I've had a plasma cutter for a couple of years, but I've always used it for thin-ish stock & briefly. That is, duty cycle has never been an issue. Until today. Today I made an 18" cut in 1/2" plate. With a
3/8" capacity cutter. It is spec'ed to "sever" 1/2". And it did, but slowly & with great ugliness!Anyhow, I knew that I was pushing it, but I figured that the "overheat" limit would kick in if it was too much. It didn't, so great. Afterward (!) I dug out the manual & checked: 35% duty cycle at max amps. Uh oh.
So, the question is: was it OK to rely on the built in overheat limit, or did I need to stick to the 35% duty cycle? And since I didn't (and it's still running), what might be the consequences? Shortened life? I did let it run quite a while after I finished the cut.
Thanks, Bob
Oh - it's a Hyperthem "powermax 380"