plasmacam with hypertherm powermax600

[Robotaylor]

Hey Jim,

Can you give me the terminal numbers for the red and black wires on the 600 like you did for the 1250 above. i think I have it wired correctly but can’t find a pic or thread anywhere that actually states the exact terminal numbers the red and black wires go to.

Thanks,
Rob

LEMFG,

The Powermax 1250 when used with a machine torch does require that the start signal wires from your Plasmacam machine (which are the white/black pair in the Plasmacam supplied cable) connect to pins 3 and 4 in the rear panel CPC (stands for circular plastic connector!) port. The other two wires (Red/Black pair) must connect inside the power supply to screw terminals J15 (this is positive voltage, connects to the Black wire in the Plasmacam cable) and J16 (This is negative and connects to the Red wire in the Plasmacam cable). These PC board connections are the same connections you would have had when using the hand torch...the only difference being that the start connections for the machine torch must come from pins 3 and 4 of the CPC.

The Plasma cam control is unique among cutting machines as it uses the actual cutting voltage to sense when the plasma arc is cutting metal....that is what tells the machine to start moving and it also is used for feedback for the Plasmacam height control system. Hypertherm does offer a lower level of this voltage (divided by 50) on pins 5 and 6 of the CPC port, however that is incompatible with the voltage requirements on the Plasmacam machine.

Newer Hypertherm systems, the Powermax65, 85, 105 and 125 do have a compatible divided voltage setting that allows a plug and play connection for the Plasmacam machines.....no connection to the internal power board required on these units.

I can supply you with manufacturer numbers for the Amp plug, the pins and the strain relief that will plug into the CPC......or if you want I can send you a mating plug with a short pigtail to make the start signal connections easy for you.......I keep them in stock in my home shop because this comes up often! I charge $20 to cover the cost of the components and shipping....let me know what route you want to take.

Contact me directly at jim.colt@hypertherm.com Best regards, Jim


Here is a picture of the "pigtail": Attachment 318032

[jimcolt]

Here is a .pdf file of a note I had sent to another user with the same question. Keep in mind that the Plasmacam interface cable has a red and black pair. The red needs to connect to negative (electrode connection) and the black to positive (work lead connection). Many do this backwards thinking red is always positive..(it is not in this case!). Be 100% sure that the PlasmaCAM cable has not been shortened or modified....there is a two resistor voltage divider built into the cable (hidden under heat shrink tubing)...it the cable has been shortened and resistors are gone, then making these connections will supply full plasma arc voltage (as much as 300 Volts DC) into the PlasmaCam control box....this will definitely damage the unit! Jim Colt


600 raw voltage connection pdf.pdf