Is my solenoid finished?

[Andrewbcdueck]

As you can see in the attached pictures it looks as though my torch is pulsing on and off, even tho it still cuts well, the edge finish is not great except for my non critical art pieces. I can hear a ticking and it sounds like it is coming from the solenoid or valve or whatever it is at the top of the machine torch, have any of you had this problem? While cutting it kind of sounds like pst, pst, pst, pst, pst not a steady flow. My plasma is an A120

[adbuch]

Perhaps there is an o-ring (or several) that need replacing on your torch head. I am not aware of any electrical solenoid that would be mounted inside of or integrated into the torch body or torch head. What kind of plasma cutter and torch do you have?
David

[Rodw]

Perhaps there is an o-ring (or several) that need replacing on your torch head. I am not aware of any electrical solenoid that would be mounted inside of or integrated into the torch body or torch head. What kind of plasma cutter and torch do you have?
David

Just to clarify, The Thermal Dynamics A120 uses the One Torch (SL100) which has an air solenoid located at the top of the machine torch. This is supposed to get more responsive air flow when turning the torch on. I have an A120 too but have never experienced this fault.

What happens when you flick the switch on the front panel to get air flowing? does it still spit air? What air pressure shows on the machine front panel? Is it to spec with the airflow from the cutting charts for your material?
Is your air dry? Do you have a refrigerated drier?

I know lots of questions, but a bit of troubleshooting is in order. Also pop the solenoid cover off and check the electric connections are good and not loose or corroded.

[Andrewbcdueck]

I have not tried the switch on the front panel, will try that, I do not have any filtration at all just drain my tank daily. I have had airflow issues I guess, mainly when I am cutting thicker material and have my pressure way up, but I fixed that by upping my compressor pressure so it will turn on before it gets too low to fire.

[Rodw]

I have not tried the switch on the front panel, will try that, I do not have any filtration at all just drain my tank daily. I have had airflow issues I guess, mainly when I am cutting thicker material and have my pressure way up, but I fixed that by upping my compressor pressure so it will turn on before it gets too low to fire.

I wonder if a bit of muck has got stuck in the valve due to lack of filtering? I found out in the first week I needed a refrigerated drier to deal with our humid conditions and it has a pre and post filter on it. I have never again had air problems. I've only cut up to 16mm and have run at book pressures. But I have also smashed it hard on a complex nest on 2mm mild steel, 40 amps and got the machine to overheat too. Fortunately with Linuxcnc, the error recovery is amazing so I just hit the restart button when it cools down or gets back to pressure.

[weldguy]

The A120 is a great machine and I am with Rod on the contaminated external solenoid due to lack of filtration.

Draining the tank is great to keep moisture contamination down but there is still rust, oil, and other gunk in your air tank that you don't want to find downstream.

Try cleaning the external solenoid and see how it performs. Also I strongly suggest good filtration and the an air dryer like the Sharpe unit that so many on this site use. The filter/dryer will start saving you money right away and your cut quality will dramatically improve in addition to consumable life.

Since your entire air system all the way up to the torch is already contaminated its too little too late but it will help.