How much better is feathertouch?

[Capstone]

C&CNC's Feathertouch. So I don't have it installed, but I did buy it and just recently got the ohmic sensor for my PM45. My table as some may know, starts to shudder at speeds above 180ipm, which means I really can't cut anything thinner than 16ga. I'm kinda dialed-in when I slow everything down to around 125ipm.

So... for anyone that's currently using CandCNC Feathertouch, does it increase or decrease the amount of fiddling and does the increase in cut quality significantly offset any additional setup headaches, for my needs, namely 16ga and thicker?

[Sampson Jones]

Love it , be sure to set the switch offset to 0 in your post processor .It has nothing to do with cut speed .

[torchhead]

All the FT-01 is an electronic swtich that replaces the mechanical floating head switch. It will not fix cut problems unless they are from the mechanical touch-off switch deforming the metal on thinner stuff.

[Capstone]

I'm guessing I need to read more up on Feathertouch then. I thought it would eliminate the voltage polling and make the DTHC IV pretty much foolproof. Does it only eliminates the need for a floating head "Z" and the DTHC IV is still subject to diving if the volts aren't in sync for the cut height desired?

[jimcolt]

Ohmic contact has been in place on Hypertherm industrial plasma height controls for over 25 years. It was originally developed to make locating the surface of thin materials very accurate....by electrically sensing contact with a very light touch so thin material would not deflect......which would cause incorrect piercing height and shorter nozzle life, ultimately affecting cut quality. On the industrial height controls the ohmic sensing is backed up by torque sensing.....so if the z axis motor torque increases (when sensing the surface) it is assumed that the ohmic did not work (could be non conductive paint or rust or dirt on the surface of the material), and the surface is sensed with the less accurate torque sensing.

On most relatively clean metals, and with dry cutting (no water on top of the material) the ohmic contact works very well, and is very reliable. On more advanced height controls it is actually used to accurately locate the surface, retract to pierce height, pierce, then indexes the torch down to cut height and the height control then samples the arc voltage at that correct height....and locks onto the arc voltage. This eliminates the need to set arc voltage, and auto calibrates the height control on every cut cycle, compensating for height changes related to consumable wear. This sample and hold technology has been on Hypertherm height controls for about 10 years. Plasmacams height control auto calibrates as well....no voltage setting. I'm not sure if the CandCNC Feather Touch has this capability....maybe Tom Caudle will answer!

Jim Colt

[Capstone]

This sample and hold technology has been on Hypertherm height controls for about 10 years. Plasmacams height control auto calibrates as well....no voltage setting. I'm not sure if the CandCNC Feather Touch has this capability....maybe Tom Caudle will answer!

Jim Colt

Thanks Jim. That's helpful.

Like I said, I am sure the manuals from C&CNC will shed more info, I'm just so busy.

[tcaudle]

then indexes the torch down to cut height and the height control then samples the arc voltage at that correct height....and locks onto the arc voltage. This eliminates the need to set arc voltage, and auto calibrates the height control on every cut cycle, compensating for height changes related to consumable wear. This sample and hold technology has been on Hypertherm height controls for about 10 years. Plasmacams height control auto calibrates as well....no voltage setting. I'm not sure if the CandCNC Feather Touch has this capability....maybe Tom Caudle will answer!

Jim Colt

We put in the Auto Learn feature in 2010 (before the Feather Touch) that sampled the voltage and used that for the Preset Volts. This caused problems when the user did not setup the Touch-off (IHS) correctly OR the material was not flat for the first inch of cut OR when the beginning of the cut was not relatively straight and/or the feedrate was low. The problems is: when do you sample, how long do you sample, what value do you hold? It caused problems on decorative cutting where small detail at the beginning might skew the arc volts. We made the option so it would do it once per job (first pierce) or on every cut. It still caused problems. Once we introduced the automatic settings and Electronic Cut Chart from G-code we removed the Auto Learn button . We found most users did not use it and those that did, did not understand you can get bad readings for specific types of cuts. Once SheetCAm allowed Cut Rules you can have much more precise control over cuts and lock out the DTHC under defined conditions.

The feather touch simply eliminates the down force from the mechanical floating torch holder and works well on cutting thin material. The floating Head and switch then becomes the safety backup in case the ohmic misses. It gets connected to e-stop to save your torch rather than watch it mash it down onto the metal. The Feather Touch is not active while you cut so performs no function other than just the light touch off.

[Capstone]

Thanks Tom and Jim! I'm now well informed and hopefully this helps others as well.

[davek0974]

Does the FT work on hot-rolled metal or not so good??

Not sure if the mill scale layer is an insulator or not???


Also, if it is insulating and the FT does not trigger, can the original floating head switch work as it did before???

[acourtjester]

They say you should have a floating head switch as backup. The floating head switch will work as it did before but your pierce height will be off as the switch offset for a feather touch is about .001' and the floating head is about .040". After the DTHC becomes effective it will move the torch to find the correct voltage/cut distance. The first use of my feather touch on 3/16" worked fine but cannot say how much mill scale it had (it was as it came from the supplier)

[plain ol Bill]

Let me put it this way - Feathertouch is an intergral part of my table and it has made life simpler. I think the Feathertouch and laser cross hairs should be on everyone's tables.

[srp]

You mentioned your machine starts to shake above 180 ipm and you are limiting yourself to 16 ga and heavier. Why not go to 30 amp tips for lighter gauges and slow down. They are available for your machine. I use TD and cut 20-18 gauge at 100 ipm. 30 amp tips are all I use for my cutting. No dross. Like flying Ultra lights - Low and Slow,

[davek0974]

They say you should have a floating head switch as backup. The floating head switch will work as it did before but your pierce height will be off as the switch offset for a feather touch is about .001' and the floating head is about .040". After the DTHC becomes effective it will move the torch to find the correct voltage/cut distance. The first use of my feather touch on 3/16" worked fine but cannot say how much mill scale it had (it was as it came from the supplier)

Ah, that is only good as an emergency backup then as piercing with zero height is a big no-no IMHO, I will have to look into this a bit deeper i think.

[Capstone]

You mentioned your machine starts to shake above 180 ipm and you are limiting yourself to 16 ga and heavier. Why not go to 30 amp tips for lighter gauges and slow down. They are available for your machine. I use TD and cut 20-18 gauge at 100 ipm. 30 amp tips are all I use for my cutting. No dross. Like flying Ultra lights - Low and Slow,

I just recently purchased a 30amp consumables setup for my PM45, but need to first get my Dual Purpose Table setup completed and functioning for a specific job. Once I get that sorted, (and I'm super close) I'm definitely planning to experiment with the Feathertouch and the 30amp consumables, since as I was writing this, realized they are mutually exclusive.

I joined PS 2 years ago, a year after I started my DIY build. I've built 4 different tables with 2 completely different sets of electronics, including the plasma cutter. I guarantee I could have bought a turn-key 4x8 table with the money spent, but a table that size could never fit my current space, not even a 4x4. So now, after all the headaches, I am very close to the best metal slicing I can expect from my setup, which is why I started this thread in the first place. It goes against my instincts to "mess with it" and make significant alterations to my set-up. I appreciate everyone taking time to share their experiences on so many aspects of this business, giving me the confidence to once again "mess with it".

[rons]

Looking at getting Feathertouch my question is Jim spoke about using dry material so does that mean it will not work on a water table with splash or some puddling on the top of the material? most of my cutting is 14ga. or 1/4"

[acourtjester]

I have the feather touch and have not had any problems with wet metal or dry metal. If you have crumbs on the metal brush them off the tip must touch the metal.. I have been cutting 16 Ga and it works great.

[davek0974]

I just recently purchased a 30amp consumables setup for my PM45, but need to first get my Dual Purpose Table setup completed and functioning for a specific job. Once I get that sorted, (and I'm super close) I'm definitely planning to experiment with the Feathertouch and the 30amp consumables, since as I was writing this, realized they are mutually exclusive.

A bit old now, but did you get anywhere with the 30A and feathertouch??

I was considering fitting a FT but cannot live without the 30A unshielded consumables and as far as i know the FT will not work on them??

I guess connecting the FT to the nozzle would blow the electronics the FT??

This would solve the issue and make it universal - shield on the 45A parts and nozzle on the 30A parts

[jbc28]

So Feathertouch won't work with a water table? I always end up with water all over the piece that I am cutting.

[grindergary]

So Feathertouch won't work with a water table? I always end up with water all over the piece that I am cutting.

Yes, that is what I found. It would touch the water and pierce too high.

[davek0974]

Makes sense as water is conductive.
are there no better systems?

[timberfab]

I don't have a water table. But do have the FT. I have cut material with ice, snow, and rain water in it. My torch's post flow blows away the pools of water that form on the plate before it pierces.

Doesn't that happen on your table?

[jbc28]

I don't have a water table. But do have the FT. I have cut material with ice, snow, and rain water in it. My torch's post flow blows away the pools of water that form on the plate before it pierces.

Doesn't that happen on your table?

It does while cutting a single piece, but it there are many pieces nested sometimes water will pool up where the next piece is located. Post flow is over most of the time once it is set up on a new piece. I will watch my cuts more closely to verify.

[rons]

Tom or Luke can you clear this up for us

[Capstone]

I just recently purchased a 30amp consumables setup for my PM45, but need to first get my Dual Purpose Table setup completed and functioning for a specific job. Once I get that sorted, (and I'm super close) I'm definitely planning to experiment with the Feathertouch and the 30amp consumables, since as I was writing this, realized they are mutually exclusive.

A bit old now, but did you get anywhere with the 30A and feathertouch??
I was considering fitting a FT but cannot live without the 30A unshielded consumables and as far as i know the FT will not work on them??
I guess connecting the FT to the nozzle would blow the electronics the FT??
This would solve the issue and make it universal - shield on the 45A parts and nozzle on the 30A parts

So the 30A simply can't work with FeatherTouch; everything on the end of the torch is different, but I definitely did go to the 30Amp consumables with my HT Powermax45 and then slowed everything down to eliminate the shudder/jiggle in my gantry (and thus my cuts) coming out of sharp turns. I'm having pretty good results and have even been able to get my 16Ga cutting dialed in pretty good with the DTHC EtherCUT on and running. I'm finally at a point with cutting that I can concentrate on my design-work with consistent results from the table.

[BTA Plasma]

Powermax 30 does indeed work with a feather touch. All you need is a threaded adaptor and a small stud for your touch off. We install feather touch on all our machines with water beds. It works extremely well and the very few times you get water in the consumables when your post flow is done pressing torch fire works very well.

We just did a test on a tank end using the feather touch. The torch had to cut a round hole on the side cycloid profile. And because it was on a steep angle the cut path had to be calculated as an oval. The tolerance was tight and the only way to accurately touch off and cut was with a feather touch. The thc was reacting at 100ipm up and down.

If your thinking about adding a feather touch. Consider a couple of things

1. You will be touching off at around 25ipm max. So set your plunge safety accordingly (example .250 max)

2. Youll want an ohmic consumable for fast consumables changes. (Even a hose clamp works or a threaded adaptor and small stud on non shielded applications works)

3. A secondary way to stop the z if your ohmic should fail is a GOOD idea.