 SIZING A PLASMA SYSTEM
Q. I'm getting ready to purchase a table with Hypertherm plasma. I'm looking at the Powermax105 since I will be doing some 1” plate piercing and cutting. However, the majority of my cut work will be 1/4" and 1/2" steel. Your website suggests sizing a plasma to the thickness you are going to cut 80 percent of the time. That said, will the Powermax105 have issues of being "under loaded" on thinner material and shorten machine life or reduce cut quality? How "adjustable" is the plasma without compromising its optimum range? Thanks for the help.
A. Good question. It comes up often. The Powermax105 uses the same torch and consumables as our Powermax65 and Powermax85 systems, meaning it uses FineCut consumables below 10 gauge, 45 amp shielded consumables below ¼”, 65 amp shielded below 5/8”, 85 amp shielded below ¾”, and 105 amp consumables above 5/8”. Cut quality on the thin materials is identical to that of the smaller systems. There is no such thing as “under loaded!”
The Powermax105 is factory rated to pierce up though 7/8”, however if you use special techniques you should be able to pierce 1” material on occasion. Simply set a higher pierce height and longer pierce delay time. If you have any further questions feel free to contact me directly at askjim@hypertherm.com.
Best regards, Jim Colt
Jim Colt
Hypertherm's Jim Colt is an avid fabricator who has worked with plasma cutting systems for more than 35 years. He is the author of many articles and
white papers on plasma cutting and a frequent speaker at key industry conferences. If you have a question you'd like Jim to answer please send it to askjim@hypertherm.com.
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