Page 36 - CNC West Web August - September

Miller Marine’s Haas HAAS VF9-40. It is a 4 axis machine with an added 5 axis table. Because of its size it can hold up to 4000lbs and has a 30HP spindle.
Waterjet by OMAX. With a 10’ X 5’2” X-Y work envelope and 12 inches of Z, this beast of a machine can cut steel, aluminum, foam, rubber, plastic etc. up to 10” thick.
Brandon ‘Fish’ Hartung is Miller Marine’s waterjet operator. His skills and creativity were well known in the area and Steve had ‘Fish’ on the sonar for the last few years. “We are glad Brandon came on board with us in April,” touts Steve. “He is a wizard at making the Maxiem perform.” Time spent programming and cutting on the waterjet is time saved later in production. Something as simple as a beveled edge on mating pieces of steel mean the welders can just weld and they don’t have to spend hours grinding down a corner. “We have a rotational cutting head on the Maxiem 1530,” details Brandon.
“Together with the OMAX InteliMAX software we are pretty limitless in what we can do with this machine. Everyone knows you can cut things with the waterjet, but it also has a delicate touch when needed. For example, while you were talking to Victor, Carlos, and Steve; I scanned the CNC West logo and brought it into the software. I created the plate from 1/8th aluminum and embossed the logo into a rounded rectangle. The waterjet can do detail work that doesn’t even pierce the thickness of the metal, leaving raised type of your logo.” Yesterday Brandon was cutting 9” thick square tubing 8’ long and today he was making a decorative art piece. “It is amazing that a huge machine is capable of such a variety of work,” adds Brandon. “It is one of the largest waterjets in the
Left - Structural items like doors and bulkheads await their repairs and retrofits. Right - A welder makes repairs to a slatted aluminum floor system.
34 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST August/September 2021