Reshaping the Stone Age

Waterjet technology, a relatively new cutting process that has been used in other industries to slice through anything from vegetables to clothing, has more recently come to the interior design industry, opening up vistas of interior architectural detailing opportunities for architects and designers. Designers are learning to take advantage of this technology for both commercial and residential applications.

The 10-year-old technology dramatically differs from labor-intensive hand cutting tools. The waterjet process blasts a highly pressurized combination of garnet powder and water-up to 55,000 pounds per square inch-through a tiny orifice which is directed to precisely and quickly cut intricate CAD/CAM-generated patterns through thicknesses of up to 5 and 6 inches of materials such as stone, marble, steel, glass, ceramic tile, and even resilient flooring.

Regular cutting tools will cut up to 1 and 1/2 inch thicknesses, but, under the pressure, precision cutting is difficult, and materials can warp causing waste.

Waterjet technology can also achieve finite precision cuts. "We've done lettering that is 1/4 inch high with a cerif that would fall apart with a hand-cutting tool," says Harri Aalto, creative director of Creative Edge Corporation, a Fairfield, Iowa-based company which he bought with partner Jim Belilove five years ago and which is leading the way in demonstrating this technology's applications.

Because of waterjet cutting technology's precision, an installation can be finished quickly. "Installers like waterjet-cut materials because they don't have to grind or shave a piece to properly fit it together," says Aalto. In fact, CEC partnered with Chicago-based Granite & Marble World Trade to precision-cut 5,000 multi-colored pieces of 3/8-inch-thick marble for a custom world map installed in the concourse of the new Denver International Airport designed by C.W. Fentress J.H. Bradburn & Associates. The grand curved work of art, created in collaboration with project designer David Griggs, spans 50 feet by 25 feet. "This is the largest piece 'of cut stone art in the country," says Aalto.

Creative Edge can waterjet-cut a variety of materials from marble to stone to resilient flooring, as shown here at the new Chicago Heartwise Express restaurant designed by Aumllier/Youngquist. Keith Youngquist stands before an intricate multi-colored world map of cut-cut resilient flooring. The floor design is from Creative Floor Design, a new Crystal Lake, IL-based company that specializes In Intricate flooring designs.