3/16 mild steel

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pr connection
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Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:26 pm

3/16 mild steel

Post by pr connection »

Hey guys

Looking for some input. Cutting some simple brackets from 3/16 mild steel

My cut info

Thermal dynamic a120
40 amp setting with 40 amp consumables
Travel speed 40 ipm
Pierce delay .7
Pierce height .2
Cut height .06

Using Mach 3 for cut program
Voltage set to 147 and cuts great with no thc turn on
If I turn on the thc and use this voltage setting it will pierce great and start to cut. It will pull way off the metal within the first inch of travel so far up it will not cut through. But as said before it cuts beautifully with the thc turned off. In order to use the thc the voltage must be set to 100 in order to keep a cut height of .06. The cut quality with the voltage set at 100 and the thc on is not as good leaving a little more dross. My question is WHY? Does the voltage setting affect cut quality or just torch height?

The table is a fast cut elite icon

The a120 manual says use 115 voltage
Travel at 65
And a working height is shown as .16( I think this is too high)
If I use these settings it will not cut through. Too fast

All of Jim Colts comments is use the book specs for the hypertherm units but this certainly is not the case with thermal dynamics. Maybe I should have bought a hypertherm. Any insight would be great

Dan
fergy
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Re: 3/16 mild steel

Post by fergy »

pr connection wrote:Hey guys



Maybe I should have bought a hypertherm

Dan
Begining to think the same
anyone using a powermax 105 with RS485 coms thingy?
fergy
timberfab
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Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 8:30 pm

Re: 3/16 mild steel

Post by timberfab »

toss some 60amp shielded consumables in the machine and run a line speed test from 120ipm to 75imp in manual mode. find the cut you like best. run a height control test (2 - 8 inch lines .5 inches apart) watching your voltage display. set your voltage to the average of that read out. try a test cut in auto using your 2-8 inch lines. adjust voltage to dial it in in small increments + or minus to raise or lower you torch.

both the torchmate tables i run are using TD cutters and they work well for what we do.
jimcolt
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Re: 3/16 mild steel

Post by jimcolt »

The voltage is proportional to the cut height......so when the cut height is correct, set your digital height control voltage so that it maintains that cut height. Don't worry if the voltage that you have to use is different from the one listed in the manual. Higher voltage = higher height, lower voltege is lower height.

Any parameter you change will alter the voltage/height relationship. If you decrease cut speed....the torch will get closer to the plate if the height control is on. If the air pressure changes, the height will change. As the consumables wear...the height will change.

Jim Colt



pr connection wrote:Hey guys

Looking for some input. Cutting some simple brackets from 3/16 mild steel

My cut info

Thermal dynamic a120
40 amp setting with 40 amp consumables
Travel speed 40 ipm
Pierce delay .7
Pierce height .2
Cut height .06

Using Mach 3 for cut program
Voltage set to 147 and cuts great with no thc turn on
If I turn on the thc and use this voltage setting it will pierce great and start to cut. It will pull way off the metal within the first inch of travel so far up it will not cut through. But as said before it cuts beautifully with the thc turned off. In order to use the thc the voltage must be set to 100 in order to keep a cut height of .06. The cut quality with the voltage set at 100 and the thc on is not as good leaving a little more dross. My question is WHY? Does the voltage setting affect cut quality or just torch height?

The table is a fast cut elite icon

The a120 manual says use 115 voltage
Travel at 65
And a working height is shown as .16( I think this is too high)
If I use these settings it will not cut through. Too fast

All of Jim Colts comments is use the book specs for the hypertherm units but this certainly is not the case with thermal dynamics. Maybe I should have bought a hypertherm. Any insight would be great

Dan
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