lincoln plasma cutter

Date 10-19-2003 05:01

1/4 aluminum is too heavy for reliable day to day quality cutting. You might hack through it, but the cut finish would be awful.

I've run that machine, and from my experience-FWIW
1/8 aluminum
3/16 steel
1/8 stainless
These are done without preheat, and don't want the unit to overheat.
In all honesty, we consider the 20/25 amp plasma cutters as sheet metal machines for the most part. They function very well in this application.

The plasma you are looking at may be advertised for other capacities, I don't know, but this is what I experienced.

Seems to be true for most 20-25 amp plasmas. Keep in mind that cutting will be relatively slow, as you are at the max capacity of the machine. Kerf will be less than square on one side as well-due to the running at max.
If cuts on 1/4 aluminum are required on a regular basis, and if more than a few short cuts a day are needed, a 50 or 60 amp class plasma should be considered minimum. Some of the new 80 amp units would be the cat's behind.

Your best quality plasma cuts are done at appx. 50% of the machines rated capacity. Bad cuts mean grinding and other time consuming finishing methods.

My favorite is the Hypertherm, but there are good machines available from others as well. Hypertherm and Thermal Dynamics seem to have the best units andthe lion's share of the industry, from what I see.

Hope this helps a little!

Good Luck

brande

By kid Date 10-19-2003 20:09

Thanks brande, that helps alot.

By widetrackman Date 10-20-2003 04:39

brande, Im trying to deceide between a Hypertherm 1000 and a Miller 2050. About the only diff I see is Miller is 55amp Hyper is 60amp and Miller will cost $210 more. Never owned a plasma cutter any comments appreicated.

By brande

Date 10-22-2003 05:16

Go with the Hypertherm. While the Miller torch appears to use Hypertherm components, they are slightly different. I learned this the hard way.

I am going out on a limb here as I am sure there are many satisfied Miller Plasma owners....

From what I have seen, the Miller is not the plasma to own. They are more expensive to own, and cut quality/capacity is down compared to many competitive units. Dollar/cut/quality.

The only Miller plasmas I had any real luck with were the old Plazcut series. Not really sure if Miller made these, but they came with a French made torch that was very fragile and expensive to repair. As I remember, the torch head alone, (no handle or cables) went for about $425. Had a bunch of expensive fragile parts as well.
I used to put the Thermacut 55 amp Thermal Dynanics torch on a great number of these units with great success. They cut like a raped ape, greatly exceeding the original advertised quality and capacity. I am sure similar results could be obtained with any number of the new generation of plasma torches out there today.

Don't get me wrong-I've been a Miller guy for most of my career and Miller is among the best welding units out there, but their plasmas have been severely lacking. They have always been a nightmare to repair, unlike their welding machines. My experience has been that their plasmas are not as rugged as Miller might like them to be.

There is more to a plasma than just brute amps. Torch design and volt/amp curve are among the things that make a good plasma.Don't know if Miller quite has it yet. They will get in time, I am sure.

My opinion is FWIW-buy the Hypertherm. I could tell you Hypertherm stories on end, but I bought a Hypertherm (spent MY money) while employed at a distributor that sold Hypertherm, Thermal Dynamics, Miller, and others.
As far as the price difference, spend that extra $210 on consumable parts. You'll be ahead in the long run.

Hope this helps

Good Luck

brande

By widetrackman Date 10-23-2003 03:19

brande, thanks. You basically said what I was told by a repair service in Canada. Think Ill go w/ the hyper 1000. BTW what air drier would you reccommend if you have a preference.

By brande

Date 10-26-2003 03:50

A real good, relatively inexpensive drier is the Motor Guard M-26
($90-110).

It is really a very fine filter that removes any impurity down to .01 micron.

I've used these for years with great results. They very efficiently remove moisture-and dirt.

Basically a can with a replaceable filter that resembles a roll of toilet paper. We have substituted toilet paper when filters were not available with very good results.

These filters should be available from a good welding supply.

Hope this helps.

brande

By widetrackman Date 10-26-2003 06:31

brande, thanks for the replies.

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 10-26-2003 17:57

Hi brande!
I like the tip about the toilet paper roll trick you mentioned!!!
What's the cost comparison? It must be real good one at that...
Thanks for the tip!!!

Respectfully,

SSBN727 Run Silent... Run Deep!!!

By brande

Date 10-30-2003 06:02

SSBN-

Good to hear from you again.

Anyway-to your question...

The standard M26 filter looks just like a standard toilet paper roll. The dimensions are very close. The only difference is the M26 filter element is brown in color, not unlike a standard roll of toilet paper after use!!! ;) !

Although I advocate (from experience) the use of standard toilet paper rolls in the M26 filter, be selective in what you get. A light, fluffy, perfumed example might not do what you need and may actually clog your filter.
A sturdier element might be needed. I use Scott Tissue exclusively with very good results. Seems to work well. Look for rolls that pass the "scratch test". Email me directly for details!!!

Please don't squeeze the Charmin. Sorry-I just had to say this!!
Wonder what Mr. Whipple would say to all of this!!

Again, to reiterate, if you want best possible cut, longest consumable life from your plasma cutter, bottled air (relatively expensive) or a good filtering system is absolutely necessary.

Hope this helps some...

Good Luck

brande

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 10-30-2003 13:45

Hi brande!
I could'nt agree with you more!!!
Way back in the early eighties when I was working for an "Indy" welding distributor located in the borough of Queens in New York City, I was running around almost the entire metropolitan area selling the old "Linde/Union Carbide" and Thermal Dynamics 50/100 amp plasma cutters which at that time were selling like "hotcakes". Anywho,
the customer's biggest complaints were that the tips & electrodes in the torches were'nt lasting as long as they wanted, and the costs for replacement were in their own words: "Going thru the roof"!!!
Previously the company where I was at the time working for had already sent me to Florence,SC for the "Equipment Repair course" for Linde's welding and cutting equipment... They specifically covered these similar complaints now being generated by their own distributors...I'd say they covered the issues fairly well. So when I got back from Florence, I knew exactly how to address these complaints... Most of the customers made the necessary changes and so did their complaints...
However, there was that tiny minority of customers that just plain ignorant, I mean Stubborn as heck!!! I even took some of the one that agreed to visit the customers that resolved these issues based on the recommendations that were given to them and it did'nt matter!!!
One customer thought for sure that we paid this other customer to make these claims to no avail!!! We even offered to buy and install the equipment gratis for them with the understanding that if they did stop reordering so many tips & electrodes for the torches, we would then only charge them our costs for the components and nothing for the installation!!! These few still balked at the idea!!! Finally, with the factory reps present, we were allowed to install the equipment to resolve this issue!!! Some of the customers threatened to drop our gas business with them so, when we demonstrated the correct fix to their complaint, they were embarrased beyond belief!!! They offered us free lunches at exclusive restaraunts, temporary elimination of our price discounts, you know - stuff like that... We took advantage of htese offers to the fullest as result of their ignorance!!!
Btw, did you get the flyer from our AWS section regarding the Metallurgy short course that was already offered and conducted before I received the flyer in the mail... Hey, eventually they'll get the mailing right soon enough! I already knew about the course being offered at the Steamfitter's local. I did'nt attend because it was just too basic for me!!! Gotta get some teeth pulled out so, speak to you soon!!!

Respectfully,

SSBN727 Run Silent... Run Deep!!!