Cutting Glass tile with Fusion waterjet

[the_dionysian_1]

So my boss' other business was installing these wavy glass tiles on a job & they needed to cut electrical box holes in the tiles. But every time they tried to do so, the tiles were splitting. So he asked me to see if I could cut them on our Fusion.

So I set it up, snapped a pic with the overhead cam, programmed an e-box & moved the lead-in to the center of the cutout. Measured the thickness of the tile. Told the Fusion the size & started it up.

...it split the tile in half immediately.

Like I said, it's a wavy tile, so it's not flat on either side. Any tips or recommendations for trying to cut these with the jet successfully? I didn't do anything special. I literally just set the tile on the rubber slats. Would there be anything I could set under it that might help? Or does it sound like these tiles have too much tension & just wont survive that pierce cut?

[MARTYE]

If the tiles are tempered, you will not be able to cut them.

[GlobalEquipment]

We have a customer in Florida that had the same issue trying to cut a "Stone Glass" material.....Have you tried a porcelain blade on the sawing portion of the machine? The pressure of the jet probably is too much for that small of a piece or with it being tempered, probably is causing some of the issue as well as they stated above....

[the_dionysian_1]

Have you tried a porcelain blade on the sawing portion of the machine? The pressure of the jet probably is too much for that small of a piece....
[

I haven't tried using the blade at all for this because they're just electrical box cutouts. The holes are really not big enough for a blade to do anything I don't think. Let alone holding it in place.

[fernando]

Have you tried reducing the pierce pressure down? i would start really low then work your way up.

[the_dionysian_1]

Have you tried reducing the pierce pressure down? i would start really low then work your way up.
[

This is not something I was taught in Park Industries' course when we bought this machine. Is this something I would do in Alphacam while programming the cut, or is this something I would change on the machine itself?

I'm attaching an image of the tool profiles from Alphacam (not much to change in Alphacam from what I can tell)

[the_dionysian_1]

So I just went over to the tile store (sister store) & asked them if they knew whether or not these particular tiles were tempered glass & they said that "99% of glass tile is tempered so they can be cut with a tile saw."

Well... apparently not for electrical box cutouts because that's why they were asking me to give it a shot, as they were exploding when they tried to cut them with their tile saw.

So I guess we're SOL? I don't get it. I've seen pictures of glass tiles with core holes cut with a jet for pot fillers & shower spickets etc. How are they getting this done if 99% of glass tiles are tempered & you can't jet a tempered glass tile?

[fernando]

There are two knobs at the intensifier, one labeled cut pressure and the other pierce pressure. They are both adjustable. Turn on the intensifier on low pressure in manuel mode, open the water valve and adjust the pierce pressure by turning the knob, use the pressure gauge as a guide. i would drop it to 8000 to start of with.

[the_dionysian_1]

So I read somewhere else online that it's a good idea to put a sacrificial piece of material on top of the glass to absorb the initial pierce. So I put some 2cm Uba Tuba on top. That did the trick! It's a pretty jagged looking cut because the jet has to stay 2cm away from the actual glass, but it's just an electrical cutout so it doesn't have to look pretty. I didn't adjust the pressure or anything. I'm thinking that tile guy doesn't know what he's talking about because if this were tempered glass, wouldn't it have still exploded?

[John Fallon]

Good afternoon,

Tempered glass is baked and quenched to harden the glass so that it will shatter in small pieces, if hit, to minimize damage to people. That is why it is used on side windows in vehicles, inside homes and other areas in close proximity to individuals.
Once tempered you cannot fabricate it without shattering, unless you are very lucky, as it may eventually shatter at a later date due to temperature change or being struck.

Laminated glass is used on windshields to hopefully minimize entry of flying objects. Also some windows and doors in hurricane prone areas, for the same reason. It is made from glass sheets separated by PVB interlayer, then pressed and "baked" in an autoclave to make it clear again.Tempered glass may be fabricated after the process.

You may try to contact the tile manufacturer to see if you can get some tile "pre-tempered" so that you can cut holes in it.

Hope this helps,

John fallon
Breton USA
914-441-1306

[John Fallon]

CORRECTION;

LAMINATED glass may be fabricated post process... NOT tempered. Sorry for the confusion.

John Fallon
Breton USA
914-441-1306

[dustinbraudway]

If it is tempered you will not cut it. Take a glass bit use water and drill out the corner of the outlined box. You then can use a thin continuous rim glass tile blade with water. Sorry no help with the jet. I would imagine there has to be a way to do it with it though

[Jeff c]

Tempered glass will not be cut or drilled or water jetted. Once a piece of glass is tempered it is not possible to alter the shape in any way. Perhaps glass tiles have some residual tempering from the manufacturing process but without seeing the broken pieces I could not tell. There is no reason that I can think of to purposely temper a glass tile. If you could post a picture of the broken pieces a better opinion could be made.

[Kowboy]

Maybe bond the tile to a solid substrate with reversible glue?

http://circulatenews.org/2017/11/revers ... -products/

[the_dionysian_1]

Tempered glass will not be cut or drilled or water jetted. Once a piece of glass is tempered it is not possible to alter the shape in any way. Perhaps glass tiles have some residual tempering from the manufacturing process but without seeing the broken pieces I could not tell. There is no reason that I can think of to purposely temper a glass tile. If you could post a picture of the broken pieces a better opinion could be made.
[

I've attached the pictures. The pic of the split tile is the first attempt. The other two pics are after I put the sacrificial piece of 2cm UbaTuba over top of the tile during cutting. As you can tell, the tile moved during cutting. That's why the lead-in lead-out didn't cross over each other.

[Jeff c]

Not sure why it's breaking for you but it is not tempered.

[Daniel]

Do you not put Hardie or Durock on the slats before cutting?

[the_dionysian_1]

Do you not put Hardie or Durock on the slats before cutting?
[

No. We don't normally buy any. We just have a box of rubber slats in stock at all times so I can replace parts of slats that are too worn to stay on.

[Alex_Bores]

Low pressure pierce and lead look fine. If its not tempered, there should be no issue. Support the glass with a hard substrate. and clamp accordingly.

If that still isn't working, Dustin hit the nail on the head.

If it is tempered you will not cut it. Take a glass bit use water and drill out the corner of the outlined box. You then can use a thin continuous rim glass tile blade with water.

It'll actually be pretty quick once you have them laid out.