New guy problems

[robbyh78]

Officially my first post here so might as well show how much I don't yet know lol..

Just setup my table and I descided to jump in head first, because why not lol..
Table is a WrightCNC 4x4 with a Hypertherm 45xp (currently the THC was on back order and is in route) so Z is set in code at .6"

Setup some 12ga sheet metal and away I went..
First area cut on the program.


2nd area cut in same program


3rd area cut in same program


I stopped it shortly after due to cut inconsistency and a lot of warping the 12ga..

All tools in sheetcam are set per Hypertherm manuel for steel cutting. After I did realize I had selected 10g for tool cutting to that im sure helped with the warping but still not sure why it did not cut through. Consumables were new (few test cuts on thin material). Compressor was at 90 psi at the regulator at the compressor.

So any idea why it started off so bad? it got better but was not consistent and did not cut through all the time. I'm guessing a bunch of the issue is due to torch height and hopefully will be fixed when the THC arrives.

[Paint Chip]

Z is set in code at .6"

You must mean 0.06, correct? 0.6 is way too high. Did you do a torch-off test run and stop the machine half way through to verify the cut height is where it's supposed to be? How much line pressure loss do you have - you need a P gauge at the Hypertherm to know for sure you have the min pressure for cutting. Did you verify the steps per inch of travel are correct? Did you run any tests to determine if your torch volts run where the factory setting says they should on simple straight lines? If they don't, it could be a lot of things like the ground connection, etc. Warping (which would happen if you used too slow a speed setting) would also throw off torch voltage a lot - are you using a water table or no? Some description of your system would help people here to figure out what some of your issues might be. There is quite a bit of set-up and verifying that should be done prior to running cut files. I know the desire to start running is high with a new table but you need to go through a proper set-up verification and debug or you will end up with frustration over poor performance. If you haven't done this, I highly recommend you take a step backwards and check out the basics first.

[robbyh78]

Yes .06 is where it was set.

I do not have a P gauge at the hypertherm but the pressure at the machine is at 100 psi, no other items connected.

The setting for steps per inch are per the hypertherm chart, however my chart did not have 12 gauge. It went from 10 to 14 so I used the 10 settings originally. I have since added a tool for the 12 gauge.

Table is a down draft, I'm going to build a water pan for it in a few weeks most likely.

I believe I worked out some of the issues.. I added a tool for 12 gauge with settings in between the 10 and 14. I also discovered I had doubled the torch cut height cause I was setting it at .06 prior to the start and the g-code would add another .06 into it after the start. Because I switched post processes (since I'm still waiting on my THC to arrive).

So after that I cut a few 6" tall letters from the same sheet of steel that I was having issues with and it was noticeably better. The pics show the letters. There was a little amount of dross all around but not too bad. I do need to run a line test as well to further dial in the settings.

[james.davis]

looks like burnt out consumables
Jim