Hot streams of water the size of human hair strands have formed the basis of high-precision cutting technology for about three decades, but is now making waves in Vicksburg.

Abrasive waterjet cutters can cleanly slice 3-D parts to power the next generation of condenser pans and conveyor systems used in the food industry. Water is pressurized to more than 87,000 pounds per square inch and flows through a small opening inside what appears to be a common jigsaw. The difference is in the water, which when mixed with particles of abrasive minerals can cut fine detail in hard materials such as steel, glass, stone and plastic.

Electro Mechanical Solutions Inc. in Vicksburg took a quantum leap forward this year when it purchased the latest ultrahigh-pressure waterjet cutter, the Dynamic Waterjet XD, manufactured by Kent, Wash.-based Flow International Corp. EMS officials say it puts the company at a unique forefront of domestic parts manufacturing.

“It’s a huge asset for industrial plants,” said vice president Brad Davidson of the newest model’s five-axis system, which allows the cutter head’s anchor to move up and down, side to side and at angles to produce smoothly-cut gears, brackets and other small parts for the industry.

Most parts, machines and electrical board circuitry made by EMS, an eight-employee operation off U.S. 61 South, is based on designs sent by customers nationwide. With the waterjet, those specs can be fast-tracked by its programmable features allowing electronically-generated plans to be loaded into the waterjet’s master control.

The need for minimal manpower to operate the waterjet is a cost- and time-saver for his company and his customers, Davidson said.

“It has opened up new doors by letting us do parts at a cheaper price,” Davidson said. “We can quote prices and do a cost analysis before it’s cut.”

Paul Kimball, complex materials manager at the Tyson Foods plant at Ceres Research and Industrial Interplex, expects big things from the high-speed cutter — the latest reason for the food processing giant to keep EMS around as its most important local parts supplier.

“This equipment is far beyond anything seen in this industry,” Kimball said, adding the arrival of advanced waterjet technology in Vicksburg is just a recent example of the 4-year old equipment manufacturer and installer’s expertise.

“They actually redesign the wheel over there — and make it better,” Kimball said, adding Tyson, the largest U.S. processor of beef and poultry, has saved $15,000 a week simply by having EMS repair, rather than purchase new, circuit boards that operate its electrical panels.

The Corps’ Engineer Research and Development Center also uses waterjet technology, in the Public Works model shop.