10 Control and Supervision of Abrasive Water-Jet Machining Processes 10.1 General Aspects of Abrasive Water-Jet Process Control As in any other machining method, control and supervision of the abrasive water-jet machining improves both the efficiency and quality of the process. Figure 10.1 shows a block diagram of a possible new generation of an abrasive water-jet machining system. Mazurkiewicz and Karlic [363] make an early attempt to develop an appropriate control algorithm for linking abrasive water jetting to automated manufacturing equipment. In detail these authors find: • The abrasive water-jet machining is a strongly non-linear process. • The gain parameters can change sign and vary over a wide range. • The time constants strongly depend on many parameters and on disturbances. • It is possible to control depth of cut, width of cut and material-removal rate using the two control variables standoff distance and traverse rate. • Important in the design of the control system is the methods used to monitor all process outputs as well as the use of an automated compensation control system. Since that early approach, several methods are developed to measure, supervise, and control the major parameters of the process. Sereing the AWJ Nozzle Wear Sensing the Acoustic Emission Figure 10.1 Block diagram of a new generation of an abrasive water-jet cutting system {362J A. W. Momber et al., Principles of Abrasive Water Jet Machining © Springer-Verlag London Limited 1998