Reply with QuoteIf 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
Plasma Cam Owner - Reducing Slag from Sheet Metal
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???
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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
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???
I guess I misunderstood.
We use a 4 1/2" grinder with an assortment of grinder wheels (flats and flappers).
Mike
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.
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
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.
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
Thanks for your help Jim, I will try the adjustments Monday and will let you know. Thanks again I appreciate it.
Mike.
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
Jim,Originally Posted by jimcolt
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
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
how did you get a plasma cutter and were?
[D]dc
Jim -
Continue to experience problems in cutting 16 gauge material, despite the information you provided. The cleanest cut (little to no slag) I have received resulted from the following:
120 ipm
60 amps - 40 amps - 50 amps doesn't produce a full cut, does not pierce all the way through the material.
.08 torch height
.08 arc shift
65 psi
However, I only receive one or two good cuts and then it increasingly becomes sloppy. Any other suggestions, perhaps wiping the metal down with a cleanser before cutting???
Thanks.
Mike.
moisture in your air perhaps?
You are using the Fine Cut nozzle and shield? If you are...it is not designed for 60 Amp cutting. One cut at 60 Amps with that nozzle and the orifice is destroyed.
You need to experiment with cutting with the Fine Cut nozzle at under 45 Amps maximum....slow the speed down....and ensure that the height is correct. That is where you will find the best quality. Too much current is the wrong direction to go on thin sheet.
Jim
Jim,
Yes I am using the fine cut nozzle...Probably destroyed by now, however I first tried cutting with the fine cut nozzle at 40 amps running the plasmacam at 150 ipm, 145 ipm and 140 ipm with no success in cutting completely through the material...Just resulted in an increased amount of slag. It was only until I increased amps that it began to cut beautifully through the material.
Purchasing a refridgerated dryer system for the air compressor and a coalescing filter in hopes that it will improve cut quality.
Mike.
Mike,
I guarantee that you can cut with the specs I gave......I will also guarantee that if you made even one cut with the FineCut nozzle at 60 amps.....then it will not provide any cut quality again...the orifice size and design will not handle 60 Amps.
If you were not able to get through the material with the specs I gave you....do not change the Amperage....but increase the pierce delay time....it takes close to a second for the air flow to stabilize at the torch. The double check your torch height. This process needs to run very close to the plate. I believe the recommended height was .080"....if you are at .100 your cut will suffer, and you may not even penetrate the plate. Closer is better that further away....and I recommended the 220404 shield because this will even allow occasional contact wih the plate without causing pramature nozzle failure.
If you have moisture issues....you could have problems as well. Please try this process again....ensuring the height is correct. It is ok to slow the speed down if you wish...but slower speed will have a propensity for more dross....the speed needs to be high to minimize dross.
Jim
just bought a hypertherm 1000 for our plasmacam machine we were running a 45 hypertherm. It is cutting really dirty and cant get things set properly...plasmacam says do this and hypertherm says do that and the man that sold us the machine says do this we are stumped and discusted can you help us??? wayne jones fivestar944@aol.com
I have a Powermax 45 on a PlasmaCam DHC2.....it cuts very well. I also work for Hypertherm. If you let me know what thickness and type of material you are cutting....I will be happy to help you. I also have a Powermax 1000 that I had used on my older PlasmaCam machine.
Best regards, Jim Colt
Here are pictures of a few parts cut with my machine.
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