Hypertherm Powermax 380

[Dave Haak]

Dan,

Not upset at all. Glad you jumped in with better cuts and pics. My cutting did not go as well as I had hoped yesterday. Ground not on work piece at all times and problem with air supply. Also not enough light to show good detail of cuts made by inexperienced operator. Found small plastic plug way down inside inlet of one of the air filters, later. Plug did not fit tight. Loose enough to let pressure show on front of plasma cutter but restricted the flow. THAT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!

[BillC]

Re: Bevel

Originally posted by Scott V
Bill,here is a little on it.I just notice more bevel on cutting aluminum with lower powered plasma cutters.They also have a forum at the bottom of the page.

http://www.torchmate.com/accuracy/

Very interesting... Thanks for the education, Scott! I didn't see any reference to it on your link, but is there typically any arc blow type phenomenon associated with plasma cutting?

[Scott V]

Biil,the closest thing to arc blow would be the pilot arc searching for a ground.I never noticed a problem using a hand held plasma.

[Arc Burn]

TRUE OR FALSE

Quick question for you plasma boys,i was told not to use steel as a cutting guide because it would cause more resistance and make the machine work harder and possibly affect the cut?any truth to that?

[Scott V]

It probally depends on the torch style more than anything.like with a exposed type tip is not real good using metal.A piece of wood solves those problems,but you don't want to leave it on the metal too long.I have seen it arc on the side of the tip when using a metal guide.

[Dave Haak]

Oh boy, something else I hadn't thought of!

Scott V,

Ref: straightedge

Is it just steel or any metal? That may have been another part of my problem yesterday.

Dave

[Scott V]

Dave,I think any metal can cause problems sometimes,but not always.Try it with something non conductive,and non flammable or atleast non melting.I don't know if the recessed tip style plasma has as much problems,as both my exposed tip models?Both of the new models of my machines have your style torch.(Pakmaster 38XL,29 amps-Esab 1125,70 amps)

[Dan]

Originally posted by Dave Haak
Oh boy, something else I hadn't thought of!

Scott V,

Ref: straightedge

Is it just steel or any metal? That may have been another part of my problem yesterday.

Dave

Dave,

I ve been using steel, stainless steel, or aluminum straight edge guides with our Powermax 350 at work for 6 years now and about a year with my Powermax 380, and I have never had any problems. Guess I might be getting extremely lucky.

[Bobby]

You guys need to stop all this talk about plasma cutters. some of us don't have the $$ for them and REALLY want one. this makes it much worse.

keep up the good work. it's nice to see the comparisons of units. anyone got a BIG plasma that can show a cut on .75" or 1" to compare to what was shown earlier with the smaller machines trying to cut that heavy?