What's plasma cutting 0.8mm-1mm mild steel look like?

[many_methods]

Hi all,
I'm looking to buy a plasma cutter to cut some intricate shapes on steel sheet by hand. However, I wondered if someone could share pics of what the edges look like after plasma cutting 1mm mild steel? Ideally I need smooth, crisp lines without the need for grinding dross off the back of it for hours afterwards. Could anyone share some pics?

Assuming all looks good I've being eyeing a Stahlwerk unit for around the £250 mark. I'm open to other suggestions however.

I don't need a monster unit as I'm only planning on cutting thin sheet, and it'll only be on a 13A supply anyway. More interested in getting a clean finish tbh.

Thanks!

 

[julianthegypsy]

1mm is very easy and quick. Any plasma cutter with decent (I.e. not old and tired) tips should do a good clean job.

 

[skotl]

Per Julian, 1mm is very easy and quick however the quality of the cut depends on a lot of variables, which I guess is what the OP is getting at.

Too slow and there will be a wider hole and too fast (which is admittedly harder to do on 1mm) increases the chances of leaving a ragged cut. Even with 1mm there will be a little bit of dross, which is easily ground or chipped off.

The deciding factor is the human in a manual process. An automated machine will be incredibly neat, especially at 1mm, but a manual cut is always going to be variable in quality.

10 year old video on 2mm steel:

Recent review of mine on 3mm steel: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/RR26537A594HB

I know these aren't 1mm but you can probably increase the quality x 2 or x 3 if transposing to 1mm. If you can hold off a while I can probably do a video on 1mm at the weekend.

 

[julianthegypsy]

I should have said, as @skotl said, you will need a bit of practice cutting manually to get speed and cutting height right and get nice clean cuts, but 1mm is very easy compared to thicker stuff which cuts more slowly and is less forgiving with speed and height variation.

 

[Dapph2]

A Lidl with compressor Plasma cutter would be ideal and not very expensive . Keep the shallow + in the end of the nozzle unblocked and use a triangular file to clean the grooves of the +
Once you have the plasma cutter , spare consumables are available from TEMU or Ali Express , getting couple of dozen from them in ready to go sets is sensible , for it's easy to knacker a few if you haven't used a plasma cutter before ...

Guess what I've got and how I know about needing ready to hand spares instead of waiting several weeks to get them ?

. Intricate shapes can be had by using a cut to 10 mm size profile shape above the required shape cut line , make them in hardboard or 5 mm ply . Yes they do eventually burn so a master copy of the mask is also handy , so you can replicate even more masks . I have made a simple 10 mm spacer Yale looking type aluminium key so I can mark off where my guide strips ( for straight lines ) and the masks needs placing .

 

[roofman]

I find having the air pressure 5 to 10 psi higher than whats stated on unit really helps with keeping the cuts cleaner and prolonging tip/nozzel life.

 

[Agroshield]

Too slow and there will be a wider hole...

An indicator of the optimum speed at which you might need to move your hands could be seen by looking at the cutting parameters a CNC machine uses when set to work on that material. Maybe someone who has a CNC plasma could look to see home many metres per minute thier machine uses.

 

[8ob]

Hi all,
I'm looking to buy a plasma cutter to cut some intricate shapes on steel sheet by hand. However, I wondered if someone could share pics of what the edges look like after plasma cutting 1mm mild steel? Ideally I need smooth, crisp lines without the need for grinding dross off the back of it for hours afterwards. Could anyone share some pics?

Assuming all looks good I've being eyeing a Stahlwerk unit for around the £250 mark. I'm open to other suggestions however.

I don't need a monster unit as I'm only planning on cutting thin sheet, and it'll only be on a 13A supply anyway. More interested in getting a clean finish tbh.

Thanks!

Because of the speed at which a plasma cutter gets through 1mm plate intricate shapes and by hand will only work if you are running the tip around a template.

Bob

 

[Mark 2]

As above, you'll need templates and a very steady hand for a low fettle finish.

 

[many_methods]

Really helpful responses, thanks all!

Skotl - thanks for the vid (great to see the lad getting involved). I think I'll bite the bullet and go for it so don't worry about a separate video but i appreciate the offer.

Ta!

 

[BrokenBiker]

Per Julian, 1mm is very easy and quick however the quality of the cut depends on a lot of variables, which I guess is what the OP is getting at.

Too slow and there will be a wider hole and too fast (which is admittedly harder to do on 1mm) increases the chances of leaving a ragged cut. Even with 1mm there will be a little bit of dross, which is easily ground or chipped off.

The deciding factor is the human in a manual process. An automated machine will be incredibly neat, especially at 1mm, but a manual cut is always going to be variable in quality.

10 year old video on 2mm steel:

Recent review of mine on 3mm steel: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/RR26537A594HB

I know these aren't 1mm but you can probably increase the quality x 2 or x 3 if transposing to 1mm. If you can hold off a while I can probably do a video on 1mm at the weekend.

is your hitbox plasma the 55A?

looking at them now and it claims it only needs a 13A supply, that sound right?

 

[dave h 2]

BTW
If you do get dross on the back side of the plate it will just chip off with a big screwdriver as it's not really attached.
Drag cutters without pilot arc keep all the flame on the back of the plate so wood templates last a lot longer.