Tip, low life

[Captain Midnigh]

My plasma tips are blowing out prematurly. Could it be a moisture problem? How do I dry the air. Some type of add on unit?

[millman52]

It's a must with plasma to have moisture & oil free air. I don't run a plasma in my shop. But Moisture & oil is a problem with any compressed air system. The single most effective system I have used is a simple drip tank to chill the air before going downline. Then still use a water/oil separator at point of use.

I build my own from 6" pipe. If rounded endcaps are hard to find (to expensive for me) I strip the ends of the pipe (much like a banana peel), heat form & weld.

[soapy]

You could also try shading the compressor, as a large compressor tank will catch a lot of water as it cools down after pumping up, eventually getting full (which leads to other problems) You might just need to drain the tank.

If this isn't the issue, it might be that you are using too small a compressor, so it is always running, and hence always hot, so the air remains moist. In that case, a separate, lower pressure (aids cooling due to air expansion) moisture trap is a great idea.

[massajamesb]

The problem with almost any "water trap" style of filter is that as the air travels down the air line, it cools off, which causes condensation. Yes, you have a *brand YYY* really expensive gadget hanging off of your compressor, but if it does not allow for a sufficient cool down period, you will still have water.
The solution?
1. Run a airline around the perimeter of your shop, about 50' if you can do it, and then have a water trap at every air hookup from there on out, and still deal with the oil the compressor is sending you,
or,
2. Buy a dessicant dryer. These puppies are nice. Almost every professional automotive paint booth in America has one. They are not cheap, but you will save a lot of money in tip and consumable usage, as well as allowing for longer tool life on your air tools.
These remove all traces of oil, moisture, and humidity from your compressed air, and the dessicant inside the filter absorbs it all. After a period of time, you either remove the dessicant and replace, or with some you can bake the dessicant to remove all of the impurities.
You can expect to pay at least 300 bucks for one, although I bought one a couple years ago from Tractor Supply for about 125.
I noticed a difference the first time I used it. I cleaned out all my plasma lines to the best of my meager ability, and then pressed the magic cut button. There was a huge difference in cut quality, and my consumables lasted 30-50 percent longer than before.
Just run a 5' line from the compressor to your dessicant dryer on the wall, and you are good to go.
Try this link for a nice one.
http://www.htpweld.com/products/accessories/a4.html
if you want to try it out for less money and see if it is worth your time, look at the smaller disposable filters below the wall mount unit.
If you get one, hook it up, and put a water trap directly mounted onto the air inlet on your plasma. Use it for a week or so, and see how much water collects in the plasma's water trap. I did, and even after 3 months, it is still dry.
I have ran a dessicant dryer for a few years now, and I only replace the dessicant about every 5-6 months.

[millman52]

My drip tank design really is designed to remove most of the moisture from compressed air. It also works best if it is placed a fair distance form the compressor. I didn't mean to give the impression that it would "dry" air. It certainly helps other simple water traps or dessicant filters on their maintenance cycles though.

[massajamesb]

I like your design, and if it works, it works! Anything to help in the process of drying the air will be a big help to a good dryer system.

[Torchhead]

Wet air is not the only tip "killer". Biggest thing next to that is blow back. If you are piercing too low the molten metal splashes back on the nozzle and causes a short circuit and it burns electrodes. Cutting to low or too high does the same thing. If your tip touches the metal as you cut it reduces tip life.

You need to pierce at about 2X the height you cut at then move down to cut height before you release for XY moves. Also if you are not sensing the Arc transfer (Arc Good) and just use a generic pierce delay (has to be long enough to cover a cold start) then it wears tips just cutting mostly air. The pierce delay needs to be a variable lenght on how long it takes the plasma to actually start and arc and make pentration.

Pierceing has more to do with the life of consummables than actual cutting. The number of pierces will dictate consummables life. Done inproperly it will shorten them considerbly.

Don't be surprised if after you get clean dry air, that it only helps some. You should be able to get 50 to a hundred pierces out of a tip and electrodes. Electrodes should outlast tips 3:1. I can cut decorative pieces from two full sheets (4 X 8) of 11ga material with a 40A tip. That is well over two hours of cutting on a 1 electrode and 2 or 3 nozzles. That represents about 800 worth of production so consummables don't represent a high percentage of my costs.

[tadream]

after a separator gets the bulk of the moisture, use this http://weilerwelding.com/shopsite_sc...otorguard.html
right at the machine. It's the shiznit!