Above: Revolution Waterjet purchased a custom Edge Mid Rail system with an 8 ft. by 13 ft. cutting envelope and two 5-axis abrasive cutting heads with dual programmable contoured cutting from Jet Edge.
January, 2025- Necessity is the mother of invention and sometimes sparks a revolution. Brothers Keith and Troy Yarbrough launched Lone Star Rental & Safety Supply in Andrews, Texas, about 15 years ago, to sell construction equipment and other products. They later founded Lone Star Trailer Sales. When COVID hit, the two companies experienced supply chain snags, according to Travis Yarbrough, general manager for the businesses and Keith’s son.
In 2023, the Yarbroughs started up a third company, Revolution Waterjet, with the purchase of an abrasive waterjet cutting machine to produce parts for the other two businesses. “We were having eight month lead times to get panels” and related metal components. The idea, says Yarbrough, was, “Let’s stop relying on all these [outside] manufacturers to build our parts. We can just build them ourselves and then we don’t have to wait on anybody.”
Yarbrough conducted a search for a suitable waterjet and eventually “stumbled upon” Jet Edge Waterjet Systems in St. Michael, Minnesota. “Right from the get-go, I just had a good relationship with them. They were up front with me.”
That level of frankness included answering his questions by sometimes telling him Jet Edge could not do a particular task, or an approach would not function as desired, Yarbrough adds. Most of the other vendors responded to similar queries by saying that the machine would be able to do it perfectly, aiding in the decision to go with Jet Edge. “I had more trust and faith in them than I did the others.” Revolution purchased a custom Edge Mid Rail system with an 8 ft . by 13 ft. cutting envelope, two 5-axis abrasive cutting heads with dual programmable contoured cutting, and an isolated catch tank with splittank, air-operated bladders for dual-zone submerged cutting. To generate ultrahigh water pressure, the machine has a Hero100 waterjet intensifier pump with a rated pressure of 60,000 psi, dual intensifiers and a 100-hp high-efficiency motor.
“I told the guy at Jet Edge, when we do something, we do it big,” Yarbrough says. “We don’t ever want to have to say, ‘Our machine can’t cut that.’”
He adds that the dual heads and 5-axis capability “makes it virtually limitless on what we can cut and how we can cut it. It’s wild what you can do with those 5-axis heads.”
Travis Yarbrough, general manager of Revolution Waterjet, displays the company’s waterjet cut mascot.
HOUSING THE EQUIPMENT
In addition to acquiring a waterjet machine, Revolution needed to build a facility to house the equipment, Yarbrough says. Before breaking ground on the eventual 50 ft . by 60 ft. shop, the company purchased a 10-ton crane. “The architect actually had to design the shop to match the crane, which was kind of backwards.”
Unfortunately, he notes that issues with the building and the need to adhere to city ordinances caused delays, so although the waterjet arrived in November 2023, Revolution had to wait about five months to begin machining parts.
The dual heads and 5-axis capability of the Jet Edge makes it “virtually limitless” on what it can cut, the customer reports.
The Hero 100 waterjet intensifier pump provides the power to drive water volumes at ultrahigh pressure by adding a second intensifier.
Besides producing parts for the other two family businesses, mostly for Lone Star Rental “the mother of our businesses” Yarbrough says Revolution shapes a lot of fiberglass parts for oilfield applications, such as flanges, manway covers and brackets, as well as various metal parts. Workpiece thicknesses so far range from 16-gauge aluminum to 5-in. steel. “We’ll do anything,” he says.
NO ILLUMINATION REQUIRED
The waterjet also came with the dual-head, lights-out cutting package, and Yarbrough says Revolution performs unattended machining as needed after the operator clocks out at 5 p.m. It can run throughout the night, but six hours was the longest lights out run to date.
“We’ll re it up around 4 and let it run for an hour just so we can monitor it. Once we’re comfortable with that hour and we feel everything is going good, we’ll leave it run and kick the lights off.”
A camera mounted over the waterjet enables remote monitoring, and the machine is designed to instantly shut down once a problem occurs. That scenario occurred when a slug of garnet clogged the nozzle. After finding the machine and workpiece undamaged the following morning, the slug was removed and work continued.
An accessory to assist with lights-out cutting is the 2,500-lb. bulk abrasive hopper, which Revolution purchased.
To reduce downtime and catch-tank maintenance, Yarbrough says Revolution opted to add the abrasive removal system accessory. The system removes spent garnet abrasive, and the self-dumping hopper receives the sludge so clean water can be returned to the catch tank. “It’s worked phenomenally. Probably every two years we’ll have to shut down and do a deep cleaning on that machine.”
The Hero 100 waterjet intensifier pump provides the power to drive water volumes at ultrahigh pressure by adding a second intensifier.
To assist with overall maintenance, Revolution chose to go with Jet Edge’s biannual factory preventive maintenance service, Yarbrough says. The full PM service on the machine includes changing the hydraulic fluid, replacing all the filters, making sure the main pump seals are in order and aligning the cutting heads. He and the operator watch the maintenance being performed to gain a better understanding of the procedures.
“When it does come down to us doing it, we’d have a good feel for it,” he says. “It just made us feel a little more comfortable with an investment of this size.”
When the time comes to add another waterjet machine, probably in five to 10 years, according to Yarbrough, Revolution Waterjet can extend its building 40 to 50 ft . and add more beams to lengthen the crane’s travel. It’s wild what you can do with those 5-axis heads. Travis Yarbrough, Revolution Waterjet
Jet Edge Waterjet Systems, 800/538-3343, http://jetedgewaterjets.com/
Revolution Waterjet, 432/266-2737, http://revolutionwaterjet.com/