plasmacam stops cutting when air compressor goes on??

[ziptie007]

now that I just started doing more cutting I noticed one problem. When the plasmacam is cutting and the air compressor comes on the plasmacam software stops cutting and the pause light is on. I try hitting the play button, stop button on the control box and nothing. I also tryed to stop or cut on the software and nothing. I can't even raise the a axis to lift it off the sheetmetal. Hummm.... The only thing I can do is reinitialize the software and that fixed it. The only thing I can think us happening is the power draw from the air compressor and the plasma cutter at the same time is the problem. I'm going to try running a extension cord to a different outlet and see if that fixed it. We will see. Any comments are welcome.

[Geof]

It is almost certain that the starting surge for the compressor is causing the voltage to drop below the minimum that your plasma machine needs. Moving the compressor to a different outlet may help, but make sure it is on a different breaker.

If both pieces of equipment are running on 120V make sure they are on differents legs of the incoming 240 supply to balance the load; if you are running both on 240 they are balanced of course.

If they can be wired to run on 240V, wire them this way to reduce the current draw.

[ziptie007]

ya there 240 on the air compressor and the plasma cutter both of them on differant breakers. The outlet for the plasma cam box is on a seperate circuit. I'm cutting 1/2 plate so the plasma cutter is at 80amps. For now I may just cut the compressor off manually and cut a couple pieces and then pause the cutting and turn the compressor on till I can get a better power setup. Thanx for the input.

[jimcolt]

You need to get a UPS (uninteruptible power supply) at an office supply store. Check the amperage draw of the PlasmaCam controller....and the computer you are using on the plasma cam........multiply this total amperage by 120 (volts)....this will be the total wattage requirement. Double this number....then buy a UPS that can handle at least this amount of wattage....and be sure it also can handle surge suppression. Plug the plasmacam box and the computer into this unit and your problem likely will be solved. It worked for me....and many other PlasmaCam users.

Jim Colt

[ziptie007]

Jim,

as allways you are the man. I should have figured that could of helped. The guy I bought my table had one. But he said it was because the power at his house would surge some. So I figured i would be fine since I'm in the city and I rarely see surges. And oh ya those settings you gave me are great. I'm cutting that 1/2 plate with very very low bevel if any and the only thing I'm getting is some dross on the bottom of the metal. Is there anything in those settings that I can play with to try to lighten that up? Thanks.

[jimcolt]

Glad I was able to help. The best thing to try (to eliminate dross) is an increase in cut speed. Try bumping up the speed a little at a time....maybe only 2 to 5 inches per minute changes....usually there is a speed range that we call the "dross free interval" that works best on a given material. There are some materials that cannot be cut dross free with an air plasma system...we have oxygen plasma for those applications.

Jim

[ziptie007]

since were on the subject of dross. I get some on the "drag tip" of the torch and I just try to clean it often so it does not build up and I check the holes with my mig cleaning wire set. But I have a spray I can spray on my mig tip that let's me just wipe off the build up rather than chipping it away. I was unsure if I could use it on the hypertherm torch drag tip.

[jimcolt]

Yes...the MIG anti spatter spray (I recommend the water based type)...a light coat. Don't use the dip type.....don't laugh, I have run across people that dip the end of their plasma torch in this stuff!

Jim

[ziptie007]

I'll have to see if its water based as I all ready have some. I wish I would of done that when it was new. I'm also going to stop by office max to get a ups power supply. I'll let you guys know how it works.