Shown below is a small steam screen for a paper mill application. It is 9-1/2” round, only 1/8” diameter and has 2,302 holes. Even more impressive is the use of the HASTELLOY® X alloy, which is a nickel-chromium-iron-molybdenum alloy that possesses an exceptional combination of oxidation resistance, fabricability and high-temperature strength. To machine this in a typical situation would be trouble even for an experienced machinist. Tooling would be one issue. The larger issue would be the heat instilled into the component when drilling the holes. Their close proximity of centers combined with the heat would warp the thin plate tremendously. This was no issue for Miller Mechanical’s Waterjet. One set of tooling does it all. Because it is considered a “cold cutting” process, there is no heat affected zone from machining. This allows the plate to remain flat throughout production.
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