Post by Creepy on May 24, 2010 0:06:50 GMT -4
From the few pieces I have seen of Jan's, they are a really good, clean, smooth cut, and very square, approaching that of a laser. I bet some of the smaller 1/4 inch thick stuff would stand on edge. Plasma cutters have come a long way in the past few years.
Of course, I do have a few 14 gauge parts that were cut on a laser using nitrogen gas, and they will stand on edge on a flat, level surface. The edge looks like it was cut with a milling machine. ;D Purdy.
Wayne
Hi Wayne, heard you stopped by today, I was ZZZZZZZzzzz.
The Hi-def machines are still industrial only and usually run on nitrogen, not compressed air.
I'm doing 3/8 at 18-22imp and 1/4 at about 55 and 60imp. 14G is up around 250imp.
Not having torch height control these days on new equipment is unacceptable in industry. At Big6's HVAC shop, they have systems that don't monitor tip height, and they are only about 10 years old and are dated. The process and technology has come a really long way the last 5 years.
My 'hobby' machine is leaps and bounds more sophisticated in the height sensing. It monitors the tip voltage in real time and adjusts the tip height for the programmed voltage. and I can adjust it on the fly while cutting to chase out bevel or smooth the cuts.
Behind me right now are (2) $1/2million EDM's using the same tip height/voltage monitoring technology to drill holes. I run these at work too, I've got 5 years under my belt on them, and i'm the best in the shop on them. This technology isn't entirely new to me! And I certainly didn't pay 6 figures!
Yeah, I can get my parts to stand on edge. I've got 3/8" pics to post from last week. You'll see. It looks like laser. I've also got some beveled parts from worn tips and loose machine components from the learning curve.
Inside the plasma machines capability, you cannot completely eliminate taper, only minimize it. It is a recognized downside of the process, and where laser takes over when the edge is required to be perfectly square.
i believe companies like Ballistic moved from plasma to laser because of the issue this raises with hole diameters and running high volume production, with not enough quality control. A busy operator misses a foulded tip, and the machine makes 500 shock tabs that get shipped out and the bolt hole doesn't fit, its .475 instead of .500. laser doesn't do that. The plasma needs to be babysat for optimal quality.
I've got my face stuck down in every single cut.
Edit: Buy my product. ;D