Your support slat style may matter more than you think.

[Deezl Smoke]

So just for the info, my table came with .125"x2.5" flat bar slats. They can be flipped. I have replaced them several times as when the dross gets built up, there is no place for the plasma stream to exit for that short distance.
I'm going to change up to the "shark tooth" style soon to hopefully get away from the issue that I finally remembered to take a few pictures of.
My table run a 105amp PM, and often times there is a fair bit of slat damage with much cutting. I think the shark tooth style will help that greatly....I hope.

Here a few pictures of .25" A36 mild I cut this morning with 65 amp hardware. As the torch would pass over a slat with a lot of buildup, it would jump up a bit, then back down. These pictures should show the cut issue when the torch crossed one of those spots.

slat 1.jpg

slat 2.jpg

slat 3.jpg

slat 4.jpg

[acourtjester]

Since you say "it would jump up" I assume you have a THC, have you tied to play with the speed setting on the THC so it dies not react so quickly???
the shark tooth will reduce the area the slat makes contact with the metal you are cutting too.

[Deezl Smoke]

Yes I do, and yes I did. Tcaudle helped with that in the "Random tip saver" thread in the CandCNC pages. But the plasma stream needs a place to go. Some of the heavily used areas of the slats are now near a half inch wide with build up.

[adbuch]

Would anti-spatter spray on the slats help to keep the slag/dross from sticking and/or make them easier to scrape off?
David

Maybe something like this.
https://arc-depot.com/products/walter-e ... ti-spatter

[PlasmaDon]

I made mine from .06 (1/16") thick material.
Have not had any problems yet.

[SegoMan DeSigns]

I have ran all slat designs, flat, a small 1/4" high tip ever 1-1/2' and the sharks tooth design, Like you say the higher the amps the more this becomes noticeable. The dross build up on flats compounds with every use and must be cleaned to keep your material from rocking on it. The sharks tooth design last longer as the lower parts of the notch is normally under water preventing dross from sticking to it.

I also made mine reversible to get my money worth from them.The center row of slats come out as 2 units by removing 8 bolts, this allows me to cut materials 12"+ tall. Putting a bow in the slats will prevent them from getting split if the torch should end up over them on a straight cut"

Reversible Slats.jpg

School of white tip sharks (Laundry Soda) which helps prevent dross build up also:

IMG_20200808_120126325.jpg

This is a 105 Amp 1 " HR plate cut job, showing how the Sharks Tooth Design holds the work up for uniform cutting:

IMG_20231218_130830140_HDR.jpg

[Deezl Smoke]

I guess I need to take more pictures when the table is empty. I can't find one on my pc. But here's an old pic of some of the slats. Because my table is 12' long, the ends don't see so much activity. I usually end up changing the centers out for the ends mid point between installing new ones. You can see the left side shows some of the build up starting, and the right is toward the end of the table.
It appears that the plasma stream, when using high amperage, cuts into the slat and because it's a water table, that molted cut slat is not completely oxidized or whatever the reaction is and is really difficult to impossible to remove it. A lot of it can be removed, but not all.

20240429_170557.jpg

[Deezl Smoke]

I have ran all slat designs, flat, a small 1/4" high tip ever 1-1/2' and the sharks tooth design, Like you say the higher the amps the more this becomes noticeable. The dross build up on flats compounds with every use and must be cleaned to keep your material from rocking on it. The sharks tooth design last longer as the lower parts of the notch is normally under water preventing dross from sticking to it.

I also made mine reversible to get my money worth from them.The center row of slats come out as 2 units by removing 8 bolts, this allows me to cut materials 12"+ tall. Putting a bow in the slats will prevent them from getting split if the torch should end up over them on a straight cut.


Reversible Slats.jpg


School of white tip sharks (Laundry Soda) which helps prevent dross build up also


IMG_20200808_120126325.jpg

Love it !!
My flat slats do have a bow in them.
I've been using quench guard in the water. You use laundry soda? Like the arm and hammer type?

[SegoMan DeSigns]

I get it from Walmart and can do 350 gal of water for about $15:

Laundry Soda.jpeg

[Deezl Smoke]

I get it from Walmart and can do 350 gal of water for about $15:

Yep, when you said laundry soda, that's exactly the stuff I was thinking. I think I may even have a box on hand as I often make my own laundry detergent. Thanks for the tip and ratio.

[stdave66]

After I clean my slats, I've been spraying them down with cheap store brand cooking spray. Even that seems to help.

[Deezl Smoke]

Hmm....I wonder what spacing this cut inconsistency is on?

slat spacing.jpg

[DieselFumes]

Would have been a sweet looking edge otherwise