Plasma Cam Owner - Reducing Slag from Sheet Metal

[mlj01]

Operating a PlasmaCam with a Hypertherm powermax 1000, seems to be working great...However still need to figure out how to reduce minimal amounts of slag left after parts have been cut..Any efficient / effective ideas???

[Med-Pac]

If you're looking for a slag free cut buy a laser or waterjet.......plasma will never get you there. With the right operator you can achieve some very nice cut quality with plasma, but you'll never eliminate the slag.

Mike

[mlj01]

OK. Other than a wire wheel, sandblasting, or simply chipping the material off, is there any other tool useful in eliminating the slag once the material has been cut???

[Med-Pac]

I guess I misunderstood.

We use a 4 1/2" grinder with an assortment of grinder wheels (flats and flappers).

Mike

[mlj01]

Sounds, good...Also looking into tumblers but not sure if this is a good route to go considering quality tumblers seem to be a bit pricey especially for the small parts being produced.

[jimcolt]

Cutting "slag" (the proper term for resolidified material that sticks to the part is dross) free can be done on sheet metal with a PlasmaCam machine.

The primary causes of dross are:

-Power level Amperage) too high
-Wrong size nozzle orifice
-Cut speed too slow
-Incorrect torch to work distance (arc voltage

If you provide me with some details...material type and thickness, which model PlasmaCam machine you have (98-z, DHC, DHC2, Samson).....and which consumables you are using (part numbers...power levels etc.) Then I will help you dial it in.

For the poster that says you'll never get dross free cuts with plasma...that you need a water jet or laser....well, you can by a machine with a laser to cut sheet metal....for about $250,000, or you can buy a water jet for a little more. You probably have $12,000 in your system....and we can get it virtually dross free!

If you want to compare plasma vs water jet and laser....then you need to compare a high definition class plasma (such as Hypertherm's HPR130) mounted on a precision cutting machine.....these plasma's will cut gauge to 1" thick...vitually dross free....and on materials thicker than 3/16" will cut dramatically faster than laser and water jet, at about 1/3 the purchase price and at a much lower cost per foot of cut. Tolerances with plasma will be a bit looser...but are adequate for most applications.

Provide me with more details....and I'll help you cut dross free. I work for Hypertherm and I own a PlasmaCam DHC2 machine.

Jim Colt

[mlj01]

Jim -

Cutting the following materials:

10, 16 and 20 gauge mild steel with a PlasmaCam DCH2 and a Hypertherm Power Max 1000 set at 60 amps.

Height control is set at .1 and speeds are 500 for 16 and 20 gauge and 200 for 10 gauge.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Mike.

[jimcolt]

A couple of problems....60 Amps is best used for thicknesses above 1/4".....and the PlasmaCam machine cannot maintain the speeds that you are setting....unless you are only making long straight cuts.

You will get very nice cuts by doing the following....you will have to get a couple of new consumables if you don't already have them:

220404 ohmic shield
220061 retaining cap (you should have this)
220329 FineCut nozzle
120926 Electrode (you should have this)
120925 Swirl Ring (you should have this)

10 gauge, 50 Amps, 90 ipm, torch height .08 (thickness of a nickle) you may have to add a slight pierce delay and the pierce height should be double the cutting height for best nozzle life.

16 gauge, 40 Amps, 150 ipm, torch height .08

20 gauge, 35 Amps, 120 ipm, torch height .08

Make sure you are using the ohmic contact function of your plasmacam...and make sure you adjust the arc voltage shift so the torch runs at .08 off the plate with thois process. You will be very pleased with the results....your corners and holes will be better, and your tolerances will be better......and the kerf width is narrower. These are Fine Cut consumables that are designed for thin plate cutting...basically everything 3/16" and thinner. The trick is keeping the speed under 150 ipm with the plasma cam and matching the proper consumables and power to the material you are cutting.

You can download these cutting specs off the Hypertherm website (go to manual systems, Powermax 1000 and download the manual as a .pdf file..the cut charts are in the operation section).

Let me know how it turns out! Try some stainless with these parts!

Best regards, Jim colt

[mlj01]

Thanks for your help Jim, I will try the adjustments Monday and will let you know. Thanks again I appreciate it.

Mike.

[Med-Pac]

I agree with Jim. In fact, if my memory serves me, he's helped us with a few issues in the past.

In regards to your tumbler idea. Go buy a cement mixer. We use one for all of our production steel parts. It will also work for alum., but not as well. They are alot cheaper than an actual parts tumbler, and basically do the same thing. For steel parts, you don't even need to use a median like sand or glass beads. If the noise gets to you, roll it outside or line the mixer with rhino lining.

Mike

[gd5362]

A couple of problems....60 Amps is best used for thicknesses above 1/4".....and the PlasmaCam machine cannot maintain the speeds that you are setting....unless you are only making long straight cuts.

You will get very nice cuts by doing the following....you will have to get a couple of new consumables if you don't already have them:

220404 ohmic shield
220061 retaining cap (you should have this)
220329 FineCut nozzle
120926 Electrode (you should have this)
120925 Swirl Ring (you should have this)

10 gauge, 50 Amps, 90 ipm, torch height .08 (thickness of a nickle) you may have to add a slight pierce delay and the pierce height should be double the cutting height for best nozzle life.

16 gauge, 40 Amps, 150 ipm, torch height .08

20 gauge, 35 Amps, 120 ipm, torch height .08

Make sure you are using the ohmic contact function of your plasmacam...and make sure you adjust the arc voltage shift so the torch runs at .08 off the plate with thois process. You will be very pleased with the results....your corners and holes will be better, and your tolerances will be better......and the kerf width is narrower. These are Fine Cut consumables that are designed for thin plate cutting...basically everything 3/16" and thinner. The trick is keeping the speed under 150 ipm with the plasma cam and matching the proper consumables and power to the material you are cutting.

You can download these cutting specs off the Hypertherm website (go to manual systems, Powermax 1000 and download the manual as a .pdf file..the cut charts are in the operation section).

Let me know how it turns out! Try some stainless with these parts!

Best regards, Jim colt

Jim,
I hope this is not a redundant post but I will shortly be receiving a DynaCnc plasma with THC and an A60 Cutmaster with machine torch. I have downloaded the manual for the A60 and it does not provide any guidelines for material thinner than 20ga. Could you recommend settings for 24ga and 26ga?

Thanks

[jimcolt]

GD5362,

The Cutmasters (Thermal Dynamics) do not have the Fine Cut consumable technology.....so the best bet is to just use the smallest nozzle available for the torch....and try to emulate similar cut conditions that I posted here for the Hypertherm unit. The kerf will be wider, there will be a little more warpage and dross....and shorter consumable life....but you should be able to get close.

Once you get it I will try to help....but I am a 31 year Hypertherm guy and the technology is a bit different! Or...you could change your order and replace the Cutmaster with a Powermax!

Best regards, Jim