Mid-Atlantic Rubber Inc
Water Jet Cutting Services
Precision Cutting for Any Material. Any Shape. Any Thickness Up to 8 Inches.
Water Jet Cutting Services
Water jet cutting is one of the most versatile and precise cutting technologies available. At Mid-Atlantic Rubber (MAR), we use high-pressure water streams mixed with fine abrasive particles to cut through virtually any material with tolerances as tight as ±0.005”. The result is a clean, accurate cut with no heat damage, no mechanical stress, and no material distortion.
Whether you need a single prototype part or a full production run of thousands, our water jet cutting services deliver the same precision on every piece. And because the process requires no tooling, dies, or molds, there are no setup charges and no design fees. You send us a CAD file or drawing, and we cut it. It’s that simple.
How Water Jet Cutting Works
Water jet cutting uses a high-pressure pump to force water through a precision nozzle at pressures up to 60,000 PSI. For softer materials like rubber, foam, and gasket stock, pure water alone does the job. For harder materials like metals, stone, and composites, a fine garnet abrasive is mixed into the stream to increase cutting power.
The cutting head is controlled by CNC software that reads directly from your design file. This means complex geometries, tight inside corners, intricate patterns, and close-tolerance features are all handled with the same ease as a simple straight cut.
There are two primary modes of water jet cutting, and MAR uses both depending on the application:
Pure Water Jet
- Uses water only, no abrasive added. Ideal for cutting softer materials that don’t require aggressive force.
- Best for: Rubber, foam, sponge, gasket materials, textiles, thin plastics, insulation, food products
Abrasive Water Jet
- Mixes fine garnet abrasive into the water stream. Dramatically increases cutting power for dense and hard materials.
- Best for: Steel, aluminum, titanium, brass, copper, stone, ceramic, glass, carbon fiber, composites
Why Choose Water Jet Cutting?
Not every cutting method is right for every job. Here’s why manufacturers across industries keep coming back to water jet cutting when precision and material integrity matter most:
No Heat-Affected Zone
No Mechanical Stress
Any Material
Up to 8” Thick
No Tooling Costs
Tight Tolerances
Clean Edge Finish
Water Jet vs. Laser vs. Die Cutting
Every cutting technology has strengths. Here’s how water jet stacks up against the alternatives:
Feature
- Heat Affected Zone
- Material Range
- Max Thickness
- Tooling Required
- Setup Charges
- Edge Quality
- Prototyping
- Best For
Water Jet
- None
- Virtually any
- Up to 8”
- None
- None
- Smooth, burr-free
- Excellent
- All-purpose precision
Laser Cutting
- Yes
- Metals, some plastics
- Typically < 1”
- None
- Minimal
- May have burrs/slag
- Good
- Thin metal sheets
Die Cutting
- None
- Soft materials only
- Typically < 0.5”
- Custom die required
- High (die cost)
- Clean on thin stock
- Poor (die lead time)
- High-volume soft goods
MAR also offers laser and tube cutting services in-house, so when a project calls for a different cutting method, we can handle it without sending your work to another shop. That flexibility means faster turnaround and a single point of contact for your project.
Materials We Cut
Our water jets cut across the full spectrum of materials used in manufacturing today:
Rubber, Foam & Soft Materials
- Natural Rubber
- Neoprene / EPDM / Nitrile
- Silicone (solid & sponge)
- Viton / FKM
- Polyethylene & Polyurethane Foam
- Cork & Cork-Rubber Composites
- PTFE / Teflon
- Compressed Non-Asbestos Fiber
Metals & Hard Materials
- Steel (mild, stainless, tool)
- Aluminum
- Titanium
- Brass & Copper
- Inconel & Hastelloy
- Carbon Fiber & Fiberglass
- Ceramic & Stone
- Glass & Polycarbonate
If your material isn’t listed here, reach out. Chances are we’ve cut it before or can run a test cut to confirm.
Industries We Serve
Our water jet cutting services support manufacturers and fabricators across a wide range of industries:
- Military & Defense
- Aerospace
- Medical Devices & Equipment
- HVAC & Mechanical Systems
- Automotive & Heavy Equipment
- Food & Beverage Processing
- Electronics & Electrical Enclosures
- Energy & Power Generation
- Architecture & Signage
- Marine & Shipbuilding
Case Study
Replacing an Outdated Die-Cut Process for a Defense Subcontractor
Client Name
Ridgeline Precision Components
Industry
Defense / Aerospace
Location
Northern Virginia
The Challenge
Ridgeline Precision Components manufactures sub-assemblies for armored vehicle communication systems. One of their recurring requirements was a set of vibration-dampening mounting pads and EMI shielding gaskets that fit into custom enclosures. The parts needed to be cut from a combination of conductive silicone and closed-cell neoprene, with tolerances of ±0.010” across irregular geometries.
For years, Ridgeline had relied on a die-cut supplier for these parts. But the process was creating problems. Each time the enclosure design changed, they needed a new die, which cost $2,500 to $4,000 and took three to four weeks to produce. Since their defense contracts required frequent engineering changes, Ridgeline was spending over $30,000 a year on die tooling alone. On top of that, the die-cut parts had inconsistent edge quality on the thicker neoprene pads, leading to fitment issues during final assembly.
Their production manager put it bluntly: they needed a cutting process that could keep up with the pace of engineering changes without bleeding them dry on tooling.
The MAR Solution
Ridgeline reached out to MAR based on a referral from another defense subcontractor in the region. After reviewing their part drawings and material specs, we recommended transitioning the entire gasket and mounting pad program to water jet cutting.
Here’s what made water jet the right fit for Ridgeline’s requirements:
No dies needed. Every design revision was simply a new CAD file loaded into our water jet software. No tooling cost. No lead time for die production.
The conductive silicone and closed-cell neoprene were both cut cleanly with pure water jet, preserving the materials’ EMI shielding and compression properties.
Tolerances of ±0.005” exceeded Ridgeline’s ±0.010” requirement, eliminating the fitment issues they’d been dealing with on die-cut parts.
Prototype and production quantities ran on the same equipment with the same setup, so Ridgeline could test a new design and approve production in the same week.
We shipped the first set of prototype parts within four business days of receiving the initial drawings. Ridgeline approved them after a single test fit with no modifications needed.
The Results
Over the first 12 months of working with MAR, Ridgeline saw measurable improvements across their gasket and mounting pad program:
$30K+ Saved
70% Faster
Zero Rejects
Ridgeline has since expanded their work with MAR to include water jet-cut aluminum mounting brackets and stainless steel shim plates for the same communication system enclosures. Having one shop handle both the soft and hard material cutting simplified their supply chain and reduced their vendor count by two.
“We were locked into a die-cut process that couldn’t keep pace with our engineering schedule. MAR’s water jet capability gave us the flexibility to iterate designs weekly instead of monthly. The quality is better, the cost is lower, and the turnaround is night and day. They’ve become our go-to for precision cut parts.”
Jason Merritt,
Production Manager, Ridgeline Precision Components
our process
Our Process: From File to Finished Parts
Send Your Design
Review & Recommendation
Cutting & Inspection
Delivery
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