis capabilities, they allow for greater versatility without requiring modifications to the machine’s structure.
If you’re interested in implementing drop slats, you can download a DXF file that includes a basic drawing for manufacturing your own. The accompanying LAYOUT file can be customised to match the exact specifications of your waterjet table.
Slats are Not a Small Part
Slats may seem like a small part of your abrasive waterjet system, but they are crucial to its overall performance, accuracy, and maintenance efficiency. By regularly inspecting, rotating, and replacing slats as needed, and by exploring advanced options like drop slats, you can significantly improve your machine’s cutting results, reduce downtime, and extend the life of your investment.