Powermax 85 Fine Cut Issue

[DirtBound]

Having a strange issue where the Powermax 85 using fine cut is having a hard time keeping the arc though the plate.
I am cutting 11G Steel, I have tried it set to 10G using book settings, I have tried splitting the difference from 10G - 12G. Nothing I seem to do makes it cut correctly.

I also have an issue where on the parts it does cut we get lots of dross on the top and it likes to ball up and make the torch randomly stick ruining the part.

This was with a brand new copperplus electrode and tip.

When we use the regular 45 amp tip and shield it cuts fine. But we would love to get the fine cut working right.

Any ideas?






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[dnelso]

Having a strange issue where the Powermax 85 using fine cut is having a hard time keeping the arc though the plate.
I am cutting 11G Steel, I have tried it set to 10G using book settings, I have tried splitting the difference from 10G - 12G. Nothing I seem to do makes it cut correctly.

I also have an issue where on the parts it does cut we get lots of dross on the top and it likes to ball up and make the torch randomly stick ruining the part.

This was with a brand new copperplus electrode and tip.

When we use the regular 45 amp tip and shield it cuts fine. But we would love to get the fine cut working right.

Any ideas?

My settings for 11g are pierce height .125 cut height .060. Volts are set at 82. Cut speed is 99ipm.
I can get pretty much dross free cuts with these settings. I also get less dross by lowering the water a little.This tip has at least 200 cuts on it.

[DirtBound]

My settings for 11g are pierce height .125 cut height .060. Volts are set at 82. Cut speed is 99ipm.
I can get pretty much dross free cuts with these settings. I also get less dross by lowering the water a little.This tip has at least 200 cuts on it.

Ill give that a shoot, to me it seems like a speed issue. I had the volts set the same as you, just running a little faster.

[DirtBound]

Just tried your settings exactly and I still got flying rooster sparks on the straight aways.

[dnelso]

I forgot Pierce delay is .3sec .Have you verified the actual cut height as .06. Looks like its to cutting to fast or torch is high.

[jimcolt]

This often happens with certain steel alloys when using Finecut consumables on 14, 12 and 10 gauge....especially when a new electrode and nozzle are used. The fix is to use the mechanized cutting specs from the operators manual ( same amperage, same speed, same pierce height......but increase the cut height to about .075" or .080" and the cut will fully penetrate. Once the electrode and nozzle have some wear ( maybe around 100 starts or so) you can go back to the .06" cut height. Different steel metalurgy requires higher arc load voltage......which is achieved by cutting higher. If your height control is set by an arc voltage .....increase that voltage until the torch runs at .075". Trust me.....this will solve your issue! Jim Colt. Hypertherm

Just tried your settings exactly and I still got flying rooster sparks on the straight aways.

[DirtBound]

This often happens with certain steel alloys when using Finecut consumables on 14, 12 and 10 gauge....especially when a new electrode and nozzle are used. The fix is to use the mechanized cutting specs from the operators manual ( same amperage, same speed, same pierce height......but increase the cut height to about .075" or .080" and the cut will fully penetrate. Once the electrode and nozzle have some wear ( maybe around 100 starts or so) you can go back to the .06" cut height. Different steel metalurgy requires higher arc load voltage......which is achieved by cutting higher. If your height control is set by an arc voltage .....increase that voltage until the torch runs at .075". Trust me.....this will solve your issue! Jim Colt. Hypertherm

Makes sense considering just swapping to a regular consumable works fine, I.E higher voltage. I will give that a shoot when I get the next sheet of that thickness ran though. Jim Colt to the rescue!

[dnelso]

1

[plasmamatt]

I've experienced the exact same issues on 16GA as well. Just as Jim Colt mentioned it is only when the consumables are new. I too found that raising the cutting height up a bit drastically reduces the issue but doesn't fully eliminate the issue. You can actually hear it in the cut sound. When it isn't cutting right the torch will make a lot of noise. After the consumables wear down a bit the torch will get nice and quiet.