P l a s m a __C u t t e r s ? ? ? ? ? ?
- Thread starter bayrunner
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My dad had 3 different ones over a span of a few months for his automated cutting table setup. First was as Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 50, rated for 1/2" cut, (can cut thicker steel with more messy look). That was a very slick unit. Only reason they got rid of it was because the starting logic interfered with the table's electronics, frying electronics things (dumbass table design!). Then they got a Miller 625 (recommended by local welding shop), which is a bit more powerful than the Cutmaster 50 I think. It was not only overkill (used lots of air, more power, etc), but did not cut clean at all, lots of spark spray, messy. They had the welding shop rep there several times, the final reasoning was that was as good as it could cut, which was no-where near the quality/cleanliness of the Cutmaster. The rep offered to take it back and put the money towards another one.
They then bought a Thermal Dymanics Cutmaster 38, which is a smaller unit, rated for 3/8" cut (all these are mild steel thicknesses), this had all the benefits of the Cutmaster 50's clean cut, but had a different starting system, which worked fine with their table, so that's what they have now. They have really liked it, works very well, in the neighborhood of $1100 I think, the Cutmaster 50 was $1500 when they bought it.
If looking for one, I would highly suggest looking online, we bought the Cutmaster 50 online, with free shipping, no tax, and it was cheaper than we could get locally, even with no tax locally (non profit school) and a educational discount, and telling them what we could get it for online, the rep (General Air in Denver) said they were sorry but admitted they still couldn't compete with that price, so we got it online...
Unit came drop shipped from Thermal Dynamics directly, so not a chance of a used or demo unit at all.
They then bought a Thermal Dymanics Cutmaster 38, which is a smaller unit, rated for 3/8" cut (all these are mild steel thicknesses), this had all the benefits of the Cutmaster 50's clean cut, but had a different starting system, which worked fine with their table, so that's what they have now. They have really liked it, works very well, in the neighborhood of $1100 I think, the Cutmaster 50 was $1500 when they bought it.
If looking for one, I would highly suggest looking online, we bought the Cutmaster 50 online, with free shipping, no tax, and it was cheaper than we could get locally, even with no tax locally (non profit school) and a educational discount, and telling them what we could get it for online, the rep (General Air in Denver) said they were sorry but admitted they still couldn't compete with that price, so we got it online...
Unit came drop shipped from Thermal Dynamics directly, so not a chance of a used or demo unit at all.
Last edited:
scottm
SILVER Star
The boss just picked up a machine order that'll require cutting 3/4" stainless plate. We could water jet it, but he's leaning toward buying a big plasma cutter, cool! I love my side job!
go with esap if you can find them. there are not a whole lot of distributors, but they are the most user friendly and reliable that we have used. They are not cheap but they are great to use. also I would stay away from any of the panasonics , I have not used their plaz, but we just got one of their welders and it is a POS it is just hard to use and incredibly finickey, welds ok, but a pain in the a**!!
I have a Hypertherm Powermax 900 and although I have personally not used any others this machine is amazing. I bought it used for about $800 after using my uncle's identical unit. The new version of this is the Powermax 1000 and it is even nicer. It has a built-in pilot-arc control for cutting expanded metal and a really nice thin tipped torch. I think most important with any plasma cutter is ensuring a good source of clean dry air. I use a triple air dryer/extractor just in-line with the cutter from the air compressor. A bottle works great also. I have heard great things about thermal dynamics also and I think it is even run by an ex-hypertherm engineer. Best of luck!
Had a Hypertherm Powermax 380. Worked pretty well, but the one I have now, the Cutmaster 38 is definitely a much nicer unit.
The two lower units of Hypertherm and Miller share parts. They actually have an alliance for manufacturing them. Even most dealers don't know that though (yep, welder dealers are just as clueless as Toyota dealers).
When looking at plasma cutters, keep a few things in mind. Availability of and cost of consumables etc. Thermal Dynamics and Hypertherm are the leading producers of plasma cutters globally and here in the USA. Consumables are generally cheaper than the other brands and are readily available. Don't underestimate things like the ability to remove the torch hose like the One Torch design of the Cutmasters. This is great for storage or moving around etc. GET A MOTORGUARD FILTER. No matter how great the plasma cutter is, if you are sending s***ty air to it then you will get a s***ty cut.
I would definitely avoid Esab as they have been having part supply issues for the last year.
The two lower units of Hypertherm and Miller share parts. They actually have an alliance for manufacturing them. Even most dealers don't know that though (yep, welder dealers are just as clueless as Toyota dealers).
When looking at plasma cutters, keep a few things in mind. Availability of and cost of consumables etc. Thermal Dynamics and Hypertherm are the leading producers of plasma cutters globally and here in the USA. Consumables are generally cheaper than the other brands and are readily available. Don't underestimate things like the ability to remove the torch hose like the One Torch design of the Cutmasters. This is great for storage or moving around etc. GET A MOTORGUARD FILTER. No matter how great the plasma cutter is, if you are sending s***ty air to it then you will get a s***ty cut.
I would definitely avoid Esab as they have been having part supply issues for the last year.
