Hopefully your electrodes have the Hafnium pellet in the end. If you shave too much off the end of the electrode the spring that retains the electrode against the inside of the tip will not make contact. I shave just the minimum to get the copper removed only. I usually change them out when there is first a misfire issue and have even put some in the drill and used a belt sander to clean a little copper off. Hypertherm recommends use until 1/32" of the Hafnium is gone. I usually clean up my tips up with a custom made collet in a lathe. I gently chuck up on the the electrode and turn it down on the lathe.
Your misfire may be caused by the length of electrode and the spring being weak. Maybe you should try to see if you can replace your spring or pull it just a little to get some more length back. |