Hey All! I know ! I know ! Look at previous postings for answers on plasma cutters ! And I have read many, many of these postings. But things seem to change so fast in the plasma cutter world. I saw one advertised in Machinist's Workshop or Home Shop Machinist that was surprisingly inexpensive. I spoke to the guy selling it and he was very helpful and informative. He gave me a reference to a fellow using it in a light industrial setting as I would be. It turns out that it would not work for me, but would be great for a hobbiest. So for me it boils down to either Hypertherm or Thermal dynamics. It seems that these machines are priced closely, use consumables at approximately the same rate, and parts are easily available. So it comes down to trying each one and seeing which one feels better. But where I need help is deciding what capacity is best for my situation. Currently the thickest mild steel plate I cut is 3/4". The thickest stainless plate is 5/8" I use the oxy-acetylene torch for the mild steel and saw for stainless. All the cuts are then machined to size. Not too much welding is done in my shop but I do turn away welding business from time to time because it is such a small part of my work and I like machining better. But this will probably be changing this year. I'm looking to hire a welder with some machining experience who wants to learn machining. So a plasma cutter will hopefully be getting more work. And that work will be welded assemblies. So the cuts will preferably be final and many will be welded to other parts. Just how bad is the cut when it is "severed"? Is machining this "severed" surface hard on cutters the way a torch cut surface would be? Can the cut be improved by pre-heating the plate? How much grinding is required to make a "severed" cut close to the same quality as a proper cut? Is there a point where it is better to use a torch because of thickness? Is 3/4" near this point? Will a higher amperage machine make better cuts on thinner material? If so, can a machine that will cut 1" be used economically to cut 16 gauge? Does the cut have less bevel when using higher amperage? Can I tig weld to a plasma cut surface without any prep or with minimal prep?
I think that's it. Thank You, Eric R Snow, E T Precision Machine