Cut 40 plasma cutter - help!

Hi

I have just bought this off Ebay, it was for sale from a company dealing in machine returns and had no guarantee and was not guaranteed to work. The torch and earth clamp were missing but I got it ridiculously cheap (£30!)compared with the normal price of these cutters.

The cutter arrived today and I found that the airline intake on the back was blocked up with saw dust (maybe why it was sent back?) Anyway I plugged it in to see if it actually turned on. The fan started up and the red light in the on switch came on.

I then took the cover off to look inside; it was far more complicate than I thought. Anyway I found some LED’s on one of the boards (diagnostics system?), when I turned the power on only a green LED was on so I assume there are no problems with the internal electrics?

On the front panel of the cutter is a small red light with the letter 'OC' above it, should this light come on when the cutter is switched on or is it a warning light?

The next step is to get a torch and earth lead and try it, however I need to be sure before I spend any money that the cutter will actually work, any thoughts?

Does anyone know where I can get an instruction manual for this cutter? Also where would be a good place to get a torch (cheap!), I had a look at Shop-river on Ebay and they seemed to have some good deals. Also should there be a filter on the back for the air, or is this only optional?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as this is my first plasma.

Thanks

Will

I would guess that Oc could be open circuit. A filer would reduce the ingress of rubbish into the back but shouldn't be a big problem for a diy use and a tin of air dust or airline blow out periodically should get the dust and swarf out.

Funny that, I was looking at exactly the same auction. I was tempted to buy both the units the guy was selling, as the other one looked like it had the pouch with all the ancilliaries. Anyway the price's got too high for me when added to the £15 delivery charge needed. Too much for me to spend on a potential door stop.

I would love to see you get this working though. I guess your next step is to buy the torch to give the thing a whirl. At a guess I would say OC is more likely Over Current, as you will surely know when the thing is open circuit??

Hi Guys

I have a very similar cutter to that, the oc light I think will only come on during an overload situation, as ive used mine a fair bit and never had the light come on yet or had it cut out, the manual is pretty hopeless, less than 1/4 page of A4 with no real info, except air supply at 40psi, thats about it.
The switch with the 2.5 or 5 on it is just the after blow time once you stop cutting, eg the air continues for 2.5secs or 5 secs.
As bonepyro says the only way you will know if it works will be to connect a torch and try it.
You also said about a filter, mine came with a small filter regulator which fits on a bracket at the back of the machine so I can just plug in my shop air at 8bar and it reduces it to the 40psi the machine requires, plus it filters it again.

regards paul..

Hi, i'm no expert but the OC light may be on because you have no air supply, and no torch.
The units I have used did this if it over heated, if there was no air supply or the tip was worn. I'm sure somebody on here will lend you one if you ask nicely.

hope this gives you some hope

dave

My bought-from-the-dump Clarke cutter had the overheat light on all the time when I first started working on it, on mine it was due to the spade terminal on the over-heat sensor having pulled off and left hanging.....

If I read the post correctly, the OC light isn't on, like the others have said, it's a warning light. You should really run that with a filter/regulator on the back, the dryer the air the better. You should be able to get a torch for that quite cheaply, Shop-River would certainly be able to supply one.

Hi Everyone

I have just been sent an instruction manual (quiet useful). I will get a filter after I have got a torch (just to test the machine before spending any more money!). I have just been looking at torch consumables, when I buy a torch should I get the standard sized electrodes or the longer ones as spares, are the longer ones easier to use?

Thanks very much for all the help and advice.

Will

I think it uses a PT-31 torch, check with "shop-river" he's really helpful and has helped me plenty of times.
He sells packs of the electrodes and tip spares for that model...

Have just ordered a PT-31 torch from shop river (should be here before the new year - fingers crossed!), I have also purchased and fitted an air filter/regulator and made up an earth lead.

Will keep you updated on my progress with the cutter.

Will

I find the longer tips easier to allow profiles which can be made from hardboard or mdf

The torch arrived from China today! I connected it to the cutter, then connected an airline and plugged the cutter in. At this point I was very nervous! Would it work? I found a piece of 1mm steel, connected the earth clamp and set the air regulator, and to my surprise it worked!! I did a few test cuts (photo bellow), but haven't had a chance to try anything thicker yet.

So for around £80 I have a working plasma cutter! - just need to practice my cuts now!

Thanks to everyone for your help and advice.

Will

Well done Will
Another thumbs-up for shop-river too!

Watch out that big pile of scrap will suddenly turn to small bits!
RESULT.....well done, Will.
dusty

thats great will, you must be really pleased, i love to see a bargain working out

CUT 40 - Help Information

Hi, We have produced instructions for these machines, as the Chinese ones - Whilst very amusing - are not very informative. The OC light is "Over Current" and takes inputs from approx 5 sources and cuts the machine off with a 10 sec reset in the circuit.
Essentially the internals of these Chinese Plasma Cutters are the same and the faults are similar on all of them and are usually not substantial. We have loaded the units to 20% above normal working power and they work fine.
My bet is the blockage has caused the airflow to be restricted and the safety circuit has worked as it should do.
I will not place contact information directly here as Malcolm will get cross with me!!
Contact me privately and I will provide the instructions for them.
Cheers Mike.

zen24788 said:

CUT 40 - Help Information

Hi, We have produced instructions for these machines, as the Chinese ones - Whilst very amusing - are not very informative. The OC light is "Over Current" and takes inputs from approx 5 sources and cuts the machine off with a 10 sec reset in the circuit.
Essentially the internals of these Chinese Plasma Cutters are the same and the faults are similar on all of them and are usually not substantial. We have loaded the units to 20% above normal working power and they work fine.
My bet is the blockage has caused the airflow to be restricted and the safety circuit has worked as it should do.
I will not place contact information directly here as Malcolm will get cross with me!!
Contact me privately and I will provide the instructions for them.
Cheers Mike.

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Hi mike I could do with owners manual for cut40d plasme send me your details and i will get back to you.regard pat

catman said:

Hi mike I could do with owners manual for cut40d plasme send me your details and i will get back to you.regard pat

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