hypertherm plasma cutting Archives - Welding Alloys Manufacturers In India

Table of Contents

Plasma Cutting Process
Understanding Plasma Process – Advantages & Disadvantages
Gas Cutting or Oxy fuel Cutting Process
Gas Cutting or Oxy-fuel cutting Advantages
Gas Cutting or Oxy-fuel cutting Disadvantages
Key Benefits of Hypertherm Powermax SYNC
Summary

Plasma Cutting Process:

Electricity and pressurized gas combine to form a plasma arc of ionized gas. This super-hot
plasma instantly melts metal. The gas shapes the arc and blows molten metal away, leaving a smooth cut edge.

Plasma cutting systems consists of:-

Plasma Cutting power source
Compressed air to enable cutting

Understanding Plasma Process – Advantages & Disadvantages

To understand the unique advantages of Plasma Cutting process we need to compare to the conventional Oxy-Acetylene cutting process used in Industry.

Plasma cutting using plasma cutting power source with compressed air is used for cutting all electrically conductive material both ferrous and non-ferrous metals, while in Oxy-fuel cutting with a Gas Cutting torch, oxygen and acetylene gas is used for cutting steel/ferrous material therein lies the major difference.

Now let us understand in both Plasma cutting process & Oxy-Fuel cutting process in detail.

Plasma Cutting: Capabilities & Advantages

Cut and gouge any electrically conductive metal – MS, SS, AL, alloys, others
Plasma Cutting can cut rusted plates , paint surface & even fatigued stacked metal
Cutting done with compressed air. No use of costly gases like Acetylene or Oxygen
Can do clean cut up to 50m thick, without pre-heating faster than any process.
Easy to use with simple plug and play method
Easy to automate
Small heat-affected zone
Can be used for cutting wire mesh and even complex filter systems
Plasma Cutting machines are available with portable capability
Portable Plasma system with inbuilt compressor for all site applications
Faster process and easy to teach & train welders
Very safe process for the welder and user
Some plasma cutting equipment like Hypertherm has capability of operating on input voltage from 200 V to 600 V. This means the same machine can be used with single phase as well as three phase circuitry.

Plasma Cutting: Disadvantages

Can’t heat metal for bending
Initial Cost of these systems is very high even though it offers good return on investment.
Can’t efficiently cut much thicker than 75mm MS
Requires Electrical Energy or Electricity for cutting process.
Requires compressed air for cutting
Slightly complex settings for the welder in comparison to oxy-fuel cutting
Metal warping and heat affected zone

Gas Cutting or Oxy fuel Cutting Process:

Oxy-fuel cutting torch heats a ferrous metal to ignition temperature (or) plastic state with an oxy-acetylene gas induced flame. So with a press of lever we introduce the cutting oxygen this further combusts and reacts with the metal to create iron oxide (slag) that blows and cut the metal away.

In this process a Gas Cutting system, Oxygen gas cylinders and Acetylene cylinders are primarily used for the cutting purpose

The hazards caused by this process are

Chances of fire accident as welder handles heat, sparks, molten metal, or even direct contact with the flame
Process becomes very dangerous while cutting tanks or drums which contain Flammable materials
Fire/explosion caused by gas leaks, backfires and flashbacks
Fumes created during flame cutting
Fire/burns resulting from misuse of oxygen
Burn Injuries due to accidental contact with the hot flame or hot metal
Injuries caused during transportation and handling of heavy gas cylinders

Gas Cutting or Oxy-fuel cutting Advantages

Can effectively cut steel only and effective when cutting over 50mm.
Use anywhere cylinders are available.
Relatively low initial acquisition cost
Heat metal for bending.

Gas Cutting or Oxy-fuel cutting Disadvantages:

Cuts only mild steel.
Metal must be pre-heated to pierce.
Hard to cut heavily painted rusted or stacked metal.
Speed of cutting lower in comparison to plasma cutting
Hand cutting requires skill – stand off
Must use flammable gasses.
Metal warping and heat affected zone

Hypertherm’s Powermax SYNC the latest generation of Plasma Cutting machines are loaded with features & benefits for customers.

Key Benefits of Hypertherm Powermax SYNC

Easy to use

Easy-to-identify the single-piece cartridge consumables as they are color-coded. This eliminates confusion on identifying parts and simplify consumable inventory.
New SmartSYNC® torches with the Hypertherm cartridge synchronises the correct amperage and operating modes eliminating setup errors
Highly versatile can do a wide range of jobs with easily interchangeable torches and application-specific cartridge consumables.
Life of Consumables can be monitored as end-of-life detection signal lets you know the time to change your cartridge

Productivity gains

Very simple operation ensures minimum downtime, troubleshooting and training time.
Advanced cartridge design increases life to twice for hand cutting, and improved quality of cutting and life in mechanized setups compared to conventional consumables.
Each cartridge has been custom designed to optimize the cutting or gouging performance

Innovative smart system

End-of-life detection signal gives the operator right time to change the cartridge
Advanced torch communication for automated process setup
Time-saving controls directly on the torch allow you to adjust amperage and change the consumable without returning to the power supply
Live access to cartridge performance, enables tracking and analysing usage patterns
Cartridge reader app pairs with Powermax SYNC smartphone app to record & analyse performance data.

Industry-leading reliability

Engineered for rugged, industrial environments
SpringStart™ technology gives consistent results in repetitive applications.

Summary:

Oxy-fuel and plasma cutting are all well-established cutting processes used for Cutting steel. Each has its merits and demerits, but are used as per specific Business needs.
Oxy-fuel has the lowest investment and operating cost, though the costs of cutting per part in the end are higher due to slow cutting speeds and lower cut quality, which often requires more Secondary operations meaning more expenditure on labour. Oxy-fuel is predominantly used for cutting only thick carbon steel when cut quality is not the Criteria.
Plasma provides a ideal balance in terms of capital cost, cut quality, productivity and operating costs. It has significant thickness cutting range and can variety of ferrous and non-ferrous, so it’s very versatile process with higher cutting speeds.

Hence with safety and personal protection of the user becoming vitally important, industry is moving more and more towards Plasma cutting for most of the hand cutting applications.

Ador Fontech Limited, the name synonymous with total solutions for any Maintenance & Repair solutions, recommends Hypertherm plasma cutting with Duramax Torch and consumables as a robust plasma cutting solution to all our customers for all Cutting and Gauging applications in their premises.

Table of Contents

Four tough jobs made easier with Duramax Hyamp Long Torch
- Skeleton removal
- Scrapping
- Structural demolition
- Processing coils, test coupons, and castings
Additional benefits for all four jobs

Four tough jobs made easier with Duramax Hyamp Long Torch

We all know that processing metal can be a hard job. It’s hot, dirty, and then there are the physical demands it can put on your body. Metal is heavy, and depending on the size of the plate, difficult to move. It becomes even harder to maneuver when the metal is welded into a sub-assembly or final product. Then to further complicate matters, there are staff shortages, safety concerns, cost constraints, and of course, deadlines to meet.

What if there was a better way to do some jobs? Hypertherm created the Duramax Hyamp Long torch with exactly that aim in mind. Jing Wu, Hypertherm’s lead engineer on this project explains, “We want to help our customers and keep them safe.” Wu and his team based the new handheld torch’s design on what operators told them, and what they themselves observed in shops, yards, and plants. It was clear that “extended reach” is beneficial for several reasons, and by offering longer torch-body lengths, existing Hypertherm – Powermax owners could expand their range of applications.

Here are four jobs that get immediately improved by adding the Duramax Hyamp Long torch to your Hypertherm Cutting System.

1. Skeleton removal

If you’re using oxyacetylene to cut and remove skeletons from your table bed, it’s slowing down your production line. Undoubtedly, Hypertherm Plasma Cutting is faster than oxyfuel but by switching to the Duramax Hyamp Long torch, you can do the same job in a third to a quarter of the time. Existing long torch customers report skeleton removal from heavy industrial CNC beds is so fast, that jobs previously taking an hour, now can be finished in less than 15 to 20 minutes. The savings add up fast.

2. Scrapping

Every scrapper will benefit from having a long torch in their yard. Not only can plasma cut steel, stainless, and aluminum, it cut exotic metals, like copper and brass, and alloys too. The portability of Hypertherm Powermax plasma systems like Powermax 45 & Powermax 65 makes it possible to demolish large-scale depreciated machinery out in the yard, allowing for larger, more lucrative trades with mills. The Duramax Hyamp Long torch is also better than a shear at making long cuts. Plus, it frees up shears to cut the smaller pieces into dimensions required by steel mills, thus making the shear more productive as well.

3. Structural demolition

Structural steel companies tearing down buildings and other facilities, like decommissioned nuclear plants or sports stadiums, use multiple long torches to speed up the job. Completing the job faster saves on labor costs, but it helps them earn their contractual performance incentives too. Hence this Long torch solution connected with Hypertherm Power Systems is most ideal for such jobs.

4. Processing coils, test coupons, and castings

Mills manufacturing steel and other metals are hot places. Furnace’s heat, melt and liquefy raw ore and recycled scrap metal to form new rolled and cast metal products. As noted above, the long torch creates more distance and allows operators to stand further away from the radiant heat, translating to less fatigue and more productivity to customers underlining the benefits of Hypertherm Plasma Systems.

Additional benefits for all four jobs

The Hypertherm Plasma with Duramax Hyamp Long torch is safer to use. It’s ergonomic, allowing operators to work from comfortable positions. The length of the torch body and the angle of the cutting head lets operators stand upright, while still gaining the accessibility they need. Operators avoid back pain that results from having to bend over repeatedly to ignite the flame torch with a striker and operators can stand beside CNC tables, rather than on top of the cutting bed.

This is why Ador Fontech Limited, the name synonymous with total solutions for any Maintenance & Repair solutions offers Hypertherm Duramax Hyamp Long torch as a Robust Cutting solution to our customers.

Reclaim, Do not Replace

Unique Advantages of Hypertherm Plasma Cutting Over Traditional Cutting

Tag: hypertherm plasma cutting