Plasma Cutter

[CruisinGA]

On the other hand, my Parker has been used & abused (mostly by people other than me) constantly since I bought it over 2 years ago.


However, if were I to buy another plasma in a few years, and hopefully no longer being a student, I would be shopping for a used made in USA model.

Anyone use the Northern Industrial Plasma 375 Cutter?

No way I would buy a plasma from Northern Tool. At least the Parker guys can support and service their products...

 

[jimcolt]

The Hypertherm units are all designed to cut rusty, dirty, or painted metals without starting issues. They are also designed to drag cut....and template cut. I have tested almost every brand of hand plasma .....and I can honestly say that there is a huge performance difference between a Hypertherm unit and an import (low cost) unit of similar amperage. The Hypertherm Powermax1000 (60 Amps) will cut 1/2" steel at twice the speed of most chinese 60 Amp units......and will sever through 1-1/4 steel quite easily. Drag cutting with the Hypertherm 1000 has no effect on consumable life....drag cutting with the exposed nozzle on the Chinese 60 Amp units will cause extremely short consumable life. The Hypertherm units have safety features......such as a safety trigger that makes it difficult to start the arc when you don't want it to start......a safety circuit in the torch that shuts down the power supply before you can get the electrode (as much as 240 volts DC) in your hand, an air pressure circuit that senses when your inlet air is adequate to save the torch and consumables, as well as multiple internal thermal switches to ensure that no damage occurs if duty cycle is exceeded. The torch fires a pilot arc (without using high frequency) that will blow through rust and paint....and the systems have a 3 year warranty. Oh.....and these systems are built in New Hampshire USA by employee owners of the company....a company that experienced a drop in business over the last year....but did not lay off a single employee.....business is looking good again!

I think there definitely is a place for the low cost import machines....but from a performance and long term operating cost perspective, the major US brands will win everytime. I would suggest.....when on a budget that will not allow a new Hypertherm, Thermal or Miller plasma machine......keep your eyes open for used ones! You are still buying locally produced equipment that will likely outperform imports, and will still be supported by strong manufacturers for years to come......there are over 50,000 used Powermax600's in the field (that's just one model!)...surely there are some for sale on Craigslist!

Jim

 

[fj40charles]

Jim,

I've often wondered if someone needs 2 plasma cutters. One for thin stuff (1/4" or less) and one for thicker metals. I have multiple welders to use for home use.

If you had the option of buying just one (new or used) Hypertherm unit, which model would it be? Any particular units that are known for durability? Any "lemons" I should stay away from?

Also, how do the ESAB units compare? I have a ESAB PCM 875 for home use.

Thanks,
Charles

 

[jimcolt]

Charles,

I actually have 3 plasma cutters in my home shop....I have a Hypertherm Powermax45 on a PlasmaCam 4 x 4 cnc machine, I have a Powermax30 on my welding cart (with a Hobart 210 mig), and I also have a 9 year old Powermax1000.....the 1000 used to be on my older PlasmaCam table....now it is just used for heavy materials with a hand torch.

As far as used units......Plasmas are sort of like computers. The technology was stagnant up until about 10 years ago...then Hypertherm really started pumping engineering resources into the process....and some other manufacturers have kind of followed along! If you buy a 10 year old computer...it probably won't do much for you.....similar with some plasma systems.

As far as Hypertherm units to watch for on the used market....these systems have good technology and there are a ton of them out there:

Powermax380 (120/240, 27 Amps output), Powermax600 (most voltages but not 120 volts, 40 Amps), Powermax900 (most voltagees but not 120 volts, 55 Amps).....as well as the current models (Powermax30, 45, 1000, 1250 and 1650). Any of these Hypertherm systems are newer technology, have the latest torch designs.....parts availability......and free tech support at Hypertherm.

Esab, Miller, Thermal units are all of pretty good quality....Lincolns are imported and difficult to get parts/service.

What I think is kind of funny....most of the low cost imports from China (not all) are using a copy of a 25 year old Esab high frequency start torch design, and are using older technology in their power supplies.....its kind of like someone copying the design of an old 386 based computer....it works but it is 20 years behind on technology!

Jim Colt

Jim,

I've often wondered if someone needs 2 plasma cutters. One for thin stuff (1/4" or less) and one for thicker metals. I have multiple welders to use for home use.

If you had the option of buying just one (new or used) Hypertherm unit, which model would it be? Any particular units that are known for durability? Any "lemons" I should stay away from?

Also, how do the ESAB units compare? I have a ESAB PCM 875 for home use.

Thanks,
Charles

 

[bmorefj40]

great stuff. thanks for all of the posts. I held out long enough to afford the hobart vs the knockoff. I'll keep lurking on CL to find something used and in my budget- but a name brand. Guess i just got hung up on the whole warranty thing, so the low cost chinese units looked appealing. but i would rather have no warranty and not need it- not the other way around.
Thanks again,
Nick

 

[nuclearlemon]

Minimal experience with two friends plasma cutters and this thread have helped me big time...today, i go get my new hypertherm30!!!

had borrowed one friends hypertherm 380 (older version of the 30) and absolutely fell in love. cut a rusty pig up like it was nothing. never a hiccup. i asked to borrow it for two days, he got it two months later. i was cutting 1/4 brackets for the motorcycle, cutting off spring perches, cutting a frame into pieces....awesome!!!!

then, borrowed another friends very old thermal dynamics cutmaster xl. it worked. that's about all i can say. it wasn't well cared for and had worn electrodes. i was frustrated to say the least.

for reference, i have some snap on hand tools, some crapsman hand tools and some harbor freight tools....the harbor freight works, but i get frustrated. i use my snap on tools and they work smoothly and efficiently and i'm happy.