Preliminary Studies into Cutting of a Novel Two Component 3D-Printed Stainless Steel–Polymer Composite Material by Abrasive Water Jet

Composites are materials with a heterogeneous structure, composed of two or more components with different properties. The properties of composites are never the sum or average of the properties of their components. There is a lot of research and many models on the different property assessments of composite materials. Composites are used as construction materials in key areas of technology, including in civil and mechanical engineering, aviation and space technology, and others. This work presents a modern composite material created with 3D-printing technology using the SLM method, and the possibility of its processing with one of the advanced manufacturing technologies, i.e., the Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ). Tests planned using DoE methods were carried out by changing control parameters such as the pressure, abrasive flow, and traverse speed. As a dependent parameter, the surface roughness parameter Sq (squared mean height) was selected and measured in different places of the cut composite. Based on the S/N ratio, the most favorable control parameters of the cutting process were also determined to achieve the lowest roughness of the cut surface. A clear effect of the controlled cutting process on the surface roughness was observed, as well as roughness variation for the metal and polymer component. In addition, the contact surface of the polymer with the metal in the cut zone was analyzed. Analysis of the contact surfaces on the microscope showed that the gap between the polymer–metal contact surfaces does not exceed 2.5 μm.