Precision cutting in industrial environments has moved beyond torches and sparks.
Today, it’s about control, safety and efficiency. Robotic ultra-high-pressure (UHP) waterjet systems are rapidly replacing traditional methods, offering faster, cleaner and safer results. This next-generation approach is transforming everything from tank maintenance to concrete demolition, making complex cutting tasks easier to manage and safer to execute.
Advanced technology, proven results
Safe-Cut, a patented service of Mass Technology Corp., delivers mobile coldcutting powered by its patented RAGWORM® technology. Developed from Dutch innovation and adapted for U.S. industrial use, these robotic tracked units offer high-speed, high-precision cutting across a wide range of materials and environments.
How it works
The RAGWORM system operates at pressures up to 60,000 psi with diesel-powered intensifier pumps and a hydraulically driven tracked mobile carrier. Operators remotely steer the tracked units to make straight or curved cuts in steel, achieving speeds of up to 32 inches per minute with a two- to five-man crew. With minimal water usage of less than one gallon per minute, the system reduces soil disturbance and requires virtually no cleanup. As a cold-cutting process, it eliminates heat, flame and noxious fumes, allowing others to work safely in the immediate area.
Beyond tank applications
While tank bottom cutting remains a core application, Safe-Cut has adapted its system to address a broad array of structures — including tank roofs and side shells — as well as hydrotreaters, fluid catalytic cracking units/cat crackers, towers/columns, piping, ship decks, barges, concrete and fiberglass. It can cut almost anything in configuration — horizontal, vertical or overhead — making it ideal for confined or hazardous environments where traditional cutting is unsafe or impractical. If a specific cutting tool doesn’t exist, Safe-Cut fabricates one.
Why it’s better
Safe-Cut’s system offers significant advantages over oxy-acetylene torches and manual gouging. It operates up to five times faster than torch cutting and 30 times faster than gouging. The cold-cutting process eliminates fire hazards, smoke and fumes, making it ideal for sensitive or hazardous environments. It also produces cleaner, more accurate cuts with reduced noise and minimal overspray. Remote operation improves jobsite safety and efficiency while reducing labor demands and environmental impact.
Proven and scalable
Since obtaining its U.S. patent in 2007, Safe-Cut has completed over 2,000 projects across 39 U.S. states, Canada and the Grand Bahamas. The company offers flexible pricing — daily rates for time-and-material jobs or an estimated lump sum price for jobs with a more defined scope of work. Notably, 96% of projects are invoiced exactly as proposed, eliminating change orders and unexpected costs.
At a glance
Safe-Cut owns and operates patented mobile UHP cutting units with dual and single cutter-heads. Headquartered in Kilgore, Texas, with offices in Houston and Philadelphia, the company has the capability to mobilize worldwide. Its advanced technology delivers precision results slicing through one-fourth-inch steel at 32 inches per minute while cutting up to 11 inches of carbon steel.
A safer, cleaner way forward
Robotic UHP water cutting is increasingly essential for refineries, petrochemical plants, tank farms, NASA facilities, paper mills and tank maintenance contractors across the country. Safe-Cut’s system eliminates fire hazards, reduces disruption and accelerates turnaround — all while minimizing environmental impact and personnel exposure. It allows contractors and operators to complete maintenance and repair projects with greater speed, precision and peace of mind.
For operations seeking a safer, faster and cleaner cutting solution, Safe-Cut’s RAGWORM cutting technology delivers performance without compromise.
For more information, contact Carl Bracken at (713) 725-6939 or cbracken@safe-cut.com.
