The waterjet industry has taken notice of this patented advance in technology. A key developer of the Tilt-A-Jet, Omax's Dr. Jay Zeng, was recently awarded the Waterjet Technology Association's prestigious 2005 Technology Award for “contributing to the development of some of the most innovative abrasive waterjet nozzles for precision cutting and the latest tilting head technology for taper-free cutting.”

“The great thing about our Omax 55100 JetMachining Center is that we use it for everything,” said John Kramarich of Waterjet Extreme Technologies Inc., who recently completed a total renovation of the passenger terminal at Great Falls International Airport in Montana. “Marble or tile inlays, solid surfaces, steel, wood, titanium, aluminum, magnesium, even glass - you name it, we cut it.”

Scott Angus, owner of Advanced Waterjet and Design in suburban Seattle, WA, finds that the flexibility in his Omax machine simplifies the elaborate inlays his clients in the yachting industry often demand.

“When a designer provides me with a CAD file, it's straightforward to turn the client's ideas into stonework,” Angus said. “It's just a matter of dividing the drawing into individual colors of stone, and then segregating the entities on the drawings into files to be cut.” These operations are done using Layout, the Omax full-featured CAD program that is included with every Omax machine.

Omax machines are controlled by a standard desktop PC, providing an easy upgrade ability. Drawings can be imported from most CAD files, including popular drawing programs such as CorelDRAW or Adobe Illustrator. Designs can also begin directly with Layout or be scanned in and converted to a drawing. Omax's software also supports TrueType fonts, facilitating architectural sign making.

Waterjet cutting is particularly well suited to stone, according to Omax. Because you are cutting under water, the dust associated with stone cutting is drastically reduced and parts stay within tolerance.