What qualities make good plasma cutter

[jimcolt]

Hypertherm does produce the torches for Miller units....but Miller currently only build one power supply for Hypertherm....the Powermax190C.....which is our lowest powered unit....it is designed for roofers and light sheetmetal applications only.

Hypertherm units have something called a "boost conditioner circuit".....you can tell no difference in power between operation on single phase or 3 phase input power. On single phase their usually is a slight duty cycle reduction.

Jim Colt

I have a Hypertherm Powermax 600 I bought 2 years ago for my shop at work (Industrial Maint Mgr). I have zero complaints - it's been a great product. The 600 runs 220v 2phase (single phase to you residential types). I have 480v run all over the plant, but all my welders are 220v 50a so I decided to make the plasma cutter the same. The unit's been great - It'll cut up to 5/8 and sever 7/8 iirc.

FYI, Miller/Hypertherm share parts. Hypertherm supplies the torches for miller cutters, and miller supplies the electronics for hypertherm cutters.

3 phase units are more efficient, but in a residential/light industrial fab setting you'll never notice the difference. You don't really need a 3phase unit unless you're getting into production work.

 

[fj40charles]

Jim,

Welcome to the board. Good to have you on this board to educate us users.

Charles

 

[Centermass]

Thanks Guys
I dont mind saving a little extra and a little longer to get aquility tool. Those cuts are a beautiful Jim.

 

[Lake Rat]

I have a Hypertherm Max 20, I bought it and a Mig Master (ESAB) 250 MIG welder from some in-laws that were in money trouble.. $800.00 for both of them (they were wanting $1200.00). The Max 20 I have enjoyed for the passt several years, replaced tips and nozzles I thing twice since I've had it and no problems with the machine what so ever. I does great up to 3/16 in.(110 machine). I just figure anything thicker, I'll just have to use the gas axe. Even though I'd like a machine that will cut up to 1/4 in.

 

[73fj]

I was already sold on the Hypertherm, and what Jim posted just cemented the deal.

 

[Centermass]

Sorry lake rat your a little to far away, but have you posted it in the for sale section of mud. There has got to be somebody close to where you are at.

 

[73fj]

I think he's saying thats what he paid, off of the in laws.

 

[Lake Rat]

I think he's saying thats what he paid, off of the in laws.

10-4, that's what I paid for both machines.

 

[73fj]

10-4, that's what I paid for both machines.

I think there is a warrant out for your arrest, cuz you STOLE those, sweet deal .

 

[Lake Rat]

I think there is a warrant out for your arrest, cuz you STOLE those, sweet deal .

Let's just say, I was pretty happy about the deal. Just a little more to the story, my son told me about these machines, finally the in-laws had to do something to pay some bills, they told me they would take $1200.00 for both ( I did have the money, but....), I told them all I had was 8 Ben Franklins would that work. They called me back 20 minutes later and asked when I was coming to get them....I'll be right there!!!!

 

[Radd Cruisers]

Jim,

I would really like some more info on your CNC Plasma table.

What are the costs like in real world terms...


~John

 

[FJ40Jim]

Yeah, what Jim Colt said. I had a good quality European plaz, but when it did develop a problem it took forever to get a replacement circuit board. And consumables were only available from the factory or the importer. Forget about getting them at LWS.

I sold that eurotrash system and bought a Hypertherm PowerMax 30. It's great. Cuts perfect, all part are either at the LWS or I can mailorder from a big weldshop in Cincinnatti and have parts next day.

It sits on my cart above the MM180. Both machines run on 230V, both easily handle 1/4"+ materials. I'm a happy fabricator or destroyer, depending which tool is in my hand...

 

[Centermass]

Went down to local shop the hypertherm 30 was 1,000 and 45 was 1,500 is that the going rate? They said they would have some show specials comeing up.

 

[FJ40Jim]

Went down to local shop the hypertherm 30 was 1,000 and 45 was 1,500 is that the going rate? They said they would have some show specials comeing up.

Yes, that is the good price on the PM30. I paid ~1050 for mine from LWS a year or two back. They were going for same price from various low price online & ebay vendors. I was happy to get a good price and know that if I had a problem there was a local retailer to deal with.

 

[3pits]

I have a pakmaster 75, will cut 3/4" steel and about 1/2" copper, I am very happy with it, IIRC I can power multiple ways and it will automatically adapt to the input power.

My consumable costs are probably not applicible to your set up because I would use my machine for 4-6 hours per day.

I reccomend a few things:
1) look into getting a leather line cover, I burned my air hose early on because of some hot metal on the floor burning thru the sheath

2) make sure you can get parts close by, I have dropped my gun and broken the cup in the middle of a project

3) go ahead and get the correct filter (not the toilet paper roll type) find a way to get DRY air into the machine (you can buy bottled air not oxygen, oxygen will cause a HUGE problem) and if you use bottled air make sure you regulate it down, I did not and put 3000psi into my machine, the air input on the back of the machine EXPLODED sending it across the room in about 20 parts

4) see if the machine you are looking at comes with a consumable kit, if not go ahead and buy some extra parts for it, IIRC mine has 2 different parts that wear out on a regular basis, and 1 or 2 others that wear out say every 6-9 months, especially if I am piercing a lot of THICK metal, like 1/2-3/4 inch steel or doing some wierd angles where steel might drip into the cup,,, I think my compressor could not keep up with the machine needs

5) make a roll around cart for it, yea they are portable, like my 25 gallon compressor is

6) if you ever plan on taking it on the road make sure the power requirements will not be more than the generator/welder you plan on using, my pakmaster needs like 50 A, and the miller bobcat welder I was looking at only put out 40 A,, d'oh,,, and I had just spend like 2200$ or more on the plasma cutter

7) make sure your compressor can handle the needs of the machine,,,

miller has a weird flipping safety trigger I do not like, but some people do, the pakmaster has a 2-3 second delay or something like that as a safety

the plasma cutter puts out a very fine metal dust and dangerous uv rays (?)

go ahead and get a dark face shield

have fun! you will like it when you can write your name in cursive in steel...

 

[Priya Palse]

Learned

I didn't buy a plasma cutter before..
but now I have a overall idea about it.
thanks for your information.

 

[Centermass]

More info is always good. I have had a hard time decieding between the hypertherm 30 and 45. We have a small farm and it would be nice to be able to but through the heavier material. But I am not sure how often I will need the extra ability for thicker cuts.

 

[73fj]

Buy the 45 and don't look back, even if you only need the extra capacity once it'll be worth it.

 

[jimcolt]

My CNC table is a 4 x 4 PlasmaCam DHC2.......it has a Hypertherm Powermax45 Plasma installed.

The PlasmaCam DHC2 sells for about $9800. You need to add a PC with a parallel port....an old pentium unit will work fine....they can be had for $50. The Powermax45 can be purchased in the $1600 range. It is also advisable to close in around the base of the machine with sheetmetal.....and attach a blower (like a furnace squirrel cage blower) and duct the smoke from cutting outside.....or fabricate a water tray that goes about 6 inches under the table slats.....it is necessary to control the fumes/smoke. There are cheaper cnc's out there....but in my opinion, none that cut as well...and are as easy to learn and operate as the PlasmaCam. The PlasmaCam has a superior torch height control system that is as good as the big industrial plasma systems.....good height control improves cut quality and makes the torch consumables last dramatically longer. PlasmaCam also has great product support......a few years ago it was not considered so great, but they have turned around by increasing tech support and warranty support....as well as with improving the machine design. There are other great systems out there as well, Torchmate, DynaTorch and others...but the Plasma Cam works fine for my needs!

Jim

Jim,

I would really like some more info on your CNC Plasma table.

What are the costs like in real world terms...


~John