What to look on a Plasma Cutter?

[Mark @ Everlast]

Yomax

The PowerPlasma 60 does just fine.

Take a look here: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/188840-new-plasma-cutter.html

That 1 1/8" cut was made at 50 amps by Al. We rate it at 1 1/8" severance at 60 amps...

 

[gwdixon]

Just bought a Everlast PowerPlasma 70 today (Black Friday 2010) so can't describe much about it except for the specs - which are listed on the website.

PowerPlasma 70 - Arc Tig Mig Welding Equipment, Plasma Cutters, Multi Purpose Units, Welders, Diesel Generators

The manual states that it scarifies just fine and details the technique. It will be used to cut up old discs, trailers, and "antique" equipment to use for scrap in repairing, building, or rebuilding.

Looked for months at specs, videos, opinions, reviews, and so forth. It is for a farm application rather than continual use in a shop or professional environment so should fit the bill along with the Everlast PowerArc 200 purchased last spring.

In a few months maybe a review will be posted if anybody is interested.

 

[yomax4]

Yes, I can see 1" + with a 60amp unit. I do it often, I't just kills me reading these posts that are a little over the top. Next I will se an 80amp severing 4" plate. Oh yes it can be done.
****, I have an old 110v plasma that will sever 6" if you give it 3 days to do it. I just grow tired of the guys that buy the power max 45 and brag about what they think it will cut. It's like buying a Volks Wagon and saying you could win Daytona. If someone wants to brag they should Buy a unit that they can really brag about. Say 100 - 120 amps. Then they could cut that 1" today instead of someday :thumbsup:

 

[crazyal]

I am curious. I see a post for the Hypertherm 45 ( 45 amp) and it's ability to cut 1". The next post is about the Everlast 60 amp plasma. What is the Everlast capability being 15 amps more? I have ran the 45 many times and to say it cuts 1" is like saying the Miller 211 welds 1/2". I remember using a size 00 tip in a cutting torch and cutting 2" Plate. I assume the cut was similar to the Hypertherm 45 on 1".:laughing:

Over on WeldingWeb they did a test with a Hypertherm 45, a PP60 and a logevity unit. They were able to cut up to 1 1/4" with the 45 (even though it's not rated for that thick). I tried taking some pictures of a flywheel I cut up. The thicker part is 1 1/8" while the thinner is 5/8".

 

[jimcolt]

The Hypertherm Powermax45 will sever 1", it is factory rated as a 1/2" machine for production use, with 3/4" as maximum thickness with at least a 10 inch per minute speed, and 1" as severance cutting. Personally I have cut 1-1/2"......very slowly. If you look on the Hypertherm website you will see the ratings for each of the systems clearly spelled out. I also must add...the Hypertherm units are designed and manufactured in Hanover, NH, USA by employee owners. All of their ratings are easily achievable, and actually quite conservative.

Someone in an earliier post said that plasma's were "expensive to buy, expensive to operate".......They can be expensive if you buy top of the line equipment, however the best plasma cutters are very inexpensive (far less and much more versatile than oxy-accetylene) to operate. You will also find that a good brand 45 amp plasma, like the Hypertherm Powermax45, will cut faster, thicker, and with about 6 times the consumable life of the low cost 60 Amp imports. The low cost imports may be good if your budget only considers purchase price, and not performance or operating costs.

The first picture is two pieces of 3/4" steel stacked and cut with a Powermax45 hand torch in my home shop. The second pic is a part I made from 3/8" steel, the holes were cut as well, on my 4 x 4 cnc plasma with the same Powermax45, the last pic is a piece of 1/4" steel cut with the 45. I use it for hand and machine cutting.....its capacities far exceed Hypertherms recommendations, and it is very inexpensive to use as the consumables last a long time.

Jim

 

[robs660]

I have the swab power cut 1600. It will cut through anything I can throw at it. I cut 1" plate like a sharp knife through a really tender filet. Love it. Never had a problem with esab

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Consumable life does vary with the imports. But our new replacement consumables use Haas halfnium inserts and Finnish made billet copper with low tin content, improving consumable life many times over. Not all consumables are equal, including aftermarket consumables, even with Hypertherm. Cutting performance continues to improve even over last years model which appears identical externally, but with a transition to module based IGBT's and other fine tuned improvements, internals are upgraded. Since Jim's reference was no doubt aimed at us, and price was mentioned, price is typically lower for our consumables, and there aren't confusing numbers of expensive "specialty" consumables to purchase for different applications, with one primary consumable being able to "manage" most situations adequately, though maybe not quite as well as one designed specifically for the application. Additionally, our typical torch has only 3 consumables to replace and keep up with verses 4-6 parts to a Hypertherm torch.

 

[crazyal]

How much does it cost to get the bottles filled on an oxyaccet set up and how often must you fill them? The consumables really don't seam like a big deal, at least to me. The only wear in the hour or so of cutting I've done now has been from learning how to gouge and the blow back from not doing it at the right angle.

I've heard that not having dry air will also speed up consumable usage. I just made sure that I had dry air so it wasn't something to worry about.

 

[jimcolt]

Mark,

Not aiming at your products specifically, but there is a difference in performance based on design. Design is not just the materials that consumables are made of....rather it cost money to employ engineers that specialize in high temperature physics that can design consumables and torches that operate at 20,000 to 40,000 degrees F. The Hypertherm consumables cost more than many others to purchase, but you will find that the life of these patented designs can be in the range of 6 to 10 times the life of consumables in most other plasma systems.....so if a set of consumables costs $10 for a Hypertherm, and $3 for another system, but the $10 set last 10x as long, cuts thicker, faster and with better edge quality...then the math is simple.

And, the consumables in the Hypertherm unit are made in the same plants in NH by employee owners of he company...that the systems are made in. I fully agree that it is less expensive to purchase most of the imported plasma systems, but I will stand behind the fact that it is less expensive to use a Hypertherm.

The parts that normally get changed in any plasma torch are the electrode and the nozzle. Retaining caps, shields, swirl rings generally last for years, and do not have to be changed as Mark suggests!

Regardless, this thread is about choosing the plasma cutters. If purchase price is the biggest concern, then there are many choices. If performance and operating costs are the biggest concerns....there are a few choices! Best bet is to try out a few different plasma cutting systems to ensure they have the ease of use as well as thickness capacity and cut quality that you may be looking for, and that they fit into the price range you can afford.

In comparison to oxy-fuel cutting....plasma is faster on most materials up to 3/4", less expensive to use, easier to learn to use, and will cut materials such as aluminum and stainless.

Jim

 

[k0ua]

How much does it cost to get the bottles filled on an oxyaccet set up and how often must you fill them?

I can tell you this, I just drained my ACE bottle making a cut this afternoon, it goes quick when heating to start cutting, the OX goes pretty quick too. I just have the little plumbers bottle 10cu ft. ACE and 20cu ft. Oxy. so they are very nice to tote around, and not very nice for extensive cutting, The best price I can find is $13 for each, exchange, and usually more at most places. Ironically the larger (40 cu ft.) bottles are not much more to fill. But the larger bottles cost more. I would think plasma cutter would be much cheaper to operate, perhaps others could comment on comparison of prices.
James K0UA