Hypertherm voltage divider

[AZ_guy]

I have a Hypertherm 45xp running on a Shop Sabre sidekick 4 table. I was having an issue with the torch sometimes slowly lowering through the cut till it was touching the plate then coming off the break away. After going through diagnostics with tech support from both companies we realized the voltage divider on the board in the Plasma cutter isnt working. The arc voltage is only ever reading at about 23 which isnt even close to any of the targets.

I was told a new board would be about 1k but i could find a 3rd party voltage divider to connect to the board and the plasma table. Is there a brand or source that anyone recommends for parts like this?

Im surprised with the arc voltage never reading properly that the table still cuts perfect most of the time. Why is this? does the table just pull values from other sources too, like maybe servo position or something?

[adbuch]

The voltage divider takes the raw arc voltage and divides it down to the level required by your particular thc. It has no effect on the actual raw arc voltage used by the torch to do the cutting. You thc is monitoring the divided arc voltage in an attempt to maintain proper cut height - usually 0.060". In the mean time, you can disable you thc in software and set your cut height manually.

David

[acourtjester]

Is the THC an add on type like a Proma or another brand, or is it an integral part of the Shop Sabre electronics?? If it a add on there are 2 types, one sends up/down signals to the controller to follow the arc voltage. Or the Z axis control signals pass through the THC and it controls the signals to the Z driver for up/down movement. what type do you have??

[knight7338]

before buying a new one you might want to open up the hypertherm and check the wires to and from the voltage divider. mine did the same thing and turned out that wire had loosened from normal temp. changes thru the wires, when i tightened the connections everything worked fine again.

[robertspark]

you can make a voltage divider (they just comprise a 2 resistors, and in some cases a filter).

Really you can buy the board as part of the CPC kit

I would REALLY be surprised if it's packed up as its a bit of a dump PCB (not a lot can go wrong with it).
https://www.weldersupply.com/P/1903/HYP ... T%20428653

2023-05-11 10_11_17-Powermax45 XP Service Manual (809230 revision 2).png (87.63 KiB) Viewed 1039 times

2023-05-11 10_08_22-Powermax45 XP Service Manual (809230 revision 2).png (116.05 KiB) Viewed 1039 times

[kicktillmonday]

1k for a voltage divider board does not seem correct unless I am missing something. Genuine Hypertherm voltage divider board and CPC port was quickly found online here for under $200 https://www.weldersupply.com/P/1903/HYP ... T%20428653

[AZ_guy]

The voltage divider takes the raw arc voltage and divides it down to the level required by your particular thc. It has no effect on the actual raw arc voltage used by the torch to do the cutting. You thc is monitoring the divided arc voltage in an attempt to maintain proper cut height - usually 0.060". In the mean time, you can disable you thc in software and set your cut height manually.

David

I disabled the THC for now. It works but i still want to try and get my THC working again so i dont have to babysit the torch when im cutting thinner material that might warp or move

[AZ_guy]

1k for a voltage divider board does not seem correct unless I am missing something. Genuine Hypertherm voltage divider board and CPC port was quickly found online here for under $200 https://www.weldersupply.com/P/1903/HYP ... T%20428653

Mine came with the CPC port built in from the factory, i think thats why they said it was about 1k? not sure if id be able to modify this to work just for the voltage divider

[AZ_guy]

before buying a new one you might want to open up the hypertherm and check the wires to and from the voltage divider. mine did the same thing and turned out that wire had loosened from normal temp. changes thru the wires, when i tightened the connections everything worked fine again.

He had me disconnect the wires as part of the diagnostic. Are you just talking about the 2 wire plug?

[kicktillmonday]

1k for a voltage divider board does not seem correct unless I am missing something. Genuine Hypertherm voltage divider board and CPC port was quickly found online here for under $200 https://www.weldersupply.com/P/1903/HYP ... T%20428653

Mine came with the CPC port built in from the factory, i think thats why they said it was about 1k? not sure if id be able to modify this to work just for the voltage divider

If your plasma cutter came with it built in from the factory, it's the same thing, just installed at the factory. You can remove the old one and install the new one.

[cutnweld]

Check and see what the voltage is coming out of the cpc. Maybe the hypertherm is fine but your controller is reading it wrong

[robertspark]

Like I said:

I would REALLY be surprised if it's packed up as its a bit of a dump PCB (not a lot can go wrong with it).

[weldguy]

Check and see what the voltage is coming out of the cpc. Maybe the hypertherm is fine but your controller is reading it wrong

I'm with cutnweld. Check the voltage. Cut a long straight line at the correct cut height and measure the voltage at pins 5 and 6 and see what the voltage is and post back here before buying a new one. As Robert said not much can go wrong with these. See pinout below.

Pinout.PNG (131.78 KiB) Viewed 975 times

[cutnweld]

I doubt too that it is a bad divider, even if it is I would like to know who is trying to sell one for $1000. I paid a little over $200 for my genuine hypertherm CPC field install kit from a dealer.

[cutnweld]

Start probing with a volt meter and doing a dry fire, the 45 will output around 145 according to their website. So if you are set to 20:1 your volts on pin 5 and 6 will be around 7.25. If you set to 50:1 then it will be 2.9 volts and so on.

[AZ_guy]

thanks for the help guys. Ill dry fire the torch and check the voltage and post back. The customer service had me checking resistance across pins looking for a certain Ohm reading. Then had me bypass the voltage divider and check again. After i bypassed the divider we were getting the Ohm value that he was looking for