Piercing 3/8" thick plate

[tcaudle]

Wiggle pierce MIGHT work but Ramped Pierce does not. Does not play well with the Auto setting for DTHC

[tcaudle]

kkroger, what controller and thc software/setup do you use?

It's a pity you can't use a slower feed rate with wiggle pierce, it shakes the hell out of mine when I tried it.

It's not recommended by Hypertherm anyway.. I have been trying to get Les to make a program to raise the torch after firing the arc. to a higher level, then come back to cut height, and move.. Like the big boys do it.. So a setting of Initial Height. (Fires there like a standard pierce height) Then a Pierce height that is higher then normal, then cutting height. Just like my Modern Esab PT-37 Machine torch specs give me.. I did get Les to make a post to for Plasma drill at the start of the Lead-in, so I think it's your guys turn to see if you can get some movement there.


I still see little reason for anything other then factory setting on my Hyperthem/Esab, or Victor plasma cutters for a 3/8 pierce.

Not sure what purpose that serves except to "duck" the backslash on thicker materiel. There is no time on thinner material to do that dance.
Should not be to hard to do it in SheetCAM POST though . Of course you could also use Soft Pierce by rolling back the pierce current and lower the plunge rate then cranking up the current as it gets to cut height

[Brand X]

That is the purpose on thicker materiel. To Minimize the damage from a pierce. Really only found on high-end plasma software, and cutters. Although like I said, Esab has specs for their air plasma to do the exact same thing.. If you watch close this is what I am talking about.


So Tom, how would I that to my sheet cam post? Even manual edit would be OK.. I use the 3100 DTHC setup..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nSD-cCjQcA

[tnbndr]

The Powermax45 and 45 XP are both rated for straight in piercing up to 1/2" steel,

The cut chart in the manual that came with my PM45 does not give the parameters for 1/2" steel piercing, that is why I tried the wiggle pierce.

PM45 cut chart.JPG (76.59 KiB) Viewed 1096 times

[jimcolt]

We upgraded the pierce capacity to 1/2" on the original Powermax45 about 6 or 7 years ago, unfortunately the spec in the operators manual did not get changed. Here is the cut chart for the 45 XP....these specs work perfectly with the original 45 up through 1/2".

Jim Colt Hypertherm

45 amp steel chart.jpg (23.19 KiB) Viewed 1091 times

[Stout]

This has me curious. If you pre-pierce and then go back to cut starting at the pierce point won't the torch just start and flame out as it doesn't find any material?

No, because it's just like edge starting, and will pick up the edge, and move real quickly. Holes that are plasma punched will have a narrower bottom, and the arc will catch that at some point. This process is for cheating the systems max pierce thickness a bit, by using other consumables then the cutting ones.You also can start much closer to actual cut height, so the arc will transfer even easier to the plate after it's plasma drilled.

Yes. This can be a problem with pre piercing the start holes. I pre pierce the lead in holes in 3/4" and larger material and this does cause a loss of arc on most of the time when the actual cutting starts. I manually jog the machine forward on the cut path to regain a ground and start from there as an edge start.

[Brand X]

Depend on your machine, and consumables used also.. The size/shape of hole matters.. I don't have 105 amps or a Hypertherm for one thing, and I would probably stop at .750 with a smaller machine anyway.. Meaning you might gain 1/8 over what your max cut is.. In my case, 5/8 now.. Everybody's setup is different, and there is wide range in what works for some, and not for others.. I would use it for making sure I have a fresh nozzle when cutting a lot of .500/.625..

[Brand X]

Depend on your machine,Software, and consumables used also.. The size/shape of hole matters.. I don't have 105 amps or a Hypertherm for one thing, and I would probably stop at .750 with a smaller machine anyway.. Meaning you might gain 1/8 over what your max cut is.. In my case, 5/8 now.. Everybody's setup is different, and there is wide range in what works for some, and not for others.. I would use it for making sure I have a fresh nozzle when cutting a lot of .500/.625..