Plasma cutter recommendations

[5030]

All tools to me. I don't 'love' any of them. In order of relevance, I LOVE God, my wife and my dog and that about sums it up.

 

[jpolcyn]

Hypertherm all day!!

 

[5030]

Hypertherm all day!!

That all depends on 3 things. One, the depth of your wallet
Two intended use and finally frequency of use. For a home shop with ocassional use, it's a poor investment. In that scenario, even the HF plasma cutter is quite viable and I'd have never sold my Hobart and upgraded if it wasn't for the CNC table and the seamless interface. No matter what brand, the operating principle is the same. Output amps change and torch styles change as well as consumables but the basics remain the same across all brands.

 

[BigBlue1]

For folks with the Lotos cutter... Is there some type of reference chart of settings for air pressure and current adjustments based on thickness and metal type? Something like this? https://www.eastwood.com/images/ema...ontent/tech_article_content/Plasma60Chart.pdf

 

[yomax4]

Hypertherm and Thermal Dynamics are the only ones I know of who make their own torches. They would be my 1st 2 choices. However I had a Hypertherm 45 that Blew up 30 days after warranty and they would not help or cut a deal on a new board Even the infamous Jim Colt wouldn't help. So do pay attention to warranty as well. As far as out put amps as stated above you can't just go by amps you need to look into Kilowatt output, that's where the cut power comes from. I'd say any plasma is better than no plasma so just choose your budget and know that after warranty they are all a total crapshoot.

 

[Raul-02]

want to purchase a hobby sized plasma cutter.

hypertherm I am pretty sure that there is no such thing as a hobby plasma cutter.
Thing about plasma cutters that most folks don't look into before buying is the expendables, their cost and frequency of replacement. They are all different, the Chinese ones the worst.

 

[kenmac]

This primeweld 60 works pretty well around the farm for me.
I don't use mine to make a living so I wasn't going to pay the BIG bucks for one of the name brands

 

[dragoneggs]

Hypertherm and Thermal Dynamics are the only ones I know of who make their own torches. They would be my 1st 2 choices. However I had a Hypertherm 45 that Blew up 30 days after warranty and they would not help or cut a deal on a new board Even the infamous Jim Colt wouldn't help. So do pay attention to warranty as well. As far as out put amps as stated above you can't just go by amps you need to look into Kilowatt output, that's where the cut power comes from. I'd say any plasma is better than no plasma so just choose your budget and know that after warranty they are all a total crapshoot.

Wow, kind of surprised the infamous Mr. Colt did not help. Disappointing.

 

[dragoneggs]

hypertherm I am pretty sure that there is no such thing as a hobby plasma cutter.
Thing about plasma cutters that most folks don't look into before buying is the expendables, their cost and frequency of replacement. They are all different, the Chinese ones the worst.

I have a 45XP and I call myself a hobby plasma cutter.

I don't deserve it but I will say it is very easy on consumables compared to a couple others I've tried. Don't exactly know why though.

 

[lennyzx11]

Hypertherm AIR30 here ( the one with the built in compressor).

I like it and guess you’d call me a serious hobbyist.

Just wanted to jump in and let the people reading the thread know that I’ve recently seen advertising that Hypertherm has done some kind of technology upgrades on their latest versions than before.

I know nothing more about the supposed upgrades.