Cutting Brass sheet

[AdrianH]

I had a go at cutting brass sheet for the first time today, quite thin at 1.6mm or 16 gauge.

I treated it just like cutting mild steel of the same thickness, same Amps and speed. I did have some melting and sticky dross on the bottom edges of the cut where it seemed to have remelted, not a lot but still there.

Now because I have a very low power cutter on my home made table I can not go to standard charts for different metals, but just wondering if anyone could advise if they would normally use same Amps but speed up, less Amps same speed etc.

So just after a bit of an idea what changes you would normally do as against Mild Steel (hot rolled)?

Cheers

Adrian

[jimcolt]

You don't mention what make and model Plasma Cutter you are using. If it is a Hypertherm I suggest using the aluminum cut specifications for cutting brass sheet of the same thickness. Start at the same speed....if heavy bottom dross keep increasing the speed until the cut looks best. Cut height should be maintained at .06". Jim Colt Hypertherm

[AdrianH]

Hi Jim;

Well somewhat embarrassing on this forum really, but it's just a Chinese cut 40, so I am well down on power compared to even a small series Hypertherm.

All very small home made hobby cnc stuff, so you see there are no charts for me to try, but you have suggested something to try next time and that is all I was after, to see if anyone can suggest which way to go. So thank you for that.

The cut width was fine, I did manage to knock the work retrieving a dropout, but for a play it went OK.

smallclock.jpg (38.35 KiB) Viewed 1475 times

smallclock.jpg (38.35 KiB) Viewed 1475 times

I must find out about brasses as this stuff is harder to bend than 1.6 hot rolled. It may go back on the table some time for more of a play.

Adrian

[hdfaster]

I cut quite a bit of brass. Just turn the speed up.

[Scratch]

I cut quite a bit of brass. Just turn the speed up.]

Oooooh... I really like that USMC sign... The contrast is very cool! I think I'm going to have to try something like that!

[hdfaster]

I cut quite a bit of brass. Just turn the speed up.]

Oooooh... I really like that USMC sign... The contrast is very cool! I think I'm going to have to try something like that!

The 41.5" carbide tipped saw mill blade does not cut easily, but the brass cuts like butta. I just pull those parts of the image and close the loop then delete the lead in. I then click on the outside of the parts for cut path and that changes the offset enough for a pretty good fit. Have to play around sometimes on smaller pieces.