Water Jet cutting is achieved by pressurising(60,000 p.s.i.) a fine jet of water usually about 0.7mm diameter. A super fine abrasive powder (Garnet being just one of a range of products used) is introduced to the jet stream just prior to the cutting nozzle. These machines are CNC controlled and are extremely accurate perfect for aircraft part manufacture, no heat affected zone or distortion as mentioned above. I had all of the ribs for my aircraft Water Jet cut prior to forming to shape. Most of these machines will cut anything except toughened glass and Tungsten and up to about 100 mm - 125 mm thickness. I sandwiched my rib material into a stack of 26 pieces each 0.8mm thickness total thickness about 21 mm, took about 20 minutes to cut the lot, saved me days of work. Highly recommended.
RickH