New watertable build...

[wishiwastorching]

Buying steel tomorrow for new watertable. I was planning on five inch depth but my buddy thought that might be overkill. What do you think? So if you could build yours over agIn, would you build it the same and why? And how deep?

[jimcolt]

5" depth is usually more than adequate for a low powered (under 100 amp) air plasma cutting operation....especially for hobbyist or low level manufacturing type use. A water table is a very effective means to control the fumes/smoke from plasma cutting. Keep in mind that water in contact with the plate will have an effect on cut edge quality....edges that have water in contact with them will be rougher (serrated) as compared to steel plate edges that are cut dry. Often the water will cause higher levels of dross formation as well. Major advantages....less chance of warpage on thin materials and easy fume control.

Large industrial water tables often have water deptch of 18" to 24".....along with removeable slat beds to ease cleaning. Most of these systems use an air tank (bladder) that allows rapid displacement of water (in the submerged tank) to raise and lower the water in the table....allowing for easy part retrieval as well as variations in water level to fine tune fume control and cut quality.


Jim Colt Hypertherm

[I Lean]

My table is built with 2x4 box tube sides, and 14ga bottom. So, I'm limited to about 3" water depth. It works fine, but I'd go deeper if I were to redo it. I think your 5" depth is a good place to be.

[plasma_burn]

Would there be any benefit to creating multiple mini fountains in the water table. Basically a couple rows of pipes with holes drilled in them facing up, sitting ~1inch or so below the steel. A recirculation pump pumps water from the table to the pipes.

The water level in the table is brought up high enough to cover the pipes and the recirculation pump is adjusted (w/ball valve to dead head or a waste gate type arrangement) so a small "mound" of water is created above each hole.

This "mound" could be adjusted higher when cutting thinner steel to keep warpage down, and made smaller for heavier steel. The "mound" may also help with capturing dust by creating more water surface area.

[jmsrbrt]

My water table has a four inch depth but I usually have the water one inch below the steel. Dross is slightly less than what it was when cutting dry, smoke is almost non-existent, smaller 16 gauge doesn't warp as much, if at all, and I wish I had done it sooner. My only regret, and it is a small one, is small parts fall down into the water. When the water is near the end of it's useful life (in other words, pretty darn dark from collecting all that plasma dust) those little parts are just a tad hard to find by feeling for them.

[Dawgonhawg]

Building mine this fall.

[WSS]

Gave up on mine, selling my machine.

WSS

[Dawgonhawg]

Right...

[wishiwastorching]

Well, I got a good deal on the 2x4 tubing so I guess my table will be four inches deep. now i figure I'll use 3 inch slats but haven't figured out what thickness. I want to put a slight bend in the slats so I guess they cant be to thick or I wont be able to bend them.