VashonImageWorks Inc.
Vashon Image Works specializes in precision abrasive waterjet cutting using our state-of-the-art 5-axis OMAX 55100 CNC Abrasive jet Machining Center. Our forte is art fabrication, prototyping and short production runs. We give expert personal attention to difficult jobs and small jobs that few other shops are interested in. In particular, we make abrasive waterjet technology accessible to artists and artisans.
Vashon Image Works, Inc.
18850 - 103rd Ave SW Suite 220
Vashon Island, WA 98070
email: sales@vashonimageworks.com
phone: 206-271-9547 (waterjet)
phone: 206-408-8022 (banner and laser)
fax: 206-408-8198
Our location is by appointment only, please.
VIW gives personal attention to all aspects of your project.
Our OMAX 55100 has the capacity for large jobs and the precision for any job. Our work envelope is 48" x 96", and our OMAX features the Tilt-A-Jet 5-axis option that improves accuracy and minimizes taper in finished parts.
If you aren't an expert CAD user, VIW will work with you at whatever level of design detail you require. We'll work from your Mac or PC Illustrator files, we'll help you learn CAD or other drawing software that best meets your needs, or we'll happily work from paper sketches.
If you are experienced with computer drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw, you're most of the way there - we can work from most formats, at slight additional cost. We also work from paper sketches, drawn to scale or not, or cardboard mockups, story boards, as needed.
Waterjet imposes certain geometric and topological constraints - it helps if your designs consist of closed paths, vs. disconnected lines. You get the most value from waterjet, and our shop services, by sending designs that require the least time to adapt to cut.
Vashon College offers instruction in waterjet design concepts, materials, costs, and also on using the OMAX design software. Instruction focuses on three areas: waterjet concepts, medium and process; CAD design for artists; and CAD/waterjet design for engineers and machinists.
We occasionally offer scheduled classes. You can get together a group and request a class, or have individual or group instruction by-the-hour at the standard shop rate.
Q. Why should we do business with Vashon Image Works?
A. We aim to be your best value waterjet shop, not necessarily the cheapest, at least not measured by nozzle-hour cost. We operate the state-of-the-art OMAX 55100, with its leading edge design and machine control software that outperforms most other waterjets. Our nozzle rate may be higher than high-volume competitors, but your net job cost is likely to be lower.
VIW is your best bet for difficult materials, challenging fix turing, jobs that you don't know if it's possible to do at all using abrasive waterjet or any other machining method.
Unlike most shops that provide waterjet cutting services, at our shop, all
aspects of your job are expert-planned, set up and run.
Q. How do I contact Vashon Image Works?
A. Please email sales@vashonimageworks.com or call at 206-271-9547.
Q. Where are you located? Where do I send a material shipment?
A. Vashon Image Works is in the JT Sheffield building, at 18850 - 103rd Ave SW, Vashon, 98070. For islanders, this is the former K2-North building between Sawbones and the "O" (the old SBC warehouse). From the highway, turn west on SW 188th St, then left on 103rd. Sheffield is the first left on 103rd. Enter the door under the yellow awning and proceed to the CBC/Vashon College offices upstairs at the south-east corner of the office area.
Please note: our office and shop hours are BY
APPOINTMENT ONLY. Visitors and deliveries must make prior
arrangement.
Q. How is VIW connected with Vashon College?
A. Vashon Image Works, Inc. is a for-profit subsidiary of
Vashon College, a non-profit community educational institution.
VIW provides manufacturing services for island artists and
other local small businesses, local jobs, and an income source for the
college. All business profit funds the college.
Q. What materials can you cut on the waterjet?
A. We routinely cut metals, glass, plastics, stone, granite countertops,
ceramic tile, plywood, rubber, composites, rigid foam - pretty much any
non-hazardous sheet or slab material.
Q. What is your work envelope?
A. The OMAX 55100 table accommodates full 48" x 96" sheets and can cut
anywhere in a 4x8 sheet in a single setup.
Q. How thick can you cut?
A. The absolute limit is about 4" thick for full sheets, and about 14" thick
for items up to 24" x 96". We routinely cut steel and stone over 1" thick. For
most materials, cost is the limiting factor.
Q. What about tube and other non-flat material?
A. In general, waterjet is for flat, uniform material, but there are some exceptions.
The OMAX can cut one face at a time of square or rectangular tube, or solid angle -- we routinely do this, but it requires extra setup time, sacrifices some accuracy, and often indicates a different design approach should be taken.
In general, expect good results if cutting through only the top surface, and
poor results if cutting all the way through to the bottom surface in the same
setup. Small diameter pipe and round tube can be fish-mouthed with good results.
Large pipe or tube is particularly unsuitable.
Q. Can I use the waterjet to make mosaics?
A. Yes, we have extensive experience in design, planning and setups
for inlays and mosaics in stone, tile, glass, etc. We can work with you to adapt
your artwork to the waterjet process and find the aesthetic and economic
tradeoff that works best for you.
Q. Can you cut granite and other stone countertops?
A. Yes, we cut granite, marble, composite or any other solid countertop
material in any thickness, for countertops, back splashes, mantels, stair treads,
etc. We can precisely cut whatever you want, but please note that we don't
provide edge finishing like a countertop shop - all we provide is the clean,
sharp cut edge, not a rounded over and polished finished edge.
Q. What about your connection with a non-profit college? Is VIW fair competition for other machine shops?
A. VIW charges market rates for its services. Staff are paid
market wages. We bought a used OMAX 55100 at market value. Our net after
taxes funds the college.
Q. You're on an island - how do I do business with you?
A. Most of our customers are in the Pacific Northwest, and have never been to our shop. We communicate effectively by email and phone. Email is a great way to send CAD files and photographs.
We stock the most commonly demanded materials and have remnants in a wide range of other materials and thickness. For a small job, we can provide material or you can mail it or deliver it to our shop.
Many finished parts are easily and inexpensively shipped via USPS and Flat
Rate boxes. For pallet shipments, greater Seattle is well-served by
Vashon Trucking, 206-463-9803.
Q. What materials do you stock?
A. We stock steel and aluminum in common thick nesses, and have remnants of many other materials in quantity suitable for prototype and small production runs.
We stock hot-rolled mild steel in 18 awg, 16 awg, 14 awg, 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" and cold-finished sheet in 18 and 16 awg.
We have a large assortment of stainless and aluminum sheet remnants.
Q. How do I send my designs to VIW?
A. You can send CAD or other drawing files, or we can create CAD files as needed from whatever you care to send - paper drawings, scans, photographs, cardboard templates etc.
Our standard import and work format is a DXF file. We can import from any CAD system and many drawing programs. If using 3D CAD, please send us a 2-D projections, flattened and ungrouped, and stripped of any surface rendering or shading.
We can read and convert vector files created by most versions of Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw, but with some caveats:
For Adobe Illustrator, please "un group" your design, remove any color or shading, and send us an "AI" file.
For Corel Draw, please save a copy of your design, "un group"
it, remove any color or shading, and use "save as" to save it as a DWG
file. We are unable to read the CMX, CDR or DXF files generated by Corel.
Q. What do VIW's waterjet services cost?
A. Please send us your design and material specification, and we'll quote on a per-piece and per-job basis.
The cost to cut a part depends on the material, thickness, hardness cut length, cut shape, and your required precision and cut edge quality - all those factors multiply and interplay. Job costs vary from perhaps $.25 to $2 per linear foot of the cut edge for sheet metal, and $2 to $10 per linear foot for steel plate from 1/8" to 1" thick.
In some materials, long straight lines can cut at up to 1/10 the cost per length compared with sharp inside corners.
We're happy to do one-off small jobs - for customers who provide suitable CAD files, we do many complete jobs for the minimum shop charge of $60, often including postage for delivering finished parts. The cost to provide an exact quote can be most of the cost of completing the entire job, so $60 is a good starting point.
If you're an artist working with unique natural material, or you need to see
the cut-by-cut result and adjust your specifications - again, we're happy to
accommodate your needs, and work by the minute instead of on a fixed quote
basis.Q. What is cut quality? What about accuracy?
A. A high-quality cut edge has the appearance of a uniform bead-blast finish, on the cut edge, and little or no burr. A low-quality cut has the appearance of a good machine-torch or plasma-cut edge. A medium-quality cut typically has the appearance of a good band saw cut, or a uniform bead-blast appearance about 2/3 of the way through the cut that transitions to the "lag" pattern of a plasma cut toward the bottom surface.
Low quality is usually used along edges that will be welded, for fixed-fastener clearance holes, or otherwise where edges are hidden.
Higher qualities are used where either precision or aesthetics require it. The cost difference over the range from lowest to highest cut edge quality, for a given part feature, is about 4X. The typical cut, a tradeoff appropriate for most work, is in between.
An average quality cut in small work pieces has a typical absolute accuracy of about +- .002" over the full thickness of the material.
Accuracy over large work pieces is affected by the material, machine and catch tank water temperatures. Accuracy in large pieces is also affected by material stresses e.g. in hot rolled steel released as cutting progresses. Warped material reduces accuracy.
Small circular holes are typically accurate within +-.002" of
diameter, except for a slight deviation at the start/stop point, that
typically prevents an on-size gage pin from entering a hole smaller than about
.005" above the pin size. More specifically, a waterjet hole makes an
excellent "tap drill" pilot hole with no size adjustment, but a waterjet hole
that needs to clear a shaft or pin is often cut slightly oversize, or hand
finished, or cut undersize and then reamed.
Q. What is your minimum charge?
A. Our minimum invoice amount is $60 - that's for any combination of setup and cutting time.
For "while-you-wait" jobs, where the job is scheduled to have the customer present, for example to supervise the positioning of material and cuts, the minimum invoice is $90.
Small jobs are welcome - that's part of our mission to serve island small businesses. Please keep in mind that to avoid a design service charge that dwarfs the cut cost for a small job, try to be prepared ideally with a clean DXF file that requires no rework to run on the OMAX, or at least a single-layer, ungrouped, un shaded Acrobat .AI file.
If that's a regular thing - we will help you learn to use our services most
cost-effectively.
Q. I have a rough idea what I want - will you help design it?
A. In general, yes. For life-safety parts, we make parts only "to customer
drawing".
Q. What other services does VIW provide?
A. CAD design, for original work or for adapting existing methods to water jet.
Water jet offers new paradigms of mechanical design and fabrication - replacing castings, stampings, brake-bent items with self-aligning tab-and-slot fabrications cut from flat sheet stock and joined using low-distortion plug welds. We can help redesign your part or product for cheaper and more accurate fabrication unique to the waterjet process.
WaterJets.org - waterjet web reference
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Island GreenTech - Vashon green manufacturer business incubator
Bob FAQ -Seattle area shop resource list
Seattle Metalheads - Pacific Northwest machining & metalworking Yahoo discussion group