August 1, 2020

Background

If you have followed us for the past few years, you know we have continually made changes to the product between production batches. We learned from our customers and kept making the product better. We also listen to our assembly team, understanding what they deem problematic, taking in what they suggest and paying close attention to assembly time or fallout. Afterall, no matter how good the assembly work instructions are, there is a certain level of art to assembly. Listening to feedback lets the engineers make the product better and assemblers’ lives easier. Finally, we obtain feedback from our manufacturers and suppliers, who we view as an extension of our own production line.

Concurrent with the design overhaul for the International CE-certified machines that began shipping earlier this year, we implemented a few additional design changes and created a V1.5 WAZER machine. It’s not a totally new product, but it is by far the largest leap in our hardware since we started shipping two years ago, including more than 45 new and modified parts.

New Features in the V1.5 Machine

We’ll cover the changes that pertain to the three most important aspects of the redesign: serviceability, safety, and robustness:

Serviceability

We added inlet water pressure and high pressure gauges, allowing for easier status checking and quicker debugging when a problem arises.

We switched all the high pressure fittings to a new standard that is easier to service in the event that any component needs to be replaced. We added a new inlet water filter with user-friendly flushing capability, allowing for easier cleaning when the filter is clogged.

We added new detailed diagrams to the user manual to help users debug common problems. WAZER now also includes a toolkit with all the accessories you may need to service your machine or to clean up the parts cut by the machine. We even left a few slots for spare parts, so you can keep everything in one place.

Safety

Some of the new safety design features that were implemented include:

• A big, red “Emergency-Stop” button for easier access and quicker response to shutting the machine down

• Multi-level door switch interlock redundancy to ensure that safety hazards are immediately cut off if the door is ever opened during operation. This includes redundancies in: sensors, control electronics hardware and safety software logic

• CE certification on the WAZER Main Unit and Pump Box to numerous standards that comprise of thousands of safety and use-specific design criteria. The relevant standards are: General Safety of Machinery (EN 60204-1), Safety of Machinery (EN/ISO 12100-2010), High Pressure Waterjet Machines (EN 1829-1/-2), and Electric motor-operated Tools-safety (IEC 62841-1)

• A noise level of 87db. WAZER’s noise level is comparable to other tools such as drill presses and bandsaws. And 87db is below OSHA’s 8 hour per day limit!

Robustness

Several features were added to make WAZER more damage-proof, including improved water protection for the machine’s “under the hood” components:

• The right side service panel area is fully isolated from the tank and hoses.

• The controller electronics are completely isolated from hydraulic parts.

• All Pump Box electronics are contained within a watertight enclosure.

• Gaskets that seal wire interfaces

We also added cable strain reliefs to make sure a snag or tug doesn’t damage any cabling. We added stiffer rear drainage filters, allowing for infinite reuse and less damage during routine cleaning maintenance. And we implemented improved water inlet filtration to prevent any loose debris from the inlet water finding its way into the pump. 

All these features will make for a much better user experience when operating WAZER!