Choosing the correct plasma cutting consumables is one of the significant steps in ensuring a perfect plasma cutting operation. If not chosen correctly, poorly fitted consumable parts can have a major impact on cutting performance. Damaged or poorly fitted consumables can result in blow-outs, melting, and oddly pitted areas around the nozzles. This is why consumables must be fitted correctly, or else nozzles and body won’t contract that can damage the consumables.
You can avoid these mishaps by selecting the right plasma cutting consumables like hypertherm powermax 45 consumables, hypertherm plasma cutter swirl ring, hypertherm powermax 65 parts, and more. Keep reading this blog post, where we have discussed the top five tips to select the right plasma cutting consumables.
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Choose the Right Consumables
The first and foremost tip is to select the right consumables for your machine. You might think, what kind of a tip is it? Isn’t this pretty obvious? Well, the answer is both yes and no. You would be surprised to know how many times people pick up the wrong consumables and install them. For instance, the requirement is of hypertherm powermax 45 consumables and you by mistake picked up hypertherm powermax 65 parts. It’s mainly because many consumables look similar. To avoid this, you can verify if the consumables part numbers match the numbers shown in the operator’s manual.
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Set Amperage as per Your Consumables
The amperage that you choose is based on the amperage of your nozzle. That’s the reason why you won’t find the amperage details in the charts or manual. For instance, if you’re using a 60-amp nozzle, then you should set the amp to 60 as well.
You should ensure that you don’t set the amperage lower than the nozzle requirement. Because if you do it, it will generate a low-density cost that can prevent plasma arc from penetrating the material. At the same time, you should not exceed the amperage value more than the capacity of consumables. If you fail to do it, then it will wear down the nozzle quickly.
Setting a higher amperage will offer you a faster cutting rate. In comparison, the lower amperage will offer a better quality of cut.
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Know When to Choose Shielded and Unshielded Consumables
You should choose unshielded consumables if your CNC machine does not have ohmic sensing. Similarly, you should go for shielded consumables if your CNC cutting table comes with an ohmic sensing circuit that determines the location of the surface with the use of electrical contact with the material and shield.
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Use the Proper Pierce and Cut Height
Maintaining height control is essential once the machine starts cutting. If the height of the torch gets increases even by 0.0005 inches, then you’ll see wider kerf, angularity, dross, warpage on thin materials. Similarly, if the torch is a little closer, then the materials are bound to collide.
Along with the cut height, you also have to maintain the pierce height to ensure the longevity of consumables’ life. High piercing can prematurely damage the nozzle. Whereas, with the low pierce height, the splatter blown can damage the nozzle. The suitable height for piercing is half of two times the distance between work and torch.
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Check Arc Voltage Measurement
Arc Voltage Measurement is an essential factor in choosing suitable plasma cutting consumables. It’s the unit of measurement between cutting material and electrode. It’s also directly proportional to the plasma arc. Higher the value of arc voltage measurement, the longer the arc. That’s the reason why you must be aware of it. You can check the measurement from the manual and set it.
The setting also includes the cut height as per the consumables. In case the consumables are old and torn, you have to maintain the distance manually.
Conclusion
Choosing the right plasma cutting consumables is essential, and you can achieve this by following the top five tips mentioned here. Following these tips can ensure top-notch cuts along with long consumable life. Here, we have mentioned the top five tips to select the right plasma-cutting consumables.