A mini-hopper is typically mounted near and above the cutting head. Most of these mini-hoppers allow for a gravity feed of abrasive down to the cutting head. Many mini-hoppers control the amount of abrasive that can go down to the cutting head with the use of a slide with different size holes in it. The operator can change the position of the slide to change the amount of abrasive to the cutting head.

A recent advance in technology is remote CNC-control of the amount of abrasive released from the mini-hopper. Having this capability allows for optimum feeding of abrasive to the cutting head in relation to the water pressure at the pump for the following desirable capabilities:
<ul>
 	<li>Piercing of fragile materials like glass or stone. Typically a lower water pressure will be used with a smaller amount of abrasive</li>
 	<li>Changing abrasive amount for different abrasive nozzle sizes to optimize part cost. This can be done automatically if the mini hopper is set up to do this.</li>
</ul>