Photos of plasma cuts?

[Punx0r]

Hi guys

Does anyone have any handy photos of plate/bar cut with a plasma cutter to show how neat, or not, the cut is?

I understand that severance cuts are rough so mainly interested in "clean cut". I'm just not sure I believe the retailer's claims that the cuts don't need any tidying up.

Ta

 

[madkayaker]

Look at wyns photo album the a few in there

 

[wyn]

This is a bit of 4 or 5mm plate i was cutting yesterday.
The other side of it hardly had any rubbish left on the cut.

 

[wyn]

Here's a couple of pics of the other side

The "kerf" is about 1mm high and knocks straight off with a hammer or bit of steel

If you take time to get the amps and travel speed right the results are much better........i didn't

I haven't got any pics of the cut edge.

 

[Mikey D]

It should be noted that wyn has a very nice hypertherm machine tho

have a look in the for sale section if your after a used machine

cheers mike

 

[astro_al]

If the travel speed is consistent and correct for the amps / material thickness, then no clean-up is necessary, the photo above is not a great example of what can be achieved, but it is a realistic example of cutting without worrying too much & being happy to clean up afterwards.

Sliding a chisel or similar across the sheet (e.g. from bottom right to top left in the pic above) will snap the dross off in no time, if there is any. But you should aim to not have any, especially if mechanized cutting.

Al.

 

[Punx0r]

Thanks guys.

I'm impressed by the neatness of the entry side in Wyn's photo

Harder question I guess: How long would it take a beginner with a budget machine to get a handle of the settings and make neat cuts?

 

[chunkolini]

Not very long at all, was amazed when I bought my plasma. The main thing is to get the hang of holding at avoiding shake as this gets exaggerated at the business end, try to work sat down and have a rest or guide to move your arm along, for curved cuts I use the hose held in my left had to steady the torch giving something to work against.
Using a straight edge to cut along is a massive help if working in straight lines as in Wynn's pictures.

Before I bought mine I wondered cheekily into the local tech college and asked if they woud show me one as in had never seen one, 30 second demo later I was sold on the idea.

if you are buying off fleabay beware of cheapo nasty options that have no spares backup.


Chunko'.

chunko'.

 

[astro_al]

Here are some pics of a typical edge which hasn't been cleaned up. 4mm mild steel, cut with a manual Hypertherm. You can see a small amount of dross on the back, so things weren't quite right (likely the speed wasn't consistent).

Al.

 

[Punx0r]

Sorry to sound like a noob here but that's amazing! Much, much neater than I was expecting.

Ok, thanks for the help guys, I'm sold on the idea now for cutting steel plate.

I wouldn't buy ebay tat Perhaps the little clark from the shop here.

 

[runnach]

Apart from travel speed and settings, cutting tip condition is most important to achieve good clean cut edges..................