Powermax 65 settings

[Metriccar]

Hypertherm Powermax 65 with Arclight table. I'm trying to get clean cuts.
16 gauge using 45 amp consumables and setting on Hypertherm.

The back of the parts are as follows, from slow cut on left to fast cut on right.

Slow at top to fast at bottom

111.JPG (117.17 KiB) Viewed 4170 times

There's molten metal stuck around the edges.

The top of the part looks decent. Again, slow on left, fast on right.

top of part

photo.JPG (113.91 KiB) Viewed 4170 times

Cut speeds from top to bottom are: 10, 27.5, 55, 82, 137, 165 IPM. After that the part wouldn't become detached from the sheet.

Settings are as follows:
kerf width: .055
Pierce delay: 0 second
Pierce height: .15"
Plunge height: 150 ipm
Cut height: .06"
Preset volts: 130v
standard rate is 275 ipm but it wouldn't cut through.


Any ideas what could be going on?
For reference, these parts are about 2 1/2" high and about 1 1/2" across.

[JEd]

For the best cuts you would want to use Fine Cut Consumables. I don't ever use 16 gauge, but cut quite a bit of 14 gauge. I use Fine Cut consumables at 40 amps at 100 IPM, I don't remember the volts off hand. I played with it until it worked.

There are cut charts available for settings for Fine Cut consumables that keep the speeds to 150 IPM, but my table does better if I keep it down closer to 100 or less.

[Metriccar]

photo.JPG (115.68 KiB) Viewed 4103 times

This is the result of using book settings for 14 ga. 45 amp.
Notice it cuts the inner circle but does not cut the outer part of it? i am not sure why that would be? Very confusing situation here.
I can try fine cut consumables at 100 ipm. I was just expecting to be "in the ballpark" by goinog off program settings if not the manual.

[Redneck]

I have a Hypertherm 1250 and cut 16 ga cr all the time......200 ipm, 40 A, 82 v. I'm by no means an expert, especially with the PMax 65 but when mine starts looking like that, the consumables are toast! The pierce height of .15 sounds a bit too high too.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

[cnchybrid]

Man that is just ugly.
Pierce delay I would set to .1 but then again you are piercing through the material.
The cut height make sure it is actually .06" and not what your screen says.
The pierce height should be at .12" and not what your screen says also.

It pierces the material fine but it clearly isn't cutting all the way through the material which could be a few items.
1. Travel speed is too high. Try 60 ipm at 40 amps
2. Your air is dirty.... Moisture, contaminants, etc. Check your filter
3. Make sure your air pressure is able to maintain 90 give or take while cutting.
4. Your ground. Check your ground also.
5. How do your consumables look? Need replacement?

Start with that for the moment and see what happens.

[Metriccar]

Trying to do process of elimination, I put an air pressure gauge at the back of the machine. It drops momentarily to 90-80 PSI at the start of the cut then goes back up quickly. Trying to see if I could somehow verify if amperage has effect across the entire range, I took the 45a tip out and put a 65 amp tip in and started cutting the 14 ga. metal at 65 amps at like 220 ipm. Suddenly it started cutting through the metal. I dropped it down to 45a (where I was at with the 45a tip which wouldn't cut the metal at that speed), then on down to 35a and about 200 ipm and I was getting a much better cut.

So where the 45a tip needs to be at like 165 or lower and 45a to actually cut all the way through the metal and can never give a good cut at any rate/amp, the 65a tip is giving the best cuts I've had at 35a and about 200 IPM. The 45a tip wouldn't even be able to cut halfway through the metal at that setting! Any suggestions? These are all new tips. Maybe I got tips marked wrong?

I tried cutting through 1/4" metal at 65a and 90 IPM and was getting some decent cuts but for whatever reason my torch stopped going up after contacting the metal. It started dragging and this put debris/holes in the shield. Not sure what to do about that but it seems to be a software issue, but so ended day 4.

[I Lean]

Possibly a dumb question, but are you using the shield intended for hand-cutting on your torch, or the machine-specific shield? If you have the hand-cutting shield (which has standoffs for dragging), your cut height will be too high--which could certainly cause the problems you're seeing.

[Metriccar]

No dumb questions here, I'm liable to do a bonehead move like that. I'm using part number 220817 for the shield. Is that right?

[I Lean]

No dumb questions here, I'm liable to do a bonehead move like that. I'm using part number 220817 for the shield. Is that right?

Yep, that's the mechanized shield.

[Metriccar]

So torch height incorrect may be part of it? When I changed to 1/4" metal for my final cut and the torch did not go back up after contacting the metal suggests maybe THC is messed up and may have been all along.

[I Lean]

So torch height incorrect may be part of it? When I changed to 1/4" metal for my final cut and the torch did not go back up after contacting the metal suggests maybe THC is messed up and may have been all along.

Yes, for sure. It's important to maintain the correct cut height. You list it as .06" in your first post, which should be right--make sure it's staying there throughout the cut.

[Metriccar]

OK, here's using fine cut, 16 gauge, 82v, 40a, 195 ipm, .06" cut height.

Top comes out clean. Bottom has a bunch of molten metal around the edges. What's odd is that you can see one long cut on the bottom of the part, shown in the first picture on the bottom, is perfectly clean, all the way across, whereas the rest of the cuts have globs of metal. Why would that be? Another thing; it seems whenever I do a cut, the bottom of the part seems to not cut through as much. That's the part that always gets hung up. Why would that be?
I verified the machine has at least 90 psi at the bac of the cutter at all times. Ground is on he metal. I'm really at a loss on what else I can do. I adjust ipm and cut speed until it cuts through and as soon as it cuts through I get the molten metal whenever I have a setting that can actually cut through the metal. But the fact I got a side that was clean the whole way though until the program changed directions is very odd. I do not have any precision measuring equipment that could measure the distance between torch and metal, but I took a piece of .058" sheetmetal and stuck it in between the torch and tip and it barely slid under there.

At this pont, I'm suspecting something wrong with the tabe.

Bottom of part, note clean cut on bottom is OK but the rest have molten metal

photo2.JPG (108.04 KiB) Viewed 4014 times

Side view

photo23.JPG (112.65 KiB) Viewed 4014 times

Top of part

photo.JPG (95.67 KiB) Viewed 4014 times

[muzza]

I use a PM 45 not 65 but your cut speed is still way slower than I cut 16 gauge at. (I generally cut at least 10 sheets of 16 gauge a week).

Just a thought but have you checked cut direction ie outside cuts running clockwise, insides anti clockwise. I think you have already said your air quality is fine but your cut problems are also consistent with poor air. Just to double check hold a mirror below your torch while purging the air (turn voltage control fully counter clock wise).

Also you'll probably find that the dross you are getting will clean off a lot quicker and easier using a wire cup wheel rather than a grinding disc.

It's all a learning curve, only change one thing at a time and take notes/ pics of the outcomes.

Murray

[Metriccar]

What would explain the x-axis movement cuts further down the table always being good cuts but all others being bad?

Please see pic.

photo.JPG (80.86 KiB) Viewed 3987 times

Notice the cuts on the very left have less dross on them... these are x-axis horizontal cuts at the very top of the part, furthest down the y axis away from me. if I adjust the settings again I can get virtually no dross on that section of the part, and the rest of the part will have melted/hardened metal around the edge. Even with a flapper/disc/wheel, it still would leave an unclean cut. This is on both ends of the table.
Also time and time again an x-axis cut toward the bottom of another part, was always sticking to the table and not cutting all the way when the rest of the part did. It seems to me it's a table issue of some sort, but not sure what it could be.

[jimcolt]

The first pics indicate speed and height problems. The heat shadow on top of parts shows way too much heat input on the plate, and it gets wider in the corners indicating corner slowdown is making it worse.

The fact that small holes look better indicate to me that the height may be correct there as it is not going into avc (arc voltage control, but on the outside contours where avc is active, I suspect the torch is rising up to assume your voltage setting.

Here is a rule of thumb with arc voltage:......do a test cut at the book specs (everything, speed, amperage pierce height, cut height and the book voltage. Watch the torch heighgt during this test, it shoud sense the surface of the plate...then retract to pierce height, pierce, then index down to cut height (.06", the thickness of a nickel), then once the x and y movement starts you may see the torch bbble a bit in height, then settle to that same .06". If it is higher (and I'm sure it is) then reduce the voltage until it is at .06". Then use that voltage. The physical height is what matters....your voltage setting is only the feedback that controls the physical height.

If you want post the .dxf file for that part...I'll cut it with a 65 at book specs and post a pic.

Dross is caused by:
-Cutting too slow (Hypertherm published speed is just above too slow)
-Cutting too high.
-Cutting with too much power.

The book specs are very close to correct.

Jim Colt

[Metriccar]

When you say "too much power" do you mean amps or volts?
How would I know when to adjust amps or adjust volts?

For cut speed maybe look at the side of the parts to see what the lines are doing, and if they're not so straight up and down the cut speed needs to be slowed?

[stray cat]

If you'd like my input on hypertherm. I think they made these new powermax's and there is more problems than they want to admit. I have a powermax 85 and it works for about 8 weeks than does what your pictures show. I've put 4 torchs on and 1 whole unit plus a ton of replacement parts. It's always the customers fault never hypertherm's. Hypertherm told my sales rep to just buy it back from me cause I'll never be happy, but the big question is why am i happy when it cuts like it should. My sales rep sent a file to cut in the lab and they won't do it. So why does hypertherm want to buy it back form us????

[jimcolt]

Duplicate post

[jimcolt]

As I stated in another post....Hypertherm would not tell any sales rep to buy the unit back without helping you solve the issue. If there was an inherent issue in the system that we could not figure out....we would replace it with new (there have not been any buy backs that I am aware of!) and then evaluate the unit at our facilities in New Hampshire to determine what caused the cut issues. I understand you are upset if the machine is not cutting as expected, and I am here offering to help you troubleshoot it and I guarantee we can make it cut exactly as advertised! I need information about your cnc machine...make, model, height control (yes/no), and lets make it cut as designed.

The Powermax65 and 85 systems are in the fiueld in very large numbers, as they have been on the market now for over 2-1/2 years. Of course there will be a few issues, as there can be with any system, but these units have a great following and remain the biggest sellers in their power range.

If you wnat to work with me directly I'd be happy to do so. Contact me at jim.colt@hypertherm.com

Jim

If you'd like my input on hypertherm. I think they made these new powermax's and there is more problems than they want to admit. I have a powermax 85 and it works for about 8 weeks than does what your pictures show. I've put 4 torchs on and 1 whole unit plus a ton of replacement parts. It's always the customers fault never hypertherm's. Hypertherm told my sales rep to just buy it back from me cause I'll never be happy, but the big question is why am i happy when it cuts like it should. My sales rep sent a file to cut in the lab and they won't do it. So why does hypertherm want to buy it back form us????

[/quote]

[jimcolt]

Stray Cat,

If you have a file (.dxf is best) I'll be happy to cut it on my machine with the same process you are using....I'll video it and post it here. Let's see what it looks like.....and then lets make your machine do the same.

If you requested a file cut by Hypertherm....please let me know who you worked with....the distributors name or the Hypertherm reps name, I will follow up and find out why they did not cut a smaple for you....and I'll post it back here!

Jim Colt jim.colt@hypertherm.com

If you'd like my input on hypertherm. I think they made these new powermax's and there is more problems than they want to admit. I have a powermax 85 and it works for about 8 weeks than does what your pictures show. I've put 4 torchs on and 1 whole unit plus a ton of replacement parts. It's always the customers fault never hypertherm's. Hypertherm told my sales rep to just buy it back from me cause I'll never be happy, but the big question is why am i happy when it cuts like it should. My sales rep sent a file to cut in the lab and they won't do it. So why does hypertherm want to buy it back form us????