KMT Waterjet Alternative: Why a KMT Pump Owner in Dubai Chose VICHOR

KMT Waterjet Alternative: Why a KMT Pump Owner in Dubai Chose VICHOR

A KMT owner’s next machine was a VICHOR. Two years later, so was the accumulator on the KMT.

Link Middle East of Dubai had a KMT intensifier pump on its cutting floor when it ordered a VICHOR WCM-P60II-G2040 in 2017. In 2019, when the accumulator on the KMT pump cracked in service, they did not call KMT. They asked VICHOR to supply one.

Here is what was specified, what was installed, and what has happened since.

Link Middle East Limited was established in 1987 in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai. It manufactures steel wire products, perimeter security barriers and highway guardrail, and exports to more than 75 countries. The company runs its own waterjet and plasma cutting in-house.

The enquiry came in July 2017 from the company’s General Manager, who also serves as its C.T.O. Before committing, he wanted to stand next to the machine and watch it cut — and he was prepared to fly to China to do it.

The base machine was a VICHOR WCM-P60II-G2040: a 3-axis, 2 × 4 m gantry table driven by a WCM-P60II intensifier pump, with CNC control and automatic abrasive feed.

He then added four options:

• A soft start system on the WCM-P60II pump, so the main motor ramps up gently instead of slamming onto the line at full current — easier on the motor, and easier on the factory’s power supply.
• A second Omron PLC, kept as a spare on site — Dubai is a long way from VICHOR’s factory, and he wanted a controller fault to mean a swap, not a wait.
• A dedicated oil chiller for the hydraulic circuit. He knew what a Dubai summer does to an intensifier pump: when the hydraulic oil runs too hot, the pump trips its thermal protection and stops. The chiller was there to keep the machine cutting through the hottest months.
• An automatic sludge removal system, so the tank would not have to be stopped and dug out by hand.

On his side, Link Middle East built an air-conditioned room for the intensifier pump. The machine was specified for the climate it was going to work in, not for a showroom.

In August 2017 he flew to VICHOR’s factory in Shenyang, northeast China, and watched the machine cut. Satisfied with what he saw, he signed the contract on the spot.

He returned in October for acceptance testing of the finished machine before it was packed. It shipped in December and was installed and commissioned at Jebel Ali in February 2018.

During commissioning, VICHOR’s engineer trained the Link Middle East team to carry out routine intensifier maintenance themselves, and left video recordings of the procedures so the team could repeat them between service visits.

In June 2019, Link Middle East wrote to VICHOR about a different machine. The accumulator on their KMT JetLine pump had cracked in service. Rather than order the KMT part, they asked whether a VICHOR accumulator could be fitted to the KMT pump.

It could. VICHOR shipped one. That August, the customer confirmed the pump was back in service and running normally with the VICHOR accumulator fitted.

A customer who owned both brands asked to put a VICHOR part on the KMT. That is the one line on this page worth remembering.

Every waterjet consumes parts. Anything that carries ultra-high-pressure water — orifices, nozzles, seals and seats, high-pressure tubing — is a wear part by design, replaced on schedule as the machine works.

Since commissioning in February 2018, Link Middle East has ordered those parts from VICHOR, batch after batch — and the orders still come.

A repeat consumable order is an undramatic thing. It is also the most honest measure of a machine purchase: the machine keeps cutting, and the customer keeps coming back.

VICHOR machines are priced well below equivalent KMT-based systems. This customer had run a KMT pump for years before buying a VICHOR — and then chose a VICHOR accumulator for the KMT. Draw your own conclusion.

Can a VICHOR accumulator be fitted to a KMT pump?

It was done for this customer: in 2019, a VICHOR accumulator replaced the cracked accumulator on Link Middle East’s KMT JetLine pump, and the customer confirmed the pump was running normally afterwards. Whether the same is possible on your pump depends on the model and pressure rating — send both to VICHOR and we will tell you.

How do VICHOR prices compare with KMT-based systems?

VICHOR machines are priced well below equivalent KMT-based systems. The exact figure depends on table size, pump model and options, so ask for a quotation against your cutting requirements rather than a list price.

Can a waterjet run reliably in Gulf-climate heat?

Yes — the one requirement is cooling for the hydraulic circuit. With an oil chiller (or water cooling) fitted, the intensifier pump will not trip its thermal protection even in summer. An air-conditioned pump room, like the one this customer built, adds a further margin of safety, but it is not a must. This machine was commissioned at Jebel Ali in February 2018 and has run on VICHOR-supplied wear parts ever since.

Does VICHOR supply consumables and spare parts to the Middle East?

Yes. This machine’s orifices, nozzles, high-pressure seals and seats, tubing and spools have been supplied from VICHOR since installation in 2018, and during commissioning VICHOR’s engineer trained the customer’s own team to carry out routine intensifier maintenance between service visits. VICHOR also supplies parts for KMT and other waterjet brands — the accumulator fitted to this customer’s KMT pump is one example. Send your pump model and pressure rating.

Running a KMT and weighing your next machine — or the next part for the one you have? One KMT owner in Dubai has already made that call. Contact VICHOR with your pump model and pressure rating.