Plasma Cutting. Anything I should know about Dross?.

[Industrial Toys]

Hypertherm Powermax 800 with upgraded torch.

Sometimes through my misuse, I end up with dross filling up the kerf.

I never seem to be able to cut through the dross with another pass. Usually I just break off the piece and grind it off.

Is there something about Dross I should know about?

Also, how well is a Plasma supposed to cut through multiple sheets of let's say 1/8" mild steel?

Thanks

 

[triptester]

They do not like cutting multiple sheets at the same time regardless of brand.

 

[FredH]

What air pressure are You running at the plasma machine ? This should be checked by holding the trigger of gun , ( Not against any metal , just up in the air ) and looking at the regulator . Accumulation of slag / dross is , Well at least on My machine , attributed to not enough pressure at the nozzle .
I only have a 50 amp imported machine and have cut multiple sheets at 1 time of 1/8" , 3 pieces actually . Not sure if machine liked it , but I did not like the results on the third / bottom sheet . Seemed like every time I would have extra clean up on that piece versus if I only clamped together 2 pieces and did 2 at a time .

Fred H.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Thanks

I'm running 120 pounds of air, and the regulator on the machine is cranked wide open but possibly I don't have enough air going through. I should check the filter.

I tried cutting out four mitred pieces to make a small roof for an 8x8 wood post, that a light is to go atop. The results were not accurate enough, so I threw it in the scrap and will simply have a friend shear the pieces. Sometimes I wonder why I have this machine if I can't do anything very accurate with it. It's hard to tell exactly where it's gonna cut. If I had the (surplus) money, I would put it on a table and maybe learn solid works. But then I might have something that can produce quality and complex pieces.

 

[Shield Arc]

Your travel speed might be too fast.
Try using a straight edge to cut with.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Thanks

I pretty much always use a straight edge, round washer or similar, but it's hard to find the right thickness. the stuff I was cutting yesterday had a slight bow to it, as it was scrap that I took from under a shear, and somehow got distorted. So, that didn't help.

The torch hose, is also quite stiff in a tortional sense, which doesn't help with accuracy.

What's the best small affordable table? One, you can put your existing machine on.

 

[Shield Arc]

What's the best small affordable table? One, you can put your existing machine on.

Are you talking about a burning table? I made a burning table years ago. But I don't set the plasma on it.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I'm talking about a CNC table.

Any idea on the dross? Can you cut it?

 

[yomax4]

I vote, Too fast of travel speed and way too much air. You shouldn't need more than 80 psi set on the plasma. Cutting multiple sheets that are flat is not an issue it just takes a little more snort. Of course you will get the best cuts with a single sheet. When you cut just watch the spray below the plate. If it trails pretty far back then you are going to fast. If it's straight down, You could go a little faster. As far as your dross goes, there are 2 kinds. Hard to remove and easy to remove. Look it up and you will have your problem solved.

 

[Shield Arc]

I'm talking about a CNC table.

I have a Tracker CNC table. Been very happy with it. But now a days there are some many different CNC table manufactures out there, it is hard to keep up with them all.:confused2:
Tracker Delivers Affordable, Industrial CNC Plasma Cutters