abrogate

does anyone have any experience with this plasma cutter? i have een looking at buying it for quite some time.
some specs:
1/2" (12 mm) Recommended Capacity
5/8" (16 mm) Maximum Capacity
7/8" (22 mm) Severance Capacity

Input Voltages.
.
208/240 V, 1 PH, 50/60 Hz, CSA
480 V, 3 PH, 50/60 Hz, CSA
400 V, 3 PH, 50/60 Hz, CE Certified
230 V, 3 PH, 50/60 Hz, CE Certified
Input Current
@ 5.6 kW 208/240 V, 1 PH: 46/40 Amps
230/400/480 V, 3 PH: 17/9.7/12 Amps
Output Voltage 140 VDC
Output Current Adjustable, 20-40 Amps
Duty Cycle 50% @ 5.6 kW, 40°C (104°F)
Maximum OCV 300 VDC
Dimensions 20" (510 mm) D; 9.5" (240 mm) W; 17" (430 mm) H
Weight with Torch 47 lbs (21 kg)
Gas Supply Clean, dry, oil-free air or nitrogen
Flow Rate 360 scfh; 6 cfm (170 l/min)
Flow Pressure 72 psi (5.0 bar)


http://www.hypertherm.com/manual/pmax600.htm

ive seen them going for anywhere between $1600 and $2000. i think that it would be a good investment, but does anyone have any advice?

Piett

Mmmmm...plasma.

I don't have one but have used my buddies a decent bit but definitely not enough to get good with it.

I've cut steel plate from 1/8" to 3/8" and Al in 1/4" with a drag tip always freehand. Once dialed in it does really well. Never got a chance to try out a gouging tip but would really like to eventually. For some strange reason the ground wire is only 30% of the length of the torch lead. So you need to have the box fairly close to the part/rig while the torch can more around a lot. We think that it should be easy to extend the ground with more cable. He runs his off a 220v air compressor. For short cuts the tank is plenty but on longer ones the compressor cuts in during the cut.

He definitely spent closer to $1600 for it than $2000 but I don't recall how much. With a more convenient cutting table and a straight cutting jig I think it would give the cutoff saw serious competition. Hands down the tool for cutting crap off a rig. I am lucky I had one to borrow other ways would have been much harder.

Geoff

Ganoid

I like mine a lot !
The only time I had any troubles was when I finally killed a tip but besides that its been trouble free and it cuts anything I have had to cut with no problems. The only real down fall to plasma cutters that I can see is that they don't like rusty or painted metal they need fairly clean surfaces to work well. The other thing I didn't think about was the current requirements to run a plasma. You need to consider both your compressor current and your plasma current. When I run mine I need to stop cutting if my 60gal 220 compressor kicks on or I'll have to reset the power to my shop (2x40 amp breakers on the 220 feed). I assume since you are looking at a $1600 tool that you already have a good compressor because they do consume a good amount of air. I also had to remake my welder extension cord from a 3x10ga to a 3x6ga since the Hypertherm 600 draws more than 2x the current of my Millermatic 175

Here is what I did for a cart on mine.

abrogate

i like the cart.

so, when using compressed air, even though it is only 6 cfm @72 psi, it eats up your 60 gal tank? i guess i need a different compressor. i have a 30 gal that does 6.4 @ 90 psi.

Ganoid

I'm sure your compressor would work just plan on having it run a lot. make sure your circuit can handle your compressor and plasma running at the same time. My shop is only 5yrs old so the wiring and everything is new and up to code but my 220 compressor + the plasma is too much for my little home shop circuit. The plasma may use 6CFM but it continues to use air for a short time even after you stop cutting to cool the tip. The good news is that it runs like a hot knife through butter on anything up to about 3/8" so you wont spend long cutting but you will probably cycle it on and off a lot making short cuts and that's where the air gets used up. My compressor kicks on at 100 psi and shuts off at 135 so it probably runs a bit more than it needs. You also need to consider a moisture trap on the compressor and a filter as well if you want the plasma to last forever. I think I spent about $100 for those items combined, You can see the canister filter mounted on the back of the cart and plumbed in.

For my air/current situation I thought about hitting the scrap yard and picking up an additional 60 gal tank to plumb into my compressor for air storage so my compressor would not need to run as often and that may be an option for you as well. Last I looked it was about .30 a pound for a tank from the scrap yard.