help with torch wiring powermax 30

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lextonlarue
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help with torch wiring powermax 30

Post by lextonlarue »

i recently was given a hypertherm powermax 30 that someone had tried to wire a thermal dynamics pch 62 torch to.. it wouldnt do anything but the person i got it from was certain that it worked fine untill the torch leads got hung up on something..?? anyways ive looked all over at diagrams and schematics for the plasma cutter and for the torch...eventually, i managed to get it to work.. kinda.. it starts up and no fault codes but i feel like something isnt right. the arc is weak and would feel alot better about it if someone could give me some guidance.. im not interested in keeping it or investing much of anything into it. i loaned a friend money i couldnt afford to not be paid back on, and they got in an accident and havnt been able to work. the plasma cutter was the best he could do for now but the electric company wont care about that. so im just trying to sell it asap. but im not gonna sell something that comes back bad on me.... i want it to be right, without investing very much into it.
jimcolt
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Re: help with torch wiring powermax 30

Post by jimcolt »

All I can say is to put the original torch back on it (you will have to buy one), then if it works good with the original torch it is worth about $900 or so....assuming it is a Powermax30 (not a Powermax30XP) . That plasma will never work right until it has the torch that was designed to operate installed. Without the torch it may be worth $400 or so. Jim Colt
redsil
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Re: help with torch wiring powermax 30

Post by redsil »

I have a customer's Thermal Dynamics Pak Master 50XL. Customer bought it with no torch but he has a torch and cable from other unit. I cannot find a wiring diagram that shows how to hook up the torch switch wires. There is a round female plug with 6 wires inside the control panel. All are gray except one which is a ground. I can't find an original torch online. The factory people are no help at all. ANy help appreciated.
weldguy
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Re: help with torch wiring powermax 30

Post by weldguy »

redsil wrote: Mon Mar 07, 2022 10:47 am I have a customer's Thermal Dynamics Pak Master 50XL. Customer bought it with no torch but he has a torch and cable from other unit. I cannot find a wiring diagram that shows how to hook up the torch switch wires. There is a round female plug with 6 wires inside the control panel. All are gray except one which is a ground. I can't find an original torch online. The factory people are no help at all. ANy help appreciated.
You may get more help on this in the Thermal Dynamics forum rather than this Hypertherm forum.

The Pak Master 50XL as I am sure you know is an older machine. What torch are you trying to connect it to? SL60 torch?
redsil
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Re: help with torch wiring powermax 30

Post by redsil »

I don't know. There is no name on the torch. I can send you a picture. There are only 3 wires coming off the torch - Red: already connected to power; Black and white to switch and that's it.
Mazda Carnage
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Re: help with torch wiring powermax 30

Post by Mazda Carnage »

This may not be helpful but during a demolition using a powermax 85 (or larger, it was rated for 2" metal cutting and I could cut 3" thick metal by guiding the lava puddle through the last inch) a 400lb section of metal fell 15 feet and cut the 25foot torch whip in two.
To get back to work I had to bridge the air line and splice all the wires back together. To handle the amperage to the torch tip Hypertherm uses several small wires to do the job of 1large wire, I knew this by simply looking at the wires in the whip but I dissembled the torch handle to confirm it (Never assume). To the best of my recollection there where 6 or 7 yellow wires, they are all + power wires and have no specific pin out, they all leave 1 point at the plasma cutter and join together at the torch . There where two other wires (white and red come to mind) that are torch status signal going back to the plasma cutter. So on the Hyperthem Powermax 85 the pin out is 1 power wire (passing through 6 or 7 wires) one signal out and one signal in. (Had to shorten the whip by 1 foot to stagger the splices, looked like a snake that just ate but got it working like factory within 1 hour).
The signal status wires on the PM85 torch went to a micro switch at the tip, not sure if it's normally open or normally closed but I would guess N.O., so by simply connecting those two together the Plasma cutter will think the tip is always secured properly and the only thing to wire is power +. Or I could wire the torch handle to the plasma unit using 1 piece of air hose, 2 18gauge wires for status and one 8gauge wire for power.
To tell what wires are for power at the unit connector, with the unit unplugged switch the plasma cutter on for a few seconds to discharge any residual electricity (I am assuming they run DC current and there is a capacitor), turn the power off, using a multimeter check the connector pin out for continuity between each pin, all the pins that carry continuity between each other are all common (not AC common, they carry the same signal) power to the torch.


I will have to disagree and agree with Jim Colt by saying as long as the torch operates the air supply and voltage supply properly it will perform to the best of it's ability. what I mean is any torch could be rigged to any plasma cutter as long as all the wires are connected properly and all the necessary signals are functioning or tricked. Does a hyperthem torch perform better? That being said anything customized or re-purposed should be as functional and as durable or more as the item it is replacing, a live tip torch could be operated using a foot pedal under the right foot to control air supply and a toggle switch in the left hand to control voltage and that would not be as functional. But the bottom line is Jim Colt is right because something modified, customized or re-purposed to perform at or below original level should not be resold, sell the box on it's own or find the right torch or keep the plasma cutter and make it work. Something modified to perform above factory level is a different story (See lingenfelter, Hpa motorsports...).

My rule of thumb:
If what you are trying to replace cost 400$ and you spend 200$ and time from doing other things to almost make it work as well = Fail
If you have all the material needed and it only cost you time you would spend watching TV or socializing and are unsuccessful = Win (you learned something).
If you spend 400$ and lots of TV time to make your own and it's better = Win.
Non metallic liquid tight conduit would make a durable whip sheath.

If the wiring diagram at the hypertherm plasma cutter is not available look for hypertherm torch servicing diagrams for insight into the wiring, this will let you know what to look for at the unit connector and what the wires are for.
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