Powermax 1000 howl when air flowing

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Njcnc
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Powermax 1000 howl when air flowing

Post by Njcnc »

Picked up a new to me powermax 1000 the other day with a handful of extra consumables for $500 off CL. I planned on upgrading to the duramax torch and it would eventually make its way on to my plasma table but i'm concerned. I'm getting this odd loud howling noise from the machine at times when air is flowing from the torch, be it cutting or post flow. Its intermittent and seems if I restart the arc within 20-30 seconds its quiet but if I let it sit for a few minutes the first cut will have this howl.

It cuts great and other than having to blow out the dust everything under the hood looks solid. I'm assuming its somewhere in the air line but I took apart all the internal lines to make sure there were no obstructions but no luck. I can get a video of it this weekend but wondering if anyone has heard of something like this before.

Thanks
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djreiswig
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Re: Powermax 1000 howl when air flowing

Post by djreiswig »

Air regulator vibrating? I have one at work that does this occasionally.
2014 Bulltear (StarLab) 4x8
C&CNC EtherCut
Mach3, SheetCam, Draftsight
Hypertherm PM65
Oxy/Acetylene Flame Torch
Pneumatic Plate Marker, Ohmic, 10 inch Rotary Chuck (in progress)
Njcnc
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Re: Powermax 1000 howl when air flowing

Post by Njcnc »

djreiswig wrote:Air regulator vibrating? I have one at work that does this occasionally.
Not even 30 seconds after I posted this I was reading another post about input pressure needs to be between 90-120psi. I went out to the garage and had my air on full blast somewhere between 140psi and 160psi from the compressor. Dialed it down and quiet as quiet can be now.
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djreiswig
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Re: Powermax 1000 howl when air flowing

Post by djreiswig »

Cool.
2014 Bulltear (StarLab) 4x8
C&CNC EtherCut
Mach3, SheetCam, Draftsight
Hypertherm PM65
Oxy/Acetylene Flame Torch
Pneumatic Plate Marker, Ohmic, 10 inch Rotary Chuck (in progress)
jimcolt
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Re: Powermax 1000 howl when air flowing

Post by jimcolt »

The inlet pressure is critical, I always suggest installing a pressure gauge hard plumbed on the Powermax inlet fitting. It must be over 90 and under 120 psi when air is flowing through the torch. There is always a pressure drop between the gauge back near your compressor and the plasma (natural restrictions in the plumbing) when air is flowing....so an inlet gauge is the only way to be sure pressure for cutting is correct.

Great score on the Powermax1000 for $500! Best regards, Jim Colt Hypertherm
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