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Thread: Plasma cutter ?
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1st May 2017, 02:48 PM #16
Also for thick steel I like to stand the tip off from the steel maybe 2 or 3 mm, angle the torch back slightly and start from the edge (I've never tried punching through thick steel).
Cheers.
Vernon.
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Bite off more than you can chew and then chew like crazy.
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1st May 2017, 09:17 PM #17
Thanks. I will try to have a go with these ideas. I am in the midst of a big cleanup and reorganising of my shed and storage areas so I need a change of pace.
Dean
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4th May 2017, 10:19 AM #18Golden Member
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I have a Powermax 1250 that I plug into a dedicated 400V 32A circuit. I have another 400V 32A circuit for the compressor. The Powermax was secondhand but I've upgraded the torch to the Duramax version. It's pretty nice. Supposedly it will sever 38mm but I'll never get close to that. One thing I like with quality American stuff is the lifetime support, parts and accessories so it'll always be serviceable. The only thing I don't like with the Powermax is you have to manually adjust the air pressure knob and it seems to vary internally so you have to set it each time you turn it on. The newer models auto-adjust.
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9th May 2017, 09:13 PM #19Intermediate Member
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Just yesterday a friend of mine ordered the 50 Amp unit from Token Tools. They have it for $899 at the moment, which is a bargain if it is of the same quality as folk here suggest their welders are.
https://weldingstore.tokentools.com....le#/product/12
I have zero experience with their tools, but it should be here later this week so I'm keen to check it out.
Jon.
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10th May 2017, 07:39 PM #20Most Valued Member
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I have a 50A Plasma marketed by Magnum Welders. It will cut 12mm steel and even 16mm if I hold my mouth just right, but it is slower than either Oxy Acetylene or Oxy LPG when cutting these thicknesses. I really rate these 50A units as a practical option up to 8 or 10mm. By practical, I mean exceeding the performance I can get with Oxy fuel gas processes. Naturally, if you don't have access to Oxy then their attractiveness improves dramatically.
One major point in favour of Plasma cutting is its ability to stack cut multiple thicknesses, even when there is a bit of an air gap. Absolutely brilliant when demolishing or modifying existing structures.
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11th May 2017, 01:49 AM #21
A question not related to purchasing a plasma cutter, please:
I have the need to get a total of 7.2m of straight line cut in 20mm thick mild steel plate (7 x 1.2m cuts).
I'd like 'neat' cuts - so motor driven carriage on rail or plasma or fuel table.
Is there anyone in central Vic or Northern half of Melbourne with that capacity and willingness to do it at 'forum' rates?
There is a local service who can do it with oxy, and he does a nice job, but he's expensive. I KNOW that oxy fuel IS expensive, that's why I'm asking about plasma cutting....
Yes, I'm a cheap skate . But it is also in part to help another forumite out.Cheers, Joe
retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....
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19th May 2017, 09:22 PM #22Most Valued Member
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I've got a 50A plasma cutter and I'd rate mine about the same. Brilliant on 6mm and below though, including stainless. 12mm is its practical limit IMO, more like 10mm in 316.
The 3 phase 120A unit, OTOH, goes through 16mm plate as fast as I can drag it. Haven't tried anything heavier yet, the claim is up to 35mm but I'd doubt that. I have to find some 25mm to play with....
For me the 2 really big advantages over oxy-gas cutting (aside from the fuel cost & bottle purchase/rental) is the ease of cutting stainless and the ease of cutting around cheap templates made from 3mm ply and the like. I know what the nozzle offset is - 4mm for my torch - so I make my patterns to suit. Enormous time saver over bandsaws and the like.
PDW
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20th May 2017, 10:59 AM #23Diamond Member
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So what pressures are people running on their 40-50 amp machines? I think I set mine to 500kPa when I got it and haven't touched it since - I'm wondering whether I should fiddle with it when trying to cut thicker material?
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20th May 2017, 03:23 PM #24Most Valued Member
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That's about where I run my pressure as well. I've had a bit of a fiddle with pressures and didn't find any improvement by going higher. My 120A unit lives on 700kPa and cuts 25mm very well at that.
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20th May 2017, 08:22 PM #25Diamond Member
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While doing a quick Google to find pressure settings for Cut40, I came across a UniMIG manual for their Cut40 machine which had quite a good section on how to get the best cut quality. In short, they said you want the plasma stream to come out of the work at an angle, not straight down, as the latter leads to excess dross, and you adjust you amps and travel speed to achieve that. I think that might explain why I get a lot of dross - I tend to have the amps cranked up thinking more must be better
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