Plasma cutting

Date 02-20-2006 00:57

Hey Griff,
Last year I picked up a mint Thermal Dynamics Pakmaster Pak50 on E-Bay under $500 with shipping. It was a BIN and came from a deceased person's estate. The family was selling all his equipment and I don't think they really researched the price of such equipment. I snapped it up without blinking an eye. It has performed great and I have cut 1/2" with it without a problem. 95% of my cutting is .375 or less and it will really crank on .125 & less. It is a 35amp rated and will nudge a bit higher on start. Of course, the 40A and higher will really give some performance on cutting rate. Buy according to your budget, amount of material you will cut, say in a month, and how fast you want to produce. I do a lot of repairs and the plasma cutter makes cutting a replacement piece a snap....really time saving. There are some real buys on E-Bay for 40, 50, & 60amp cutters...albeit they are from China and I don't know how they perform or how long they would last under continuous use, and replacement consummables. They are half the price of a Miller, Thermal D, or ESAB, or Lincoln. Do your homework before buying....good luck...Denny

By Brand X (*)

Date 02-20-2006 01:03

I am a big Esab fan, but between those two machines I would
go Miller. 35 amps for the Esab and 40 for the Miller. That
is not the only reason but I really think overall the Miller
is better. The Powercut 650 would be a better unit to
match up with the Miller.

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 02-21-2006 07:29

Stick with the ESAB hm2, Brand X

Miller makes some excellent welding equipment but, when it comes to plasma cutting, I've got to stick with ESAB (formerly Linde-Union Carbide/L-Tech), Thermal Dynamics and Hypertherm.

Many moons ago (1983-1985), I used to go around selling welding equipment for one of the largest welding distributors in the NYC metro area.
I would go all over the region to call on existing, and potentially new customers to demonstrate the capabilities of both Thermal Dynamics Pak-5 and Linde's PC-50. These were rated to cut mild steel up to 1/2". However, they could only cut up to 3/8" at a reasonable pace.

The differences between the two were minimal except for three things that stood out: 1. was the difference in torch configurations and, the second was the Linde torch had a pilot arc. the third difference was that you could also use an air/nitrogen mix with the linde unit which gave you additional heat in the plasma but, also made the overall unit less portable in certain situations.

The Thermal torch was strictly a contact drag type torch because it was an air only operating unit. Parts for the torch lasted a little bit longer on the Linde model but, the Thermal power source was more reliable back then and as far as safety was concerned, an inexperienced operator had less of a risk accidently burning themselves with the pilot arc...

Both of these models were great machines for sheet metal and auto body shops, small iron work shops and food grade fabricators... there were so many other industries that fell in love with plasma cutting that after our demos were completed, they would more than likely purchase a more powerful system from either manufacturer.
We demonstrated these machines four to five days a week at least 10 times a day at different locations for two years straight.

Miller came out with their "Spectrum" model, I do'nt remember which was the model # at the time but, I do remember that it was their first plasma cutting system and I was psyched to find out how well it performed against both of the best selling models...

I was disappointed to say the least when we did a side by side comparison at one of our "open house" days at Prest-O-Sales & Service Inc. located in Long Island City in Queens, New York, NY.

I do remember that the first Miller model had a torch that was made in France originally because, Miller did'nt have their torch assembly line ready upon the intro of the "Spectrum" model.

At Westmoreland County Community College where I teach at night, we have a Miller Spectrum 625 I believe that is'nt working because of some "fried" parts on the motherboard... When we called Miller for a replacement board (Machine's out of warranty), we were told the price was going to be close to the price of the machine!!!
Well, we've got the EE (Electrical Engineering) dept. working on repairing the board but to this date, I do'nt know how much progress they've made on that board so far...

When we were demonstrating those plasma cutters back between 1983 and 1985, not one of the power sources or torches ever gave us more than a minor "hiccup" regarding any parts that failed in the power sources... I had to replace a contactor on the Linde unit but that was it. The torch parts were well made back then on both units.

All I ever heard from customer that purchased the Miller models was: "I wish I bought one of those machines you came around with instead"... Most of those customers would purchase one of the machines or a more powerful system from us instead of waiting for Miller to either repair or replace their units...

Don't get me wrong now, Miller makes some of the best Welding equipment around but, I would rather have a plasma cutter from Thermal Dynamics, ESAB (formerly Linde Union Carbide/L-Tec who BTW, invented this process of cutting) or Hypertherm because these people have the most experience in this cutting process.

My suggestion for cutting 1/2" or less is to buy a 100 amp machine of your preference. I prefer the Thermal Dynamics PAK 10. Recently I tried one of their newer models and was very impressed with the new torch they use. IMHO.

Respectfully,
SSBN727
Run Silent... Run Deep!!!

By Brand X (*)

Date 02-22-2006 03:27

I never owned a Miller but they work good now.
I always had Esab or Thermal Dynamics.
I own a 151 cutmaster 100 amp single phase machine
that is a great unit. I also have a machine torch
and hand torch on that unit.

The smaller esab's have hi-voltage start and no pilot arc
for cutting expanded metal.All Thermal/Hypertherm/Millers
have that.

By the way, Miller makes the smaller machines for Hypertherm. :)
The little esab 380 and 550 were made in Italy and had problems.
Esab moved the 550 to South Carolina and they have improved.
I prefer the 40 amp esab power-cut over the smaller one circuit
board tiny 35/30 amp esab units.

Scott

By jimcolt Date 03-14-2006 17:40

Take a look at the newest plasma cutting technology. Hypertherm offers Powermax systems that range from 27 Amps output to 100 Amps....all of which use an internal blowback starting system that eliminates the high freqency start. These systems will operate on virtually any input voltage...and have the longest consumable life in the industry. These systems are manufactured in Hanover, NH....Hypertherm also produces the widest line of mechanized plasma cutting equipment...and are the originators of HyDefinition and HyPerformance plasma systems that cut from gauge to 2 inch materials with laser like quality. Take a look at www.hypertherm.com For 1/2" material...take a look at the Powermax600.

best regards, Jim Colt

By Jason perter Date 08-22-2006 23:52 Edited 08-23-2006 12:00

for affordable plasma cutter, UNT is a good choice. they offer great machine service. their website is <website removed>