Plasma Cutters

[bearingburner]

If you only need it a few times a year perhaps harming out the work would be the most cost effective. Takes a little more planning.

[Jorge]

I'm with Peter Jack, Hypertherm are at the front of the pack right now. I'm not a welder by trade but i do a lot of welding and fabricating and Ive never had any problems with Hypertherm. In my opinion Hypertherm is the way to go. They have a real strict R&D program they will run it till it breaks, fix the problem and run it again. They'll give it more abuse then anyone in the real life will. Go with the Hypertherm you wont be disappointed.

[JimW]

Just bought the little Hypertherm (PowerMax 30) unit and am quite happy with it.  A few notes.

Thought I would run it on bottled dry nitrogen to avoid any moisture issues.  Runs nice, but REALLY used up the nitrogen quickly.  Like 20 minutes.  Switched over to shop air (with a separate filter/dryer, and haven't noticed any difference in the cut quality.

These cutters make 3 types of cuts.  Quality, not so quality, and sever - based on the thickness of the material.  This little unit will sever 1/2 steel, but at a speed of 5 inches per minute.  So, hold your hand out and then move it one inch while counting 12 seconds - pretty slow.   I actually get a little faster than that cut on 1/2, with a finish still better than a torch.

Absolutely walks through 1/4 inch.  Quick and clean.

I recommend a guide for any cutting operation.  The Kerf is pretty thin, and any wandering of the torch head will show up.  (My first few straight cuts wound up looking like a termite track.  Putting down a straight edge solved the problem.)

Nice to use.  Turn it on and cut away.  Much easier than getting out the torch (which I still have and use for any really thick stuff).

FWIW

Thanks,
Jim.

[Cajun Kid]

Thanks Jim,

I was looking at that exact same model... Good info on the sever cut up to 1/2" material,,,, I do not think that I would ever be cutting anything larger than 1/4"... but it is nice to know it can handle thicker material if needed.

Charles

[JimW]

Charles,

Glad to help.  I paid right at $1,100 bucks for it (distributor AirGas).  Usual web price I found was around $1,300.  You can probably do better if you shop around a bit.  I put a secondary pressure regulator just after the filter/dryer (the second one - first is at the compressor) that I mounted right under the unit on a little stand.  Has a nice long cord to the torch that reaches almost across my small shop, but unit is light and easy to move.  I run mine on 220 'cause that's what I had plumbed for the welder.  Comes with an adapter cable for 220.  Plug and play.

Uses a lot more air than I expected, compressor runs regularly, I have the secondary regulator set at 75 psi.  Cooling air continues to run through the torch for about 30-45 seconds after releasing the trigger.  Seems like a long time, but torch will re-fire during this cool-down period.  I've made several long cuts (3+ feet) in 3/8 material with no issues.  I wear my regular welding goggles.

Thanks,
Jim.

[interested bystander]

Surprised Stan din't respond about his close knowledge of an INCREDIBLY inexpensive CNC plasma cutter version soon if not already on the market. YES, CNC! , Yes incredibly inexpensive!

[turborick]

Surprised Stan din't respond about his close knowledge of an INCREDIBLY inexpensive CNC plasma cutter version soon if not already on the market. YES, CNC! , Yes incredibly inexpensive!

Tell us more..........

[Peter Jack]

I'm with Rick!!!

Pete

[Stan Back]

The electric one?

[turborick]

The electric one?

Yea tell us about it?

[SPARKY]

As the results of this thread  I went to my local supplier---they told me about the 80%-20% rule  if 80% of my cutting is under 3/8" go with the 30-- if 20% is more than 3/8" buy the 45

[Cajun Kid]

Sparky,,, thanks,,

Charles

[Vinsky]

Just when I thought I'd seen everything, along comes a plasma cutter which claim to weld, cut, solder and braze, all in a shoulder pack. And, 120/240 volts.  I have to see this.

http://www.multiplaz.com

[Tman]

Just when I thought I'd seen everything, along comes a plasma cutter which claim to weld, cut, solder and braze, all in a shoulder pack. And, 120/240 volts.  I have to see this.

http://www.multiplaz.com

There is a thread on the HAMB about this machine. Chinese. Someone even has one, does not work worth a damn.

[wheelrdealer]

Ahh, the old too good to be true strikes again. I will admit the website had me for a few minutes.