Newbie- PLASMA VS HD PLASMA what to choose??

[garydunlop]

hi all plasma users , i have a rtech 40amp plasma cutter great wee tool, but leaves a beveled edge or does not just cut straight 90 degrees , as far as i understand this unit is hf which plays with my computer a bit but not bad, how much better would a hd plasma cutter be will it give a staighter cut, are hd plasma cutters hf or not, what is the differance in using air supply and using a gas, i was at a engineering yard last week they had a cnc going, seen some oxygen bottles beside it not sure if they were piped to it or not but boy she give a glass finish cut straight 90 down ,would like something like that.. anybody have info on this

[4R8]

The machine you have there is almost the lowest of the lows when it comes to performance. Just stepping up to a hypertherm powermax 45 will yeild impressive results for you without breaking the bank. They aren't HF which means no interference with your computer and still have the pilot arc.
The HD machines are a completely different animal and in a completely different price bracket.

Jim will probably chime in and give a better answer (hopefully even put up an edge shot or two)

[I Lean]

I'll echo what 4R8 said above...the Powermax 45 is really in a different league than your R-tech 40. Even though the model number is only slightly higher (40 vs. 45), the Powermax will give you a LOT more actual power, therefore better cutting speed and thicker material cutting.

Before my Hypertherm, I had a Parker 40A plasma cutter. There is no comparison. One feels like a toy, the other is a tool made to be used.

Here's a post I made a couple months ago, with some pics showing edge quality from my PM45: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/hypert...rmax_45_a.html



This one shows the first piece and last piece cut out of one half-sheet of 1/4" AR500 steel, the consumables have about 2500 inches of cutting between the first and second piece in the picture:

[garydunlop]

thanks to both for replies, them cuts look pretty straight, any harm to ask is that your own table, have you thc added and is thc hardware and software tricky to add on ???

[I Lean]

It is my table, and I do have digital torch height control -- part of the bundled package I got from CandCNC, the Bladerunner Dragon-Cut. http://www.candcnc.com/BladeRunner_Dragon-Cut.html