Hypertherm Powermax 30 and Plasmacam

[bwjls]

Ok I got a question for you guys that may be running a powermax 30 ... how do you have your height control sensor set up ( we have been told by our local dealer that they do not make machine cutting parts for this torch ) so basically this leaves you with only one option , rigging something up ... for the last two years we have been doing just fine using a copper wire rigged up to sense the metal as most of our cutting has not needed to be super fine ... well were trying to step up our game abit and want to get much more accurate height control setup ... sooooo.,,, back to my original question ... what are you guys using

Thank you,
Rusty Rooster
http://www.RustyRoosterMetal.Etsy.com

[AnotherDano]

I will be watching this thread, and feeling your pain.

Until we get someone who is willing to start making something that works for us, I'm still fiddling with the copper wire loop.

[bwjls]

Ive thought about making a bracket from a thin gage copper that would attatch to the control wire and sit level with the torch with a hole just big enough for said torch to fit through ... not sure if this will work but thinking of trying it...

[bwjls]

something that works better than the copper wire loop is to take the very end of the copper wire and zip tie it to the torch nozzel retainer ( the black plastic part ) to where it hold the end of the wire tightly in place I have it set as close as humanly possible to level with the torch .... I have been using this set up for about a month now and it works pretty damn good but not quite where I want to be yet

[AnotherDano]

There is a pattern buried deep in the files here. I cut one, but was afraid that it would just short out when in position, and I dropped the idea.

Sensor[1].pcm

(6.72 KiB) Downloaded 208 times

[bwjls]

do you happen to know how this attatches to the machine I'm not quite seeing it in my head .... or maybee a picture ... original thread... thank you

[AnotherDano]

do you happen to know how this attatches to the machine I'm not quite seeing it in my head .... or maybee a picture ... original thread... thank you

Take off the plactic cone that holds the tip, slide this onto the threaded part of the torch handle and replace the cone.
Think of it as a washer with spider legs.

I'd copied the dxf and imported it into PCam. Who knows how deep the thread is buried... Sorry.

This may be of some help;
http://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.p ... 1%5D#p2909

[bwjls]

Sooo.... We cut one of these out of 22g steel and put it on the torch like instructed ... first cut worked flawlessly ... took it off to wire it up right and such , and have not been able to get it to work since ... not sure wtf is going on or whatever but it does have the potential to work which is good news !!! just a little more playing around with it should be able to get it going

[jimcolt]

The adapter for use with the ohmic sensor on the PlasmaCam machines is actually pretty simple...no rocket science involved! The way the ohmic function works (with PlasmaCam DHC2 and Samson only) is that ...before the plasma torch fires the z axis moves the torch down towards the plate, the ohmic contact wire (from the PlasmaCam) must make electrical contact with the plate at almost exactly the same time that the front most part of the torch is at the plate. This tells the torch height control electronics where the surface of the plate is so that all of the rest of the functions of the height control are properly calibrated (before each cut) so that your plasma torch will perform best in terms of cut quality and consumable life.

All Hypertherm systems larger than the 30 are designed for machine cutting....as they have more power and higher duty cycle ratings which (in Hypertherm engineers minds) is conducive to mechanized cutting applications. These larger systems also use Hypertherms patented shield technology on the torch....the shield is a copper part that is electrically isolated from the cutting nozzle (some call it a tip) and is designed to make the consumable parts last longer and cut straighter in a plasma torch. These systems have a special "ohmic" retaining cap that provides an electrical connetion tab for the PlasmaCam ohmic contact wire. Works great....I have a DHC2 plasma cam with a Powermax45 machine torch....very nice working height control system that rivals industrial plasma height controls that cost 10x more than the whole PlasmaCam machine.

Back to the Powermax30. The 30 does not have shield technology on the front of the torch, and does not need it due to its power level (30 amps and lower). Unfortunately....this means there is no copper shield to attach the ohmic contact wire to....it cannot be attached to the nozzle (front most part on a Powermax30) as the nozzle is part of the electrical circuit when cutting, and could produce transient voltages that could damage the PlasmaCam electronic circuitry.

So....a simple device needs to be fabricated that clamps to the plastic (non conductive) body of the retaining cap, and has a "feeler" that extends down past the nozzle (I would suggest that it extends maybe 1/32") to perform the ohmic contact function before each cut with the Powermax30. The top end of this mechanism needs a 1/4" spade type (male) wire connector for the wire from the PlasmaCam ohmic contact function. Some have used a bent heavy copper wire for this that was hose clamped to the retaing cap...others have elegantly machined a device that clamps to the cap.

Why does Hypertherm not make this part? Probably due to the fact that the Powermax30 was not designed for mechanized cutting, does not have a special mechanized torch design, and is not shielded like the larger systems. Also...the relative numbers of Powermax30's that are used in mechanized applications are likely less than 1% of the total population of Powermax30's....so volume for an accessory like this would prove it to not be a profitable accessory to any large companies bean counters!

Hopefully this explanation helps out a bit....and if anyone has further questions, fire away!

Jim Colt Hypertherm

[Francisco]

Here's a little ohmic sensor sleeve we made for making some cutting tests using the Powermax 30 consumables on our 45's torch.

We cut a 1-1/4" (32 mm) long piece from a 7/8" ? x .023" (22.2 x 0.64 mm) copper tube. After deburring, we simultaneously cut two short (5/8", or 16 mm) axial slits on one end, with the hacksaw's blade aligned on the tube's diameter. A third slit was then added, as parallel as we could make it, next to one of the first two, leaving a 1/4" (6 mm) tab between them. The slits' bottoms were rounded out with a jeweler's round file, so as to avoid cracking (could also be done with a small drill bit). Finally, we bent the tab out slightly and flattened it to accept the PlasmaCAM material sensing wire's female connector.

In use, the sleeve is just pushed onto the retaining cap until almost flush with the nozzle tip (the nozzle should remain a few thousandts (well, tenths in metric) shy of the material as the sleeve touches it). The retaining cap's taper and the sleeve's slight elasticity keep the sleeve in place; no need for a hose clamp.

I hope this is of help for people running 30s (or 45's w/30 consumables).





Francisco

[AnotherDano]

I sent my 'spare' cap to a friend to play with and make a part like this. Gotta remind him about that someday.

What I am looking for is what you came up with but with a tripod leg affair to let the sparks fly out. Also, I want to have a shoulder on the inside to make a depth-stop that will also center the tip and provide a constant depth.

A setup like that would aid in aligning the tip when it is necessary to remove/replace the torch.

The bend-out for attaching the wire is something I hadn't thought about - good idea,,, thanks.

[plascutart]

For my Powermax 30 I turned a piece of solid bar on the lathe. make 8mm long and 11.5mm inside dia. Cut a piece of 3mm welding wire, flatten one end for the spade connector, bend in vice at 90 degree then silver solder to the turned piece.
Glue the completed piece to the plastic cap with epoxy glue.
Mine have worked perfectly now for 3 years.

regards
plascutart.