Improvements in Plasma Cutting

Developments in technology of plasma cutting to better suit consumer needs have helped increase market demand. Improvements in cutting tables linking the CNC and plasma system have helped reduce operating costs.

* Manufacturers of mechanized plasma cutting systems are focused on developing new technologies to meet three key market needs:
o Improved cut quality and consistency
o Increased cutting speeds and material thickness capabilities
o Increased consumable life.
* Together, these three focus areas, along with improvements in cutting tables and automation technology linking the CNC and plasma system, have helped drive reductions in operating costs of modern cutting installations.
* To extend the consumable life of a plasma system equipped with oxygen cutting capability, proper ramping down of gas pressures and power levels needs to occur at the end of the cut. This can happen only when the cut ends on the plate.
* Problems with the gas supply are probably the most common causes of excessive consumable wear. One of the first things a service engineer does when responding to a call about poor consumable life is to run a system gas leak test.
* Gas restrictions causing low flow rates can lead to catastrophic, almost immediate nozzle destruction. Because the initial plasma gas flow is low, the pilot arc attaches to the inside of the nozzle orifice and stays there long enough to cut the nozzle before being forced out of the orifice and transferring to the workpiece.
* In a properly functioning mechanized system, arc transfer occurs within 100 milliseconds. Poor electrical connection from the workpiece to the power supply can delay that to 1� second or more, risking not only increased consumable wear, but also misfiring.
* In most mechanized plasma systems, the connection between the workpiece and the plasma system is through the slats to the table ground, which is where the work cable from the plasma power supply usually is connected.


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