Cutting Thin Brass

[Amiceli]

I've tried searching with lots of mixed messages and old posts.. I have a project where I need to cut some .020 brass (260-H02) sheet. I'm not certain if I should cut this using aluminum or steel setups with my hypotherm 105 sync - assume i'll use a 45 fine cut for it.

I've seen posts even on here that say both.. cut it fast, and cut it slow lol.. cut it like aluminum and cut it like steel.. so just trying to have someone set me straight

Thanks!

[tinspark]

We have cut brass in the past with no issues. However, we most often sheared stuff that thin because most was for architectural work and highly visible. And radius stuff would be with a unishear and new cotton gloves. (fingerpints)
There will be slight discoloration at the edge of the cut. But that may not matter.
And I assume that it does nit and that was taken into consideration.
Hopefully you have a little extra to try something out to play with settings.
Try a few different set points and see which one you prefer.
If you cut it at stainless settings, maybe pencil in your manual the actual settings that you come up with for brass.
If you cut it at aluminum settings, I would do the same thing, take notes.
I would not be surprised if they both cut fine, especially for material that thin.
But I would likely throw in new consumables JIC.
I would suggest that you do a few line cuts and dial it in. Or heck as mentioned above, call it a day and roll with one of the two aforementioned book settings after sampling a line cut at a area where it will be drop. you may nail it close enough to just roll with it.
I am always surprised how easy things are after the fact, especially when the job goes smooth
I guess the takeaway here is to do a sample line cut, then take a few notes for future reference.
the cut high speed cut low speed recommendations that you read about is actually promising and always assures me that the range for cutting this stuff is large, and that it actually cuts easily.. some have experienced acceptable cuts both ways
let-er-rip!

[weldguy]

Great advice from Doug above. Frustrating when you read 2 completely opposing techniques, hard to know where to start. Here is quote from Jim Colt in another topic on PS, you can't go wrong listening to him

There are different grades of brass....and they cut differently. As a general rule of thumb...use the specs from your plasma system manual for cutting aluminum...but reduce the cut speed 20 to 30%. The edge will be a bit rough (like aluminum).

Jim

Here is the topic where that comes from viewtopic.php?t=1391

So go with the advice from these guys and of course since it is so thin use the Finecut nozzle and experiment with 45 amps or less.