fine cut problem

[cpreston]

Soo what do ya all think. Bought 2 packs of nozzles and went through them like bam. then bought another pack and back up to my normal cutting.

[comeoutswingin]

My personal experience with them is that they suck. Low life length, sometimes cuts would randomly not cut all the way through. I even tried running them higher as Jim Colt suggested but in the end I was throwing money away trying to run them. Would be awesome if I could get them to work, because when they do cut, they do cut a smaller kerf.

[abmetal]

I've been using them for 10+ years and have good luck with them. They don't last quite as long as the other nozzles but they work for me.

Allen

[sphurley]

What shield are you using? I have great luck with them.
Using the 220948 shield and yes I do run them a little higher like Jim suggests.
I also spray them with Mig shield nozzle spray (I think that is what it's called)

[redheadfred]

I can't get a ton of life out of mine as well , went back to using the 45amp consumables for my machine

[motoguy]

I like the finecuts, though I also struggle with them intermittently not cutting all the way through the material. I also seem to have an issue of my THC randomly retracting to about .25" when using finecuts.

I'm not placing this solely on the finecuts, though. It seems to be a combination of both THC and the finecuts. I'd love to determine the cause of the issue. These are my most significant complaints with my table.

[BTA Plasma]

If you want 100% success with fine cut consumables you NEED to have DRY and Filtered air. Anything that gets into that beam will screw it up. Folks forget about the filter

[motoguy]

My air runs from the compressor head through 60' of 3/4" copper, then a Hayden 1290 cooler, then a 3/4" Master Pneumatic filter, into the tank. Exits tank to another 3/4" MP filter, then 3/4" MP filter/regulator, then plasma circuit. Another 3/4" MP filter, 3/4" MP filter/regulator, to 1/2" MotorGuard M60 filter. From there into a Wilkerson X40 desiccant filter, through another Motorguard M60 filter, and finally to the plasma. 3 auto drains on the copper/cooler run. Auto drain on the bottom of the compressor.

That's 60' of copper, 1290 cooler, (3) 3/4" MP filters, (2) 3/4" MP regulator/filters, (2) Motorguard M60s, and a good sized dessicant dryer before hitting the plasma. From what I can tell, I don't have a moisture or debris problem in my air lines. I check the Motorguard filters when I recharge the desiccant, and both look brand new. Since I ran everything (to the Motorguards, anyway) in 3/4", I don't have a pressure drop issue at the Plasma. Never had it kick off for low air flow, even when the compressor is at the bottom of it's cycle. I did adjust the compressor to kick on at 100psi, instead of the 90psi setting it shipped with.

I have a refrigerated dryer, but I've not felt the need to hook it up yet. I've been cutting since January, and my desiccant is currently sitting in the oven drying out for the 2nd time. I also have a Motorguard M100 (oil/cartridge) filter, but I've not installed it in the system. I do get a LOT of water out of those auto drains, though.

[BTA Plasma]

Great! Then the next thing. How fast do you have your DTHC set for up and down speed in your hub admin? For fine gauge thin material you can tune it up to 100ipm up and down. If you have 80up and 30down then your not coming back down fast enough at 300ipm cut speed to actually follow the material. The many options are awesome and fantastic to have but you can get into trouble when they are mishandled.

[motoguy]

I've got 110 up, 35 down, 30 accel. DTHC sensitivity at 16, DTHC tracking at 4. 200 upper volt fault limit, 50 lower volt fault limit. Tip saver is OFF. Volt tracking tolerance 0.5

I was following Tom's recommendation (read in another post) to have the DOWN speed roughly 1/3 of the UP speed. Also to have the DTHC setting on the "slower" side to avoid torch bouncing up and down.

With Stepper tuning, the "slow" sensitivity rate is 4, and tracking = 0. "medium" rate is sensitivy 16, tracking 0. "fast" is sensitivity 24, tracking 16. I'm sure YOU know what this does, but I don't necessarily (other than Tom's advice to (paraphrasing) "keep it slow unless you're on corrugated to avoid tip bouncing").

I'm going to be cutting some 22ga for the first time, as well. What ballpark settings would your recommend for a Bulltear machine, for 22g, 14g, and 10g (steel)?

[BTA Plasma]

Your not in the ballpark for down velocity. Youll shoot up and then come down at 35ipm. Bring that number up to 70 and see how it cuts.

[urbnsr]

Looking at the photo, how high of amps are used with these?

I do have issues when using a new nozzle on thicker (11ga) material not cutting all the way through. Other than that, I have only replaced the finecut nozzles because I feel guilty that I have been running them so long compared to my 65 amp nozzles use patterns. I am usually cutting 16ga mild steel, but have also cut a decent quantity of 11ga steel.

[jimcolt]

Fine cut consumables will never achieve the same life as the 45 amp shielded consumables....a totally different design and purpose.

Finecut nozzles are non shielded (yes.....even when used with the 220948 shield) and do not have the conical flow design (and the full coverage shield technology) that the 45 amp shielded consumables have.

What the Finecut gives up in life.....it gives back in cut edge squareness on materials 10 gauge and thinner. Personally...I use Finecut on 12 ga and thinner....I like the results of the 45 amp shielded parts better on 10 ga for most needs. The Finecut also provides a .006" to .010" narrower cut kerf.

Here is how to be successful and get a thousand feet or more of cut out of a Finecut nozzle:

- Clean dry air at the correct inlet pressure
-Use the 220948 shield
-Use Ohmic contact to accurately find the surface......if your machine does not have ohmic...then I suggest not using Finecut if you also want goo quality and life.
-Height is critical, critical critical. I use the book spec on materials 16 gauge and thinner (.06" on steel), and I cut higher on 14, 12 and 10 gauge (.07 to .08")....your height control must be accurate and be set correctly....or again, don't use these consumables!


I have a set in my torch (right now) that I have used on a project (a lot of 16 gauge, some 12 ga and some 10 ga) for the last few weeks...I have well over 1000 feet of cut and the quality is excellent. Not a slight bit of dross on most of the 16 gauge....just a little bit on bolt holes and small slots.

Some swear by the Finecuts, some hate them. To me they are used when I need the cleanest most accurate cuts on thin materials.....with the advantage of being able to cut slower than the shielded 45 amp parts. Jim Colt

[zoeconner]

I've been using fine cut for years. Love them. The biggest thing I've found was to make sure I dont have any water in the lines. I have an air dryer but I still drain the tank. I produces a lot of water and I drain every 6 months. Makes a big difference and less work for the dryer. I run Hyper and Miller

[Brand X]

It's going to be nice if Hypertherm ever releases the proper low amp nozzles for Larger air cooled torches. In the mean time I just run the Victor stuff on some of the thinner materiel .. I am really not a fan of fine cuts either.. Just give me some standard 30 amp/etc nozzles and be done with it.. Will it be soon/ever?