3/16” Mild Steel Consumables- 45 fine cut, 45 amp or 65 amp consumables?

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4x8_Plasma
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3/16” Mild Steel Consumables- 45 fine cut, 45 amp or 65 amp consumables?

Post by 4x8_Plasma »

3/16” Mild Steel Consumables
I have a Hypertherm 65 and put a sheet of 3/16” mild steel on the table.
Then I put a 65 amp nozzle in the torch lead and put the cutter to 45 amp settings. Looking back, this is where I went wrong. The torch would pierce the metal and then drag around the work surface.
Used the 45 amp nozzle fine cut and used the 45 amp settings. Same result.
Some people said that my voltage needed to be increased. The book setting is 125V, so I increased the voltage while it tried to cut and also another time before it cut.
Still the same issue.
Today, I am going to try cutting with the 3/16” with the 45 amp and 45 amp settings.
Please let me know what other adjustments I need to look at.
Also, I am running 3/8” air hose from my tank outlet to the XXL drier/filter. There are several quick disconnects along the way. Could this be an issue that could cause reduction of air flow?
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djreiswig
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Re: 3/16” Mild Steel Consumables- 45 fine cut, 45 amp or 65 amp consumables?

Post by djreiswig »

3/16 is too thick for fine cuts. Use the regular 45a consumables. Do you have a book for your cutter that shows the cut specs for different material thicknesses?
Put a gauge at the inlet of the cutter and see what it says when you are cutting. It shouldn't drop below 90 psi. If it does then you have too much restriction in your system.
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Re: 3/16” Mild Steel Consumables- 45 fine cut, 45 amp or 65 amp consumables?

Post by acourtjester »

Jim Colt always recommends a pressure gauge at the back of the plasma unit where the air enters to be sure its correct. For 3/16" mild steel I run 45 amps, 45 nozzle shielded and 70 IPM using a PM 65 My Price CNC THC runs about 124 volts.
In the video about 1 minute in it starts cutting parts the first part is center punches for holes to be drill later.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19JD2Tc ... sp=sharing
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