I recently had a burglury at my home. I lost a Miller Spectrum 625 and a Millermatic 251. The Miller Spectrum 625 was o.k. but always seemed slightly underpowered. I operate a feedmill and a couple of retail stores. Maintenance is in-house and we fab a lot of our own parts and some products(gates, panels,round pens etc.) Occasionally I or my employees need to cut or sever plate greater than 1/2". I have heard good things about Hypertherm and Thermaldynamics, and I know the quality of Miller. But can anyone help me narrow my choice?
I have read on the spec sheet that it has a 3/4" capacity. I like to buy for more than I need, planning for the unexpected. If I was to need a machine for mostly cutting, say, 1/8" to 1/4" materials, would this be a good one? Or, would its bigger size make it cut more ragged? Or could I use this equally well for thin as well as thicker metals?
Thanks. That about answers my question. In reality, I would be cutting sheet metal to 3/8" materials. I have long ago quit horsing steel due to two shoulder surgeries, two neck injuries, and a sternum dissection from CABGX5. The 650 would be nice for when I DO need it for 1/2", but that would be probably a couple of times a year. Is there one you would recommend for 3/8" and less, or would the 650 be the one? And just have that reserve capability in case?
Just to throw some mud in the waters I must comment on this.
I'm not sure if you have any experience with the newer Hypertherm torches for the 1000 and above but I must say that they've come a long way. The new torch and consumables are a huge leap forward in capability and life of the consumables compared to the older design torch still sold on the 650. I've used my 1250 to cut a piece of 1" with a clean cut and turned right around and without changing anything other than travel speed made a clean cut on a piece of 16 ga. Simply amazing doesn't even come close to describing it.
The one thing about plasma cutters is that power corresponds with the speed of the cut. If you try to size the plasma cutter to just barely enough then you must travel slow (about the same as a cutting torch). For me this makes it difficult to maintain a even cutting speed when using a straight edge guide thus I might as well use a torch. Personally for 3/8" I'd rather use a Powermax 1000 than a 650.
In addition to this I was just involved in a change over of a torch on a Powermax 900 being used on a plasma cutting table. The old torch was the same design as is still used on the 650 while the new torch is the same as the one that came with my 1250. It was a night and day difference in cut quality and the owner has already reported better consumable life to me. This is in addition to the new torch has better visibility and easier straight edge guide use than the old design.
From what I've managed to find so far the new torch design is only shipped on the Powermax 1000 and larger cutters so far. I'm sure they're eventually going to upgrade the smaller machines but at the moment I feel that the extra money for the 1000 is worth it.
Thanks for the great info. I tend to buy more than I need for that once in a while occasion. But, it is good to hear that the torch will cut smaller stuff, too, and do it well, as this will be the bulk of my cutting. And, at some time in the future, I may need a torch for a CNC table.
They've got some new tips out for 10ga and thinner called Finecut and from what I hear they work very well for fine detail work. I've not used the ones I bought yet myself for a first hand experience but those tips where one of the reasons that my friend changed his machine torch from the old to the new design.
The large tips (mine uses 80 amp tips) will cut the thin stuff just fine and very fast. But they do leave a larger kerf than the smaller tips. I've got some 40 amp tips for really thin work and they do work well if cutting thin stock and you don't travel to fast. But I prefer to use the big tips and cut fast for most of my work.
If you are going to cut a lot of 3/8" then I would stick with the 650.
I have a Thermal dynamics Pak38XL which is equivalent to the Hypertherm
380.
It is a dual voltage machine which was very important to me since at the time I bought it I was doing a lot of onsite stainless sheet metal. It can cut up to 1/4" on 110 volt and up to 3/8" on 220 volt.
3/8" is really it's upper limit.
The Hypertherm 380 does the same thing but with a little more power.
Traditionally Thermal Dynamics had a finer cut and Hypertherm had more power.
Not sure exactly how they compare now, but they both make good plasma cutters.
If running off of 110 volt isn't important, then stick with the larger
I trust that you know your stuff on Hypertherm. I stopped over to the local shop yesterday to see what they had on special. They were offering the 1000 for a few hundred off list. But, the difference between that one and the 1250 was about $800. Not so online. Much better pricing. Sure, get your parts, consumbables where you can, maybe local, maybe not.
That is another topic for a post.. Sure, we all want to support our local shops, but I have mixed feelings about these guys, in particular, with the bogus HazMat fees I have been hit with.
OK BACK TO BURNERS!!! Can it be said that I will get a decent thin metal cut if I reduce the amperage and use a smaller?? Electrode, cup, torch??? I don't have any reall experience with plasma cutters. But, I want to be able to cut just over a inch. When looking at the prices, on line,, I am tending to thing I want the 1250. Even as a home owner,, I like to play with metal. I have a Bobcat loader that could use some hard facing on the general purpose bucket. And probably on the backhoe bucket, when I actually get one. Blasting holes into 1" steel for the pins, etc is a very real possiblity. Only the mind presents the limit (actually, the service to my house does :-(( )
The T80 torch comes with the 1250, and the t60 with the 1000.. I will go look up the difference for prices for the consumables. I will admit, most of the cutting will be around 3/8-1/2. On occasion I will need thicker, and on occasion I will need thinner.
I have the 1250. It'll do a clean cut on 1" but you have to go pretty slow. As for the thin yes you can put a 40 amp tip in the torch and cut thin metal. My experience has been that you only want to do this with really thin metal. The 80 amp tip with a fast travel speed does a really clean cut on 16ga and thinner but has a slightly bigger kerf.
The parts are the same in both torches. The only difference is in the largest nozzles used. In fact you can use any of the nozzles in either but for the 80amp machine you need the 80amp nozzle. I believe that the only real difference in the two torches is in the size of the wire running from the machine. They need to use a slightly larger size for the 80 amp machine.
I wasn't sure about the 1250 after reading some of the posts, but I figure I would rather err on the side of thick than thin.. If I read your post correctly, I can get the machine to cut lighter effectively with some adjustments, and/or minor changes. But,, if the machine doens't have the power to begin with, the thicker material won't be an option at all.
The max input current is 70 with the 1250 and 50 with the 1000. Just one more reason to get my service changed to the house.
Thanks Wayne, I did my taxes last night (Mr. Procrastinate) and it looks like it is going to be PARTY TIME!!!!!!!!!!
I will have just enough to score a 1000, and I will kick in some extra to get the bigger box. Just about anything you put onto a Bobcat starts at $1000. The forks are one of the least expensive add-ons, but what do you give someone who has it all?? A dumpster!!! That be said, having a plasma to create some home brew attachments using the universal mounting plate would be great. Cut clean and square, weld as needed, AND GET'ER DONE!
Now it is just a matter of figuring which dealer to get it from. The Ebay crowd(one of) kind of makes me a bit leary because I didn't see a phone number offered. Where as the more mainstream dealers, who sell on-line in addition to brick and morter, have the two machines of interest for a couple of hundred more..
Anybody have preferences, or bad experiences to share??
I wasn't sure about the 1250 after reading some of the posts, but I figure I would rather err on the side of thick than thin.. If I read your post correctly, I can get the machine to cut lighter effectively with some adjustments, and/or minor changes. But,, if the machine doens't have the power to begin with, the thicker material won't be an option at all.
The max input current is 70 with the 1250 and 50 with the 1000. Just one more reason to get my service changed to the house.
Thanks Wayne, I did my taxes last night (Mr. Procrastinate) and it looks like it is going to be PARTY TIME!!!!!!!!!!
I will have just enough to score a 1000, and I will kick in some extra to get the bigger box. Just about anything you put onto a Bobcat starts at $1000. The forks are one of the least expensive add-ons, but what do you give someone who has it all?? A dumpster!!! That be said, having a plasma to create some home brew attachments using the universal mounting plate would be great. Cut clean and square, weld as needed, AND GET'ER DONE!
Now it is just a matter of figuring which dealer to get it from. The Ebay crowd(one of) kind of makes me a bit leary because I didn't see a phone number offered. Where as the more mainstream dealers, who sell on-line in addition to brick and morter, have the two machines of interest for a couple of hundred more..
Anybody have preferences, or bad experiences to share??
All I can say is that after using plasma cutters of various flavors (including some previous Hypertherm models) for 12 years is that the new torch design they have (the T-60 and T-80) is like night and day compared to all of them including Hypertherms former torches. Better visibility, better cut quality, better consumable life, etc. A short while back I cut a piece of 1" mild steel with a more than acceptable cut and then without changing anything other than travel speed I cut some 16ga sheet metal with a perfectly clean very little slag cut.
Yep.
Great.
Sounds like the 1250 is for you. The higher amperage capability allows for faster travel during the cut. The only time I've wished for higher capacity on mine was today. But then you don't cut notches in
2" thick wheel weights everyday. I got it done with the gouging tip but it took some time.
I priced it online and then found that my dealer could get it to me cheaper than they could. I saved about $200 going with my dealer. However I'm what they call a drop dealer for them which gives me a price break. But if you push them many dealers are able to cut you a break on the price.
I have the Hypertherm 600 with an optional 50'(gloat: leather covered) T60 torch. That baby really cooks with my 600! - Nice to get a torch rated higher than spec and the source is rated higher - up to real power then.
Martin
Mart> I trust that you know your stuff on Hypertherm. I stopped over to the
I wanted to give the business to the local guy, but the company is not set up for the weekend warrior. They want the commercial accounts before they talk discounts. I have a Miller Legend, an LTeck250 mig, lincoln buzbox, CRAPsman junk, and various other buz boxes, gas torch/tanks combos. My goal is to get into hifreq, tig, or something so that I can weld up some underwater toys too. But,, if I had to pay the prices around here, I wouldn't get much for the buck..
I may try one of my other big dealers. He may have some specials.
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