New guy from Canada eh!

[Pete17]

Hi everyone,
I'm Pete from Algonquin Highlands, Ontario, Canada.
I'm pretty new to this plasma table thing and purchased (about a year ago) a new Langmuir Crossfire and coupled it to my Hobart 27i. I design in Fusion 360 on a MacBook Pro and post with FireControl. To say plasma is a steep learning curve is an understatement.... at least it is for me as I grapple with IPM's, AMPS and PSI. I'll be working mostly with 16 & 14ga cold rolled.
I'm recently retired from the motion picture industry and along with my wife Joyce, have a Fused Glass Art business. I'm hoping to get good enough at this to be able to combine steel art designs with our fused glass to offer something unique to our customers.
I'm still trying to find my way with this and am looking forward to soaking up as much knowledge as I can from you all.

[plasmanewbie]

Welcome Pete. Yes indeed the learning curve can be very steep, you are not alone in that. Just so many variables it can be tough to master in all without just sticking with it. This forum helped me so much when I first started, I am very thankful for that and try to give back to other newcomers when I can. If you have questions use the search box and if you don;t find the answer just ask. Plenty of help here. Best of luck.

[acourtjester]

Welcome aboard Pete, sounds like you have a plan and an outlet for your work big plus. The learning can be a little hard, as humans we tend to want results and sometime that can hinder learning. What may help is seeing the big picture and breaking it up into the separate operation to understand why each is needed. You can shortcut some things,like using others DXF file or drawing simple thing like a box or circle. As for the IPM, Amps and PSI you can find much of that in the Hypertherm Manual charts. Air pressure needs to above 100 PSI at the Plasma unit and being sure I does not drop below about 80 PSI while cutting. Cutting speed should be fast enough to have very little dross on the bottom and but not to fast to stop completely cutting through the metal, You can play with the speed settings by increasing the F value by 5 IPM until you reach the sweet spot.
Ask questions get answers for good results. Look into getting a Ink Pen plotter attachment, it is a big help with sizing new projects and seeing what will cut great or what may drop out.

[Pete17]

Thanks for the info so far.

[adbuch]

Welcome Pete! That Langmuir is a great cutting table. I will look forward to seeing some of the projects you are working on as you progress.
David

[Pete17]

Thanks. Just finishing up my first sign today so I'll post about pic later.