hello all, just got my computer back. havent been on in a while.
met up with a guy who builds armor. alot of his parts an peices are a bit spendy to ship up to dj alaska. he wants me to cut 300 of these little 2x4ish plates out of 20 ga stainless. that shouldnt be an issue. its the ten 1/8 holes in each one that im worried about. coldest i can go with my plasma cutter is 30A. havent messed with stainless much. tips, tricks, thoughts anybody?
armor - Best Way To Cut It
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jimcolt
- 5 Star Elite Contributing Member
- Posts: 3087
- Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:18 pm
- Location: North Carolina
Re: armor
You don't mention what plasma system you have or what type of cnc cutting machine and height control you are using....some will cut decent holes, some will not!
Nitrogen in an air plasma will not make a noticeable difference in regards to warpage....and it likeley will produce a little more dross. The only real advantage with nitrogen is slightly longer torch electrode life.
If you could submerge the stainless underwater...then use nitrogen....you would get an oxide free cut edge on stainless as the oxygen in the ambient air will not be surrounding the cut edge.
On the small holes...if they are critical, just use the plasma to pierce, then use a cobalt drill to finish drill the holes. Cobalt is required as the plasma cut holes will be hardened.
Jim Colt Hypertherm
Nitrogen in an air plasma will not make a noticeable difference in regards to warpage....and it likeley will produce a little more dross. The only real advantage with nitrogen is slightly longer torch electrode life.
If you could submerge the stainless underwater...then use nitrogen....you would get an oxide free cut edge on stainless as the oxygen in the ambient air will not be surrounding the cut edge.
On the small holes...if they are critical, just use the plasma to pierce, then use a cobalt drill to finish drill the holes. Cobalt is required as the plasma cut holes will be hardened.
Jim Colt Hypertherm
