Why Are Tech Giants Like Facebook and TESLA Installing Waterjets?
WARDJet Reveals Why Facebook’s Area 404 Features a Waterjet Cutting System
“We have some exciting times ahead” posted Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO and all around tech mogul, when announcing to the world the opening of Facebook’s largest and most innovative research and development lab in their history. While the unveiling did spark quite a bit of excitement, some questions still lingered. Why would Facebook, a software development company, need a state-of-the-art hardware lab or even an 8-ton waterjet? WARDJet, the manufacturer of the lab’s biggest attraction, the ZX-1530-5 5-Axis waterjet, has come forward to explain why tech giants like Facebook and TESLA are installing these room-sized cutting machines.
First, what is a waterjet? A waterjet is an industrial tool capable of cutting a wide variety of materials using a very high pressure jet of water, or an abrasive and water mixture, at 60,000+ psi. Waterjets use the same process that enabled water to cut the Grand Canyon: erosion. Waterjet cutting harnesses that same power but accelerates the erosion process to accomplish in minutes what took nature centuries to accomplish.
That being said, what does Facebook need to cut? Simply put, Facebook didn’t know, but Spencer Burns, a modeler with Facebook, did know that they needed to have the capability to cut just about anything. The waterjet needed to be adaptable, versatile, and upgradeable. This is why Facebook, like many others seeking manufacturing flexibility, turned to WARDJet.
Facebook intends to use WARDJet’s 5-Axis waterjet to cut enclosures for future prototypes of the Surround360, a 3D-360 camera system that resembles a miniature UFO on a selfie-stick. Facebook also intends to use the waterjet to aid in the creation of Aquila, a solar-powered flying drone that will provide internet for developing countries. Beyond that, the range of potential applications is limitless.
While Facebook uses their waterjet for one-off prototyping, TESLA uses their custom-built WARDJet waterjet for quality control. TESLA has been using the waterjet to remove test specimens from complex structural castings used to create their Model S, Model X, and Model 3. This WARDJet machine was built specifically to fit their unique parts and shipped in 8 days!
The main reason tech giants like Facebook and TESLA are installing waterjets is simple, they need a versatile cutting tool that can adapt and evolve at the blinding rate in which technology moves. WARDJet’s unique approach of “Tailored Waterjet Solutions” enables the tech industry to be adaptable and flexible moving forward. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this tech trend continue well into the future. Zuck is right; there are indeed “exciting times ahead.”
To learn more about WARDJet, waterjets, and tailored waterjet solutions, visit wardjet.com.
