Tips to Avoid Common Mistakes With Your Plasma Cutting Machine

Any mistakes in plasma cutting can impact cut quality and affect the consumable's life. Thus, avoiding common mistakes can help to control a lot of loss and are also easy to take care of. Additionally, using quality parts like Hypertherm plasma cutter parts will enhance the quality of the output and increase the longevity of the machine. Now, let us see how you can avoid common mistakes and polish the performance and output quality of the plasma cutting machine. 

Tips to Avoid Common Plasma Cutting Mistakes 

CNC Machine Must Have Correct Pierce and Cut Height

Considering pierce height and cut height will save you from many problems like quality damage. For instance, if the pierce height is too low, the torch will come too close to the plate. And this can result in the torch getting splashed by molten metal, thus damaging its quality. If the pierce height is too high, then the torch will remain too far from the plate. And due to this, the arc will not be able to transfer, resulting in consumable damage or even misfire.

Similarly, cut height is equally crucial. If the cut height is too low, then the arc will end up removing too much metal from the bottom of the plate, which leads to a negative bevel. And if the cut height is too high, then the tip of the arc will reach the plate, and it will cause top-edge rounding and positive bevel.

Set the Gas Flow and Pressure Correctly

If the gas frequency is even a bit high or low, it will affect the machine adversely. If the gas pressure is extremely low, then the plasma cutting arc will never be able to cut the metal precisely because the pressure would be too weak. And if the gas pressure is too high, then you will end up having an unstable arc.

Thus, to make the gas flow correctly, you must check the gas levels regularly. This way, you can ensure if the correct amount of the gas is reaching the plasma torch or not. 

Ensure That You Are Following the Operator's Manual Seriously

While using any plasma cutting machine, you must double-check the operator's manual. This will help you to ensure the correct amperage for metal and the thickness you need to use for cutting. Also, you should follow the instructions and notes given in the operator's manual because that will help you to enhance your output's quality, increase the longevity of the machine, and promote safety. 

Also, incorrect CNC settings often lead to many problems. Like if the cut speed is too slow, then the cut pieces will start developing at the low-speed dross. This will form a large bubbly accumulation of trash along the bottom edge. Additionally, slow speeds can also cause a widening of the kerf with a lot of top spatter. And if the cut speed is too fast, then the arc will lag, which will cause a beveled edge with a narrow kerf and a small, hard bead of dross gathered at the bottom edge of the cut pieces. 

Thus, if you follow the operator's manual and set the cut speed accordingly, then it will give you a clean edge cutting with minimal dross. 

Other tips to avoid common mistakes that you can follow also includes:

• Keeping the record of consumable's life.
• Regularly check the torch and consumables to ensure there is no rust gathered and if the equipment is working fine or not.
• Assembling the torch to align the cut parts correctly.
• Use quality parts and spare parts like Hypertherm plasma cutter parts and Hypertherm spare parts for enhancing the performance of your machine.
• Ensuring the number of consumable parts matching in the operator's manual will save you from maximum dross. 

From now on, whenever you encounter a poor consumable or plasma cut quality, remember to check if you are not doing any of the common mistakes and ensure that you are following the tips given above. If you do not see any improvement after applying these tips, then you should contact the equipment manufacturer to troubleshoot them with the issues. They will suggest to you the ideal solution for fixing the problem. As mentioned above, make sure you have spare parts for primary machine parts so that you do not have to waste time till it gets repaired. Investing in quality spare parts like Hypertherm spare parts will give you the same quality as the original.

Source: https://altpartsinc.wixsite.com/altpartsinc/single-post/tips-to-avoid-common-mistakes-with-your-plasma-cutting-machine

Difference between WaterJet Cut and Plasma Cut

Any manufacturing industry has multiple ways to find a solution for one particular job. This is true when it comes to cutting raw materials. There are two popular methods that you might find in many shops, i.e., water jets and plasma cutter.

Both the machines are known for their ability to quickly and easily cut certain materials. But, like every machine, these two machines also have something different in them.

A brief about how water jet cut machine works:

A water jet is a cutting system that relies on a mixture of water and breaks down materials along a given path. You can assume it as a high-speed erosion. The abrasive feeds through a line into a mixing tube where it meets the water source and sprays out with immense pressure. It puts more than 50,000 psi and forms a cutting stream at the tip of a ceramic nozzle, which then moves along a path determined by the associated CNC software. It works at a speed that varies depending on the type of material and its thickness.

Now, let’s talk about working of plasma cutting:

Plasma cutters use gas and electricity. The gas forces through the constricted opening at high pressure at a point that it contacts an electric arc that passes through a nozzle causing a reaction, and the gas heats to the degree that it enters the fourth state of matter plasma. The plasma is hot enough to melt through the high enough speed that excess material blows away, resulting in a relatively clean cut. Make sure to use Hypertherm parts online, esab plasma cutter parts as they are easy to replace and help you have a precise cut.

You can use different gases depending on material type and thickness.

In this article, let’s explore the differences between the water jet cut and plasma cutting:

1. Quality:

The plasma cutter smoothly cuts many steels with an accuracy of +/- .01″- 0.30″ “depending on the setup. When the material thickness increases, the cut will be less clean as the plasma struggles to melt through all the materials without producing unwanted slag.

The water jet is a more accurate machine and will produce high-quality cuts across a wide range of materials and thicknesses. The water jet can hold a tolerance of +/- .005″ and has additional accessories available. They can further increase the accuracy of minimizing taper. The speed can adjust to improve surface finish and often eliminates any need for secondary machining.

2. Maintenance:

The water jet requires constant maintenance. Water jet parts are under constant pressure, and so the failure rate is very high. Replacement parts and rebuild kits are necessary and expensive. The water jet tank can also be pumped out regularly as it fills with abrasive over time. Some shops outfit their machines with costly waste management systems. Whereas others rely on vactor trucks or shovel out the excess to garnet them.

On the other hand, plasma cutting needs less maintenance except for gas that we need to operate; fewer consumables and components can break down. Preventive maintenance becomes the key to uninterrupted plasma production. This helps in proper cleaning and alignment of essential items; you need to check this on the basis of performance.

3. Materials:

Plasma cutters have a limitation in what materials it can cut. They are mostly useful for steel though certain materials can cut stainless and aluminum with a proper setup. Conductive materials do not cut well on plasma.

Thickness of the material also plays a major role in plasma’s cutting capabilities. The quality will begin to go on anything ½” “in thickness.

Whereas, you can use a water jet to cut any material type. Be it hardened steels to softer materials like wood, plastic, or even food items like bread or cake. The water jet material can cut up to 10″ “thick steel as the thickness does not limit it.

Conclusion:

While choosing the correct cutting material for your business, it’s important to know the major difference between both of them and choose the best out of them. Hence, make sure before purchasing any of them you know the major difference between each of them. Try to use plasma cutting machines which have hypertherm parts online, esab plasma cutter parts.

Source: https://altpartsinc.wixsite.com/altpartsinc/single-post/difference-between-waterjet-cut-and-plasma-cut