questions about my plasma cutter

[mazdamama]

i recently bought my first plasma cutter, its a hypertherm powermax 350, and im having trouble figuring out how to use it right. it doesnt seem to want to cut anything unless i set it at really low amps. i have also got it to cut without being ground to anything. i admit i really know nothing about fab, o electrical and im having trouble reading the chart on the cutter. when i turn the amps up higher the plasma cutter just sparks quickly and then it goes away. one thing that i noticed that may be a problem is that the ground ire is frayed at the clip, and also the guy who sold it to me put a 110 v plug on it, would it work better with a 220 v plug?

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

what psi is your air compressor set at? the manufacturer specifies 60psi and theres is a little chart on the bottom of this page, not sure if this is attached to your machine or not? make sure you fix that ground clamp so that you know you have 100% efficient ground. http://www.hypermax.org/powermax_350_specifications.htm

 

[mazdamama]

thanks for the chart, but im still having some trouble interpreting it. would my cutter work better if it was run off of 220? also could using a generator to run my air compressor and plasma cutter compromise the amount of electricity my plasma cutter is getting?

 

[yyc_tbird_sc]

Check out WeldingWeb, it's an online welding forum. There is a section on there dedicated to Hypertherm. Congrats on the purchase! I just picked up a Powermax 380, and have cut a bit of material already.

Clean and dry (seriously) air will be your best friend when using a plasma cutter. I've got a water separator and a regulator right at the compressor, and attached directly to my plasma cutter, is a dessicant dryer. You'd be surprise how much condensation a hose can pick up while laying on a cool concrete floor. Moisture or other contaminants in the air source will eat the consumables in the torch pretty quickly.

I'm not sure if you have pulled the torch apart yet, but it may be a good thing to take off the cap and see how everything looks. Check for obstructions in the swirl ring, that there isn't alot of wear on the electrode, and that the hole on the nozzle is still round. Just for the heck of it, I'd suggest throwing a new nozzle and electrode in for good measure.

I wouldn't run anything off a generator without at least a 7000W rating. The motor load when a compressor fires up is quite a bit. If the generator can't produce the required voltage, then the amperage draw increases significantly. I would however recommend running the plasma on 220 if you have the ability to do so. Be sure that the voltage switch on the back of the machine is set to whatever you're going to use.

If your work-lead is not in great condition, then I would suggest getting a new one, or repairing the one that came with the machine. As in welding, the ground is a big part of the puzzle.

Is there any of the indicator lights on or flashing while using the machine when you start having problems?

 

[mazdamama]

thanks for the advice, i was able to get it to work a lot better by maintaining 60 psi and only running the plasma cutter on my 5000 watt generator and using higher amps. im thinking that with a 220 v plug and a new tip it might be able to cut through 1/2 inch and deffinately 3/8

 

[yyc_tbird_sc]

While I'm not saying that it won't do 1/2".....Hypertherm rates it at a max cut capacity of 3/8" and that it will sever 1/2", which means not a great cut. I wouldn't attempt anything more that 1/4" until you have it setup for 220V.

Here is a link to the Powermax 350 user manual....
https://www.hypertherm.com/library/files/Manuals/Operator%20Manual%20(OM)/802900r0.pdf