Cutting 1/4 inch steel with Finecut Nozzle

[deannasanmiguel]

I adjusted the material thickness on my plasmacam to .25 but I do not know what cut speed, rapid travel speed ect. to set.. (it tells me they aren't correct, but I don't know where to look to find the correct settings. Also, I have been cutting decorative things with 16 gauge metal using fine tip consumables. HELP......please..

[BrianMick]

could use a little more info.. power source....type of cutter.....consumables? etc.....
Brian

[deannasanmiguel]

I have a hypertherm powermax 65 attached to a plasmacam table. I have been using hypertherm fine tip consumables, however, I have others. (I think I should not use fine tip consumables on this?)

[Capstone]

I would just use your recommended "Production Settings" Hypertherm 65 cut sheet found on page 3-27 of the Powermax 65/85 REV 2 Operators Manual. Probably need to change to the shielded consumables.

http://www.hypertherm.com/en/Products/H ... ax65.jsp#7

[JEd]

With my PM65 I cut at whatever the book settings are using 45 amp shielded consumables with excellent results.

[abmagrum]

fine cut is not heavy enough for 1/4 inch

[deannasanmiguel]

thank you. I did change to the shielded consumables, and the guidelines in my hypertherm guide. It cut, however, it took about 5 passes to cut all of the way through.... uugghh...not sure what to "tweak"...

[bigcreek]

Finecuts are too small, the thickest they are rated to cut is 10 gauge on the powermax 65. To cut 1/4" either use the 45amp or 65 amp nozzles. I cut 1/4" at 90" per minute at 65 amps. Be sure to change your arc voltage shift from around .73 to around 1.28 when you change from finecut to standard. You will have to change your shield as well but the electrode and swirl ring are the same. I get zero dross at those settings on clean metal.

[beefy]

I did hear of some guy cutting 1/4 inch steel with Finecuts, but I have not done it myself. The guy reckons he got very good quality too. I just used the 45 amp nozzles last time I cut this thickness and got a nice cut.

[plain ol Bill]

Finecuts are not rated for 1/4" material. Now with that said and out of the way -- if finecuts were all I had and I had to get a job out quickly I would run at 40 amps, put in a pierce delay between .20 & .30 seconds, raise your pierce height a little and slow my cut speed down until I got an acceptable cut. Run some test cuts to find the sweet spot - it can be done but not really recommended.

[kbenz]

thank you. I did change to the shielded consumables, and the guidelines in my hypertherm guide. It cut, however, it took about 5 passes to cut all of the way through.... uugghh...not sure what to "tweak"...

need more info? cut speed, volts, height

[nalin400m]

Here is some 1/4" I just cut using fine cut consumables.

[acourtjester]

What were your amps, speed, pierce height, and cut height for that cut you show above??

[jimcolt]

Finecut consumables are rated (see the cut charts in the operators manual) for 10 gauge and thinner. The major limitation is with piercing thicker than 10 gauge.....which will cause rapid wear on the Finecut nozzle as compared to the 45 amp shielded nozzle.

The other issue with Finecut on materials thicker than 10 gauge is that they will have either a very narrow or non existent speed range that produces dross free cuts, the 45 amp shielded consumables have a much wider dross free interval.

For the original poster....please follow the cutting specifications in the Hypertherm Powermax operators manual. There are many pages of mechanized cut charts for various materials and thicknesses. In the charts are the suggested consumables (be sure to use the parts recommended for machine cutting....even if you are using a hand torch on your cnc machine). The charts have Amperage, Pierce Height, Pierce delay, cut height, and recommended cut speeds. Follow these charts and you will get a good cut.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

[motoguy]

Here is some 1/4" I just cut using fine cut consumables.

Andrew,

Were you just playing around with this, or is a 1/4" cut with Finecut a regular production part for you?

[nalin400m]

The only time I have used fine cut on 1/4" was this part.

[jimcolt]

You can get good cuts with Finecut on materials thicker than they are rated for, which is a maximum of 10 gauge. Expect very short nozzle life if you want to cut thicker than 10 gauge as these consumables are not designed to pierce thicker materiasl...and the nozzle orifice will erode rather quickly. The 45 amp shielded parts do and excellent job between 16 gauge and 3/8", and will last 2 to 4 times longer than Finecut consumables when cutting above 10 gauge. Jim Colt Hypertherm