Water is going up the abrasive feed hose instead of out of the nozzle.
Check the gap between the nozzle and the material
- Make sure the nozzle does not touch the top of the material at any point in the cutting path.
- Make sure the gap between the nozzle and the top of the material is at minimum of the thickness of the Z-setting gauge at all points in the cutting path.
NOTE: Thin material can bend upwards under pressure from the water jet and the air that moves with it. This bending can cause a blockage of the nozzle.
If more gap is needed
- If necessary, increase the distance between the nozzle and the material to more than the minimum thickness of the Z-setting gauge.
If the nozzle still blocks the water flow
- Make sure the nozzle does not touch the material.
- If the nozzle blocks the water flow, the nozzle has a blockage.
Ask the technical staff to invert the nozzle and unclog it. They should:
- Turn the nozzle in the nozzle body so the pointed end is pointed upwards.
- Tighten the nozzle collet nut securely.
- Do a high-pressure water test to clean the nozzle.
If the blockage does not clear
- If the high-pressure water test does not remove the blockage, run the 100-cycle sample file in the OMAX software. This file starts and stops the pump 100 times to try to remove contamination