Hypertherm powermax 45 vs R tech / plasmapart

[Kbs69]

Hi, this is my 1st post on here I'm looking for plasma I have priced a hypertherm powermax 45 (£1500 +vat)
And I'm wondering how good the R tech and plasmapart machines of similar size are? I've only ever used hypertherm plasma's over the years when I was working for various firms. I work offshore and have my own part time engineering Buisness so it wouldn't be used flat out every day, I have rear there is good back service from R tech etc but I don't know how helpful that would be as I'm up in Orkney.

Any views welcome

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Welcome
If you can afford the Hypertherm go for it as when it comes to plasma cutters their ain't much better than a Powermax. All i'll say is try to get a better price than £1500 + VAT, I know you can easily get them for £1400 + VAT. Have a little word with your supplier.

if you want to see the quality of Hypertherm's build's watch ChuckE2009's video of when he visits the Hyperhtherm factory in the US, outstanding!

R-tech's machines as of recent seem to be failing quite regularly from what i've seen about on the forum, never used one myself though.

PlasmaPart look half decent but they're the same type of thing as R-tech, chinese made with a bit of backup.. Again I can't comment on the build quality as I've not played with one myself.

 

[HughF]

The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten... buy the hypertherm

 

[MattH]

I have a 40a Plasmapart machine which is fine for my needs but I wouldn't dream of using it in a business/production environment. It is a cheap Far East machine with local support so it doesn't touch a decent machine like a Hypertherm.

 

[Kbs69]

Cheers for the opinions guys, I was kinda thinking I would be better off better off with the hypertherm but just wanted to see how good these cheap option plasma are. I can understand guys buying them if they are local as it sounds like they give good back up support, but f I have to get it collect with a courier etc and be without a machine for a week if could be a real pain as I plan jobs around my time home when not offshore.

Cheers again
Kev

 

[roofman]

Cheers for the opinions guys, I was kinda thinking I would be better off better off with the hypertherm but just wanted to see how good these cheap option plasma are. I can understand guys buying them if they are local as it sounds like they give good back up support, but f I have to get it collect with a courier etc and be without a machine for a week if could be a real pain as I plan jobs around my time home when not offshore.

Cheers again
Kev

but 2 R-techs for the price of one...never have any down time with a spare. Ive recently bought an R-tech30 and for what its worth i cant fault it,worked hard too recently.

 

[Kbs69]

but 2 R-techs for the price of one...never have any down time with a spare. Ive recently bought an R-tech30 and for what its worth i cant fault it,worked hard too recently.

Yeah it's a good point, at £1500 it's nearly 3 times the price! Hopfluy hear from some guys who have owned each before I make my mind up

 

[MattH]

but 2 R-techs for the price of one...never have any down time with a spare. Ive recently bought an R-tech30 and for what its worth i cant fault it,worked hard too recently.

Trouble with that is that you are still using a budget model that is not really suited to full time use (not knocking R-Tech, I bought Plasmapart instead because it was cheaper).
If I was going to be using one everyday I would splash the cash.

 

[HughF]

With the powermax you are paying for a quality torch that uses long lasting consumables and a decent pilot arc system. I've tried many chinese torches on my cut50, varying in current rating and even a 60a rated torch is junk when the amps are cranked up. Also bear in mind you do pay a premium for chinese plasmas with pilot arc. Hf/non pilot is cheaper for a reason.

 

[dai]

Look at the tecarc plasma

 

[gerrymoore]

Just for info..I had an RTech 40 amp...had a LOT of trouble trying to get it to work with my CNC and it caused so many problems I eventually gave up with it. Also, although it had very little use (less than 10 hours) it blew the IGBT's and it cost me over £100 for repairs.

I bought a little Hypertherm 30 and it is fantastic. OK it cost me just over a grand but as said it is 100% reliable, is very good on consumables, runs off a standard 13 amp socket, will cut up to 10mm cleanly, and is very CNC friendly. With a 3 year warranty it made sense to pay the extra and it has paid for itself many times over. I would recommend Hypertherm if you need reliability ......and can afford it.

 

[Davek0974]

Had an r-tech 30A, it was a great little box but had to ditch it when i built my cnc table. After messing about with a bigger r-tech unit i gave up and bought a powermax30xp this worked first time on the table even though its a hand torch. Then i built a bigger table and wasted no time in buying a powermax 45.

I sold the 30xp for over 80% of its cost price and thats after a years good use.

I would go hypertherm every time, just for retained value it would be worth it

 

[Jim Davey]

There's a reason why Hypertherm are the cutter of choice for more CNC plasma tables than any other. Quality of cut, and economy of consumables. Not many can match the amount of piercing cuts or linear meterage of cuts before a consumable change. It's the lack of downtime and cut quality that keep people going back to the Hypertherms. And if you think it's just another salesman's BS I don't even have a Hypertherm agency but I know from hard experience against one of the biggest Hypertherm agents in the country it's a hard product to beat on anything except price. I do do a steady trade on aftermarket Hypertherm torch spares though as they are hideously expensive for what they are.