operator must oversee the entire cutting procedure, and be "on-jet" to make sure that it runs correctly. A waterjet machine can cut through the hardest tile as if it were a Thanksgiving turkey. With the help of an abrasive such as garnet powder, it can even cut through slabs of granite up to 5" thick! A good waterjet operation can accept the most elaborate floor or wall design and render all its components-tile, stone, metal, glass, etc.-into an easy-to assemble-and-install, jigsaw-puzzle masterpiece.

Commercial Potential of Waterjet

Many companies are getting involved with waterjet technology nowadays. Most are quick to discover that this is very complex, high-tech stuff that can, indeed, pa y back the very high cost of getting into it-if a dedicated staff of artists and professional craftspeople is at the controls of the operation.

On a personal note, I became interested in the waterjet process roughly 10 years ago, when it was explained to me how natural stone could be cut into fine design patterns that could be pieced together with extremely small grout lines. As an artist who had more than just dabbled in stone sculpture, I envisioned a number of surface possibilities-combining Thassos marble with Absolute Black granite, logo treatments using consistent colors found only in ceramic tile, large-scale map murals for transportation centers, and other exciting projects. I became heavily involved in waterjet technology and soon thereafter, all of these dreams became reality. (continued)

Everyone likes tile. It's colorful, vibrant, durable-a wise investment for any building project. There have been some concerns among the creative community, however, with regard to working with such a dense material that is hard to cut into intricate shapes and patterns. Until just recently, when a designer wanted to create a wall mural or a very precise floor pattern utilizing individual shapes as large as 12" x 12" (not to mention today's 24" x 24" tiles!), the idea was likely to be scrapped. Who could cut a perfectly round 3" blue circle, then insert it into a perfectly round hole in a white, square tile-and do it over and over, perfectly?

Mosaics, a time-tested, durable and very attractive medium, have served as the standard means of creating tile works of art since ancient times. There's no question that mosaics are wonderful for many applications. Again, however, what if a project calls for larger individual units? What if it requires large-format tile in conjunction with precisely cut slabs of stone?

The answer is simple: waterjet technology.

By now, it you're involved in the tile business, you'll probably have some idea of what a waterjet is. For those of you who may not, here's a quick description: waterjet cutting is a process in which incredibly high-powered jetstreams of water, moving faster than the speed of sound, are shot through a tiny opening at the end of a nozzle. The nozzle, in turn, is located at the end of a robotic arm, which takes orders from a computer that has been pre-programmed. An experienced