Ever wanted to cut an outline of China out of a china plate, or to cut a wee knife out of a larger knife blade? A new tool lets you easily and cheaply cut just about any shape out of any material—using the power of water.

A group of engineers from the University of Pennsylvania created the world's first affordable desktop waterjet cutter as their senior design project. This water "laser," named (of course) WAZER, uses a pressurized blend of tap water and sand to blast through practically any material and cut precise, customized shapes.

How can water cut through tough materials like steel, ceramic tile, and titanium? First, water and garnet sand are combined into a slurry mixture. Then they're squeezed into a narrow stream with a width of 1.5 millimeters—that's roughly the height of a penny. This abrasive jet shoots out of the spout fast enough to slam through any object in its path.

Moving at anywhere from half an inch to a foot per minute (depending on the material), the jet traces digital designs created in software programs such as Solidworks and Adobe Illustrator. As WAZER follows this pre-programmed path, it filters the excess sand and waste materials into built-in canisters and empties the used water into standard drainage systems.