plasma cutting tips

[evaldart]

As I finish off the last batch of tips and electrodes for my Lincoln pro-cut 55 and prepare for a new order, I once again wonder if there are options or various configurations available. I have always only ever seen the same length and diameter and my research has not turned up anything else...like something longer or thinner or pointier. And what about accessories like circle cutters and pantographs...never seen em in the Lincoln catalogue...maybe I should have bought a machine from a company that specializes in Plasma cutters. Input and direction to sources/suppliers would be much appreciated.

[ironman]

Hi, I think that things like circle cutters would be found (you probably have to order one) at your local welding supply store and would fit a lot of different plasma cutters. As far as tips go, I have a Hypertherm MAX43 (1995) and I can get long tips with tapered nozzles, as well as the shorter flat ended ones. I think you probably can too, but that's also the extent of options. By the way, those tapered tips are nice, gives you a better view of the work.
Have a great day,
Jeff

[PTsideshow]

I don't own one yet, but in looking and reading about them. I think that it is strictly,a brand specific, model specific items. Other than the ones that are sold under numerous branded names like a couple on Flea-bay and Harbor Frights.

One has a notch that has to click into the holder. For it to work other considerations would be the flow thru the tip when cutting. To operate properly.

That will be another area I will have to check before purchasing one.

As to the circle cutter you might be able to modify a gas rig circle attachment or make one up out of some form of lay out compass from Lee Valley or Blick. There are plans for do it your self CNC machines for cutting. And that would open another can of worms as on some sites the ones that are sold to add to your torch unit or come with a dedicated torch. Have problems mainly with the pc boards/controls. And that seems to be from the conductive dust and particulate in the smoke and poor filtration for the cooling air for the electronics. Or so I have been told.
So for now I will continue to use my henrob/cobra 2000 torch which gives a closer style cut to a plasma torch with some practice. And can be adapted to circle cutters ect.


The usual disclaimers apply satisfied customer and only live 25 miles from the home office of them:D

[Aaron Schroeder]

I strongly considered purchasing the cutter from harbor freight just so I could have at their stach of cheaper tips.

Tips seem like they must be the most marked up product in the market. Every time I come to the realization that a tip is done, I feel a bitter sense of guilt.........I could have, should have done better to extend it's life.

I wish I had a tip punch. Put a penny in it, pull the lever and out pops another tip eager for service.

I'm pretty sure you could purchase a circle cutter and pantograph designed for another brand and it would work . Might have to modify the cup holder a bit but how hard could that be ?

Good luck in your search. Expect to be dissappointed.........those guys back at corporate have us exactly where they want us.

I'm waiting for the day when a shady character pulls me aside, opens his trench coat and displays it's interior lined with cheap blackmarket rip offs. That'll be the day.

[Ries]

The reason plasma electrodes and tips are so expensive is that they are not just copper, which is going for $3 to $5 a pound lately, but that they are then coated with other metals that actually ARE expensive, like Hafnium.

They may look simple, but the electrodes are complicated, high tech little guys.

Add in monopoly factors of course- every manufacturer, and sometimes every model, has its own design.

there is at least one reputable aftermarket firm, that makes tips and electrodes, but dont expect em to cost a dime.
http://www.precisionproducts.com/

Tip life is directly related to three things-

Standoff height- my automated machine has auto torch height adjustment, maintaining a constant height- this is the best, but simply hose clamping a homemade standoff can do wonders if you are doing lots of template or straight line against a jig cutting.

Air quality- ANY MOISTURE IS BAD. You really need both a standard water trap on your line, and a motorguard style water filter. This makes a difference in performance, tip life, and cut quality. http://www.motorguard.com/air_2_3.html
An M-45 like this is usually available at decent welding supply places for 60 bucks or so, and the elements can be changed out every month or so, and you allow the wet one to dry for a month, and then reuse- that way, a pair can last at least a couple years.

Number of piercings- Nothing wears out a tip like piercing a hole. If you are doing a lot of interior cuts, you will notice a much shorter tip life. Whenever you can, start cutting at an edge, and work in. Often times, this is impossible. I have done pieces with literally hundreds of cutout openings, and the tips just dont last that long- a couple hundred piercings will wear out a tip, even if it only has run a few hundred linear inches, whereas a single piercing might run a thousand or two linear inches.

The imported chinese machines sold on ebay and by Harbor Freight are worth about what you pay for em. They are disposables- nobody stocks parts, nobody repairs em, they may or may not last a year or a day. And, of course, no resale value.

I stick with either Thermal Dynamics or Hypertherm, myself- 95% of shops that cut metal for a living use one or the other. Lincoln and Miller feel obligated to offer a token machine or two, but their heart really isnt in it.

Virtually all gas torch pantographs, circle cutters, track drives, optical trace machines, and cnc tables will take a plasma torch as well.

Here are a few, some actually priced low enough to consider, others at industrial prices, but good places to see how its really done, and what to copy.

http://www.lowbucktools.com/fckit.html
http://www.dynatorch.com/Product.htm
http://www.thermadyne.com/cgsystems/
http://www.plasma-cutter.com/
http://www.torchmate.com/
http://www.plasmacam.com/index.php?
http://www.bugo.com/track.htmlkid=326&gclid=CPjXhJ79x40CFRMqYQod9AadHg
http://technogon.com/
http://www.thermadyne.com/abBrandOverview.asp?div=cgs
http://www.koike.com/

These little Koike's are cute- they actually attach to your steel plate like a mag drill, then cut out a part- great for circles.
http://www.koike.com/Machines/Machine.aspx?MachineID=439

[Duck]

I have the Hypertherm1100 connected to what I call a poor mans cnc table (plasma cam), it also has an inline ingersol air drier. The cnc software allows the control of pierce height, cut hieght, and cut speed. I’ve made over 1200 plunge/cuts with one tip set before toasting. The hand held ESOB with the same model air drier eats tips when I use it, but then somehow they last like 20 times longer if my son uses it ??? go figure…….

[allenring]

Thanks for the detailed info Ries. I bought the thermal dynamics 38 based on everyones advice, great machine. They are all that I have seen in the field, mainly because they will run on 110V or 220V. Got mine from http://store.cyberweld.com/. Paid $938 and it came with a full set of oxy-gas regulators and torch which I put on the air tank for the Lincoln welder. Cyberweld sells accessories.

I think tips are an amazing device for the price, think about something that is managing a 30,000 to 40,000 degree stream of plasma. Plasma is a forth state of matter, (liquid, solid and gas are the three natural states), that is seriously hating life and ain't natural. You get plasma by ripping all of the electrons off of the stuff we breath as air. Takes a lot of energy to do that which is why the stream is so hot, and that plasma is seriously looking for electrons which it gets back from your cut metal.

[crosseyedreamer]

For what its worth...........I have one of the first plasma cutters Miller came out with, I have had to have it factory rebuilt once but to be honest, its given me good economy and service,Anyway miller tips may well be the most expensive of them all, so it is perplexing when I toast one before its life expectancy. I regrind my tips when the crater at the end becomes significant. It is my understanding the tips (not caps) have a core of Zirconium. I don't know if that is true but I do know when I grind the tip on a fairly fine stone (power grinder) its quite a light show. Revives them a little longer anyway. The biggest and most critical item I have ( to preserve tip life)found is using an automotive grade air dryer on your inlet/air line.

[JAZ]

I agree with Ries's comments. I have a Hypertherm Powermax 900, with an in-line dryer I installed. It has a drag tip, a longer one, and gouge tips, so you can adjust the distance depending on what you're doing. the drag tip has full contact on the work surface, so there's no guessing about distance at all. Unlike you guys who just toss or recycle your tips once they are beyond repair, I'm intending to make a necklace out of three of them.
Kidding aside, I've used that machine for eight years and have not had a problem with it.
JAZ