Newbie- Water table design

[daconfusion]

I posted in the engineering forum, dont think it will get as much attention as posting here.


Can someone please help me understand the function of the water table?

Is it to provide cooling fins for conductive cooling?


What is the correct depth for water and fin size? (Formula or calculation procedure to determine,)

If someone can point me to a good website, book or resource I would appreciate it.

[Teknition]

The function of the water table is:

-To trap all the smoke and vaporized metal released during cutting. If you have no water table or air filtration system, plasma cutting will emit a huge amount of smoke and particles around your shop and into your lungs.

-to cool thin sheets of metal when cutting to help control warpage. This is achieved by keeping the water level close to the bottom of the sheet. When the air stream causes turbulance in the water after the sheet is pierced, it splashes the water against the underside of the sheet and cools it.

The slats have no real cooling function, their purpose is to support the material being cut. Slat height/water depth would depend on the amperage of your plasma cutter but for general home use type plasma cutters anything 1-1/2" or above should be fine.

Brad