Michael Waltrip Racing cuts hundreds of polycarbonate splitters on its waterjet system. The splitters provide downforce on the front of the race car.


especially for waterjet cutting. MWR also added an Xtractor abrasive removal system manufactured by Te Extractor of Granbury, TX, to automatically remove spent garnet from its waterjet tanks, eliminating the need to shut down for cleanout, a huge timesaver considering MWR consumes 5000–8000 lb (2250–3600 kg) of garnet a week, depending on the parts they are cutting.


A Plethora of Parts Tom German, MWR’s chief technical officer, noted that


MWR uses its Jet Edge systems to cut more than 1000 parts for each race car, including engine mounts, suspension com- ponents, steering supports, duct work, crush panels, windows and hundreds of polycarbonate splitters that are used to provide downforce on the front of the race car. “Te splitters alone save us $120,000 a year by not having


to outsource,” German said. “But more importantly than re- ducing expenses, the Jet Edge saves us time. We can rough cut parts on the waterjet, freeing our machining centers for other projects, and because the waterjet produces such a nice edge, we can cut many finished parts right on the waterjet without having to clean them up.” MWR is able to cut such a wide variety of its parts with


waterjet because the cold-cutting technology is capable of cutting nearly any material and thickness without creating a heat-affected zone, case hardening or recast, German noted. MWR Waterjet Operator Jeremy Vanderleest runs both of the Jet Edge waterjets, which are kept constantly busy as


MWR’s race engineers find more and more applications for the technology.


Simple and Reliable “Both of our Jet Edges have been very reliable and they


are easy to work on,” Vanderleest said. “The machines are also very easy to operate. The five-axis definitely takes a higher level of skill to operate, but Jet Edge has great hands-on training and I didn’t have any trouble adapting to the new system.” “Te Edge X-5 will add a whole new level of sophistication


to our parts and it’s going to be really exciting to see how our engineers use it to improve our parts,” Vanderleest continued. “Tis will give us a huge competitive advantage because we can keep even more work in-house and protect our secrets from being copied by the other teams. It’s hard to keep secrets in this sport, so when you find something that works, it’s best to keep your work in-house.” While MWR only recently installed its five-axis waterjet,


already the team has plans to utilize its abilities to cut bevels for welds and also to reduce stream lag and taper on 6" (152- mm) or thicker materials, said German. As MWR continues to rack up wins, there is no question


that Jet Edge waterjets and manufacturing technology in gen- eral will help its teams get to Victory Lane faster, faster.


Edited by Yearbook Editor James D. Sawyer from material provided by Jet Edge.


Motorized Vehicle Manufacturing 79


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