Powermax 65 consumables only last 30 minutes

[stinovation]

I'm pretty much a noob in the world of CNC plasma cutting. I've gone through a pretty big learning curve having no previous experience with plasma or CNC plasma. I'm running a Cyrious Metals table with Hypertherm 65. I started out getting the 0-30 error code within 10 minutes of cnc cutting. I went through 3 sets of consumables and said to myself this isn't working. I found this message board and ordered the Sharpe 6760 3 stage filter. Consumable run time increased to 30 minutes. Hey at least an improvement. I took out the 1/2" airline and plumbed direct to the Sharpe 3 stage with 3/4" air line. Unfortunately making that change did not affect the run time.

Now to the air compressor. One day I watched the pressure gauge at the Sharpe filter while cutting and saw it dipping down to 90 psi and figured I didn't have enough air volume. The sticker on the air compressor says 12cfm @90 psi, so I'm thinking it should be good enough. I did find in the Hypertherm manual that pressure should be 85-130 psi. I adjusted the regulator at the air compressor and bumped it up. Now I have 110 psi at the Sharpe air filter gauge which feeds the Hypertherm via 10 ft 1/2" air hose. Now it doesn't drop below 100 psi while cutting. Now my run time is 40 minutes runtime before 0-30 error. So we are making improvements, but for the most part it will run 40 minutes on a set of consumables. I've probably gone through 20 sets of consumables so far. The consumables still look new to me, but what do i know.

The thing that gets the machine back up and running is new consumable. During those 40 minutes of running it will make about 500 pierces. I primarily cutting 12 gauge galvanized material and the parts have holes in them, so lots of pierces. Is 40 minutes of running with 500 pierces enough ruin a set of consumables? I'm really to get something figured out. Thanks for your help.

[ROKCRLER]

Which consumables are you running?
I also cut galv and had some 0-30 issues, but mainly with the 45a fine cuts. I cycle power on the plasma and hit start again, i found that if it pierces at the wrong height, you get a bit of the galv coating blow back in the shield and gets hung in between the shield and tip. A simple wipe with a q-tip and back to work.
I now use regular tips, fine cuts on the super thin stuff like 20-24 ga..

[robertspark]

are they genuine consumables or copies?

Do you have photos of the electrode?

The below link can give you some guidance, although you are running a lot of pierces in a short space of time, which is what does not help the electrode.
https://www.hypertherm.com/learn/spark- ... electrode/

don't believe everything you read about spec plates on compressors.
Do you have any info on the compressor (make, model, voltage + kW / HP rating) as in my experience manufacturers like to overdeclare their equipment ratings
https://www.about-air-compressors.com/calculating-cfm/

[stinovation]

You guys are awesome. I'll send pics this evening. Thanks!

[stinovation]

Rokcrler,

I'm buying Hypertherm consumable from Baker Gas. Running 220941 tip and 220842 electrode. I think they are 45amp regular tips.

I assume pierce height is in the setting but I'm not sure what it is. I can try to find it. Any idea what is should be for 12ga galvanized?

I have tried several times to put back in the same consumables after the 0-30 code. I pull the consumables out look at them, wipe them down and put them back in. Then it will only run a few minutes and then 0-30 again.

Thanks


Robertspark,

Attached pictures of the consumables and compressor. The compressor catches up a little bit during cutting, but mainly runs the whole time. I now have a whole stack of consumables...I need to figure how to get them to last longer.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

IMG_8510.jpg (75.42 KiB) Viewed 1096 times

[stinovation]

messed up one pic

IMG_8522.jpg (89.68 KiB) Viewed 1096 times

[weldguy]

Just curious what amperage you have your Powermax 65 set to during this operation?

Consumables look to be burning fairly clean which is good, they like clean air.

Be sure to check all the o-rings in the torch head to be sure they are in place and not damaged.

Check you pierce height and cut height to be sure its spot on. Don't just check what is entered on your computer screen, actually pause the machine during these operations and measure these heights with feller gauges and adjust as required.

[djreiswig]

Also check the swirl ring. I had intermittent errors and they went away when I put in a new swirl ring. It acts like a bearing for the electrode.

[stinovation]

weldguy,

The Hypertherm is set on 45 amps for cutting 12 ga. The last couple days have been a hard grind but I'm hoping to spend some more time with it this weekend.

How do I found out what the pierce height and cut height should be?

[djreiswig]

Pierce height is different for each material. It's in the cut charts in the manual. Cut height is there also. Usually 0.06" for PowerMax.

[adbuch]

weldguy,

The Hypertherm is set on 45 amps for cutting 12 ga. The last couple days have been a hard grind but I'm hoping to spend some more time with it this weekend.

How do I found out what the pierce height and cut height should be?

Pierce height 0.150", Cut Height 0.060".

Cut chart for 45 A mild steel.jpg (65.96 KiB) Viewed 1081 times

[HypHyDef]

It looks like you are in great hands here with all the skilled people here, you can also give Hypertherm tech service a call and discuss what's happening. you can get in touch a few different ways. fill out a form and they will give you a call back here: https://www.hypertherm.com/en-US/contac ... -questions
Or you can call them directly here: Technical service
(800) 643-9878

[robertspark]

Those consumables don't look too bad to me.

I would suggest that its an air volume + pressure issue.
I run 2x3HP compressors in parallel.

If you have a buddy with another compressor I'd borrow it and give it a go and see if that sorts your problems.

Compressors have duty cycle too.

they should not be running flat out for long periods of time.

it looks like one of these compressors to me
https://www.searshometownstores.com/pro ... -Free-Pump

[acourtjester]

Ok let's look at another thing 0-30 error is stuck consumables, There was a posts about this in the past. If you tighten the retaining cup to much it may cause this. Another thing is there is a switch in the torch body that checks for the consumable mounting. The error also says loose consumables maybe the switch is flaky see image showing this switch.

[adbuch]

Ok let's look at another thing 0-30 error is stuck consumables, There was a posts about this in the past. If you tighten the retaining cup to much it may cause this. Another thing is there is a switch in the torch body that checks for the consumable mounting. The error also says loose consumables maybe the switch is flaky see image showing this switch.
DSCN1660 A1.jpg

[stinovation]

All,

Thanks for all of the help. I'm working through the hit list. Swirl ring, oring, etc... all looks in really good shape. Those parts look clean and new as the consumables I'm swapping out. I can watch the program as it shows pierce height 0.150" and cut height 0.060". So that's good to know the parameters are correct. Now I just need to measure with feeler gauges to confirm.

I now have a compressor runny piggy back and it ports in right before 3 stage air filter. The blue 3/4" airline is direct from compressor outside the shop and the black airline is from the piggy back compressor on the floor. We'll see what happens....

[stinovation]

I just had a thought. My table is 8 ft but I'm running 10 ft sheets on it. So for the last 1 1/2' of the table, the sheet is above the slats. So the sheet ramps up at the end. The THC adjusts as it ramps and seems to cut the parts just fine but I'm wondering if this is causing part of the consumable problem? Hopefully the picture make sense.

At #1 the sheet is 1/8" above the slats. At #1 the sheet is 1/4" above the slats. At #3 the sheet is 1/2" above the slats.

Do you think this could cause consumable problems?

[adbuch]

If your thc is not working properly and your cut height is too close to the material at the areas where it "ramps up", then this could most definitely have an effect on the longevity of your consumables. You could check this by pausing your machine at the "ramped up" areas in question and physically measuring your torch-to-material distance.
David

[acourtjester]

As David states above it your THC was not acting fast enough to follow the slope of the material, you torch could be to close ans cause the damage.
Attached is a video from 2013 I did with a THC and you can see the torch stays above the metal as it travels. And as David also says look at where the problem happens. Troubleshooting a problem requires standing back and watching all that happens, if you are to close you may not see the real reason. From your statements you are looking and following suggestions. As you can see from other posts here some problems take a little time to fix. There is something that has not been found yet, your cost is high and it needs to be found. We are in this together and it will be found, if you find it do post it as it will join the list that other can learn from.

[stinovation]

I have some good news to report. After putting the piggy-back air compressor inline the run time increased to 45 minutes before the 0-30 code. So that is good news. But I'm still hopeful I could get a couple hours from a set of consumables. I paused the machine and measured pierce height and cut height. It measured about 0.160" for pierce height and 0.068" for cut height. That seems pretty close. Do I need to make adjustments to try and bring those back down?

I used feeler gauge by my measurements it could be a little off. I'm attaching pictures of the consumable I pulled after the 45 minute runtime along with machine error. I also wanted to share that I'm getting quite a bit of build up on the end of the nozzle. That is the buildup after 45 minutes cutting. I scrape off that build up every time I change the consumables.

Is this really pointing to not enough air volume?

Is it reasonable for me to get 2 hours cut time on a set of consumables cutting only galvanized material?

[acourtjester]

What are you cutting I have never seen a shield look that bad, it sure looks like there is much more splatter on it then normal.
You may have oil in the air supply, use a air blow gun and put a white rag over the end and blow air through it for about 2 minutes. There should be no discoloration on the rag.

[stinovation]

I'm only cutting 12 gauge galvanized sheet

[acourtjester]

That may be your problem, the other thing is when cutting galvanize it releases poisonous gas.

Welding galvanized steel should always be done in well-ventilated locations to prevent the inhalations of fumes, due to the potentially toxic nature or lead and zinc. ... Overexposure to zinc or zinc oxide Can cause metal fume fever, more commonly called "zinc chills, zinc shakes or Galvanize poisoning".

[djreiswig]

I would try replacing the swirl ring and the o-ring on the torch body and lubing the new one up with silicone grease. Then just snug the retaining cap.
When you have the torch apart, blow some air up into the body to see if there is anything stuck in there.
Also, maybe replace the shield. I had issues with wrecking nozzles and I figured out that pierce debris was sticking to the shield. After I replaced it, the debris didn't stick anymore.

[weldguy]

Glad your making progress. Your measured pierce and cut height are close enough it would cause no issues.

Yes, your shield looks very dirty, def the galvanized doing that, not a big deal.

Your nozzle and electrode look great, I would not consider those worn out.

Consumables are worn out when the nozzle orifice is enlarged or no longer round and a worn elecrode will have a 1/16" deep divit in the end.

Looking at your picture your nozzle and electrode appear to have plenty of life.

Just curious why you deem them worn out? Poor cut quality or is it the 0-30 error leading you to believe this?