hypertherm 85a, piranha plasma cutting aluminum issues

[Chris_m42]

i have been having trouble with my plasma cutter here recently and looking for advice. I usually cut steel from 10g to 1/2 with no problem, tried to cut some 1/4 aluminum and haven't been able to make any progress, I've been cutting it for a few hours now and cannot seem to get my consumables to last, been running consumables that i normally do on steel. I can make 20 ish parts not big maybe 2 inches by 3 one pierce each part with the suggested settings from the hypertherm manual, my nozzles keep getting pieces of aluminum to the ends and failing giving us bad cuts, and maybe lasting anywhere from 10-30 mins with each set with electrode and nozzle. the retaining cap and consumables also are sometimes very hot/ untouchable hot to the touch, since I've been cutting this. any advice please reply.

[acourtjester]

Cutting Aluminum is a different process then steel. I would tune off the plasma and use the single step option to execute each line by it self. When you get to the pierce height do a manual check to see if the pierce height is correct. Check both what the DRO for Z shows and measure it tip to metal with a feeler gauge.

[adbuch]

Here are some tips from Hypertherm on plasma cutting aluminum.

https://www.hypertherm.com/en-US/resour ... -aluminum/

Also some advise from Jim Colt.

I do like Tom's idea of pausing before your pierce to make sure you are indeed at the "book" height. Also as Jim Colt mentions, check your pierce delay time to make sure it is correct for the material and thickness you are cutting. I'm not sure if anti-spatter spray would be of any help here if your problem is the aluminum spatter getting into the nozzle.

David

[DieselFumes]

Aluminum particulate sticking to the nozzle can be reduced by increasing the pierce height, reducing the pierce delay, and using a longer lead in. This setup will fire the torch higher, begin moving sooner (even before it has completely pierced), and ideally by the time your at the end of your lead in and getting into the cut profile your torch is at the correct cutting height and cutting 100% through the plate. Give it a try and I think you will find an improvement in the amount of material that sticks to the torch consumables. Also are you running a shielded consumable combo or unshielded?