Technical-economic evaluation of abrasive recycling in the suspension fine jet process chain

Abrasive waterjet generation methods such as the conventional injection jet method and the suspension jet method have a strong influence on properties and costs of the machined products, particularly ones made of difficult-to-machine materials, e.g., ceramics. Since recycling may reduce the needed amount of materials significantly, the same holds true for recycling processes and technologies within the process chains of abrasive waterjet methods. In this paper, a methodology for integrated technical-economic evaluation of processes is presented and applied to the process technology of abrasive recycling in the suspension fine jet process chain aiming to show the technology’s technical as well as economic potential. Research and development regarding such processes and technologies may contribute to gain competitive advantages for companies as they can differentiate from competitors by offering or processing materials with distinctive properties and/or lower prices causing customer’s benefit. Consequently, it is also of great importance for companies applying waterjet cutting methods to know whether and which recycling technologies are promising from both a technical and an economic point of view. Experiments show that a significant share of the input material (abrasive particles) can be reused after recycling. The monetary appraisal reveals that technical potential results in considerably lower costs compared to the suspension jet method without recycling.