I need help

[wrenchhead]

I have been cutting with my table now for about 2 months(tracker 5x10 with hypertherm powermax 1250). Everything was going good till i decided that I wanted to cut some more detailed pieces. I bought a set of the fine cut tips and everything went haywire. I have tried everything that i can find on the site and nothing seems to work. The problem is that my torch only pierces every once in a while. I cut some test pieces and thought i had it set just rite but when i tried a detailed cut it turned out horrible (picture). I tried the settings frm hypertherm manual and adjusted frm there. I talked to the guys at tracker they told me that I may need to turn the machine up a bit to get a good pierce with the finer tips but nothing seams to work. I am bald but if I had hair I would have pulled it all out by now. Can anyone tell me why i am not getting a full pierce on my metal(14 gauge hot rolled steel). Any help is greatly appreciated.

Bubba
Bar M Metal Art

[jimcolt]

You should be getting beautiful cuts with the FineCut consumables. Here are my guidelines:

Part numbers: Shield (deflector) 220404, Retaining cap 120928, Nozzle 220329, Electrode 120926, Swirl ring 120925.

For 14 ga steel:

Amperage 40

Cut height .08" (thickness of a nickel) Height is very very critical....this is the parameter that affects FineCut more than any other!

Pierce height .012"

Pierce delay .3 seconds

Arc voltage (in the range of 76 to 80, adjust voltage until cut height during steady state cutting is .080"....regardless of voltage setting)

Speed Between 100 and 135 inches per minute (start at 100, if part is drossy then increase speed 5 ipm per test until dross goes away) some materials and some parts with intricate detail will still have dross as the machine can not achieve optimal speeds.

Make sure your nozzle is in good shape by inspecting the orifice with a magnifier (I use a machinists eye loupe with 10x magnification) look for anything out of round such as nicks, notches or a crater around the orifice. If there are any anomaly's ....put a new nozzle in the torch. One pierce too close, or if the 220404 shield is not used, the nozzle orifice will wear quickly with FineCut parts. Also....make sure there is no moisture in your air supply.

Let me know if this helps.

Jim Colt

[wrenchhead]

Thanks Jim, nobody here in town carries the 220404 so I had to order it. I will let you know how it works for me. Can you tell me how to tell what my arc voltage is I don't find that anywhere on my settings.

[jimcolt]

How do you set the cut height on the Tracker machine....is it just a physical height that you set? I am not familiar with their Torch height control system.

Jim

[wrenchhead]

It has a stand off height(height after pierce)that is a number that you input but after that it is a dial in with a coarse and fine adjustment. I don't find anything that tells me pierce height or arc voltage.

[jimcolt]

The standoff for cutting steel with FineCut consumables is .08. 1/8" is too high and will produce a positive cut bevel as well as dross. Peirce height should be 1.5 times the recomended cut height...so set the pierce height at .12. Too high of a pierce height will kep the torch in pilot arc for a longer duration, which will crater the front of the nozzle, affecting cut quality.

You will have to adjust the arc voltage after the cut starts....just try to get the torch to work distance at .080.....thickness of a nickel.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

[wrenchhead]

Thanks guys now i frustrated that i cant get the one part till monday that i need to start tring all the great advice that yall have given me. I will definitely let yall know how it works out.

[elkriverfab]

Your picture looks very familiar........

I have had the same problem time to time with plasmacam and a hypertherm 380.

I would be cutting all day and all of a sudden I too would have the same problem.

It looked as if I forgot to use the ground clamp or I lost ground some how.

After going over everything and double checking..... It turned out to be moisture in my air lines.

I live in South Texas and the humidity is a huge problem here!!!!!!!!

It can be 90 degrees and 90% humidity.

My compressor picks it right out of the air without even trying.

I drained a 1/2 gallon of water out of my compressor yesterday after draining it just 3 days before.

My point is, your picture is not unusual.

I have had it happen while almost finished with a highly detailed cut... I had to scrap it and wipe the tears.

It gives the same effect as cutting the piece without a ground.

Jim Colt seems to be very well versed in plasma cutting and I would listen to his suggestions, print them and put them in a binder for future reference.

The man seems to have a lot of valuable knowledge and some of his posts have really helped me in the past.

Please let us all know how everything turns out.

[wrenchhead]

Alrite I finally got the sheild and made it back to the shop to try it out. It works great big differance from the standard tips to the fine cut ones. Thank you Jim and Leatherhands for all of your advice. Elk i know what you are talking about I am here in north west texas and the humidity here is not quiet as bad (50% to 80%) but water is definitly a problem.