Plasma

[Bofobo]

So thought id start a new thread for plasma related jibjab.

I just picked up one at KMS for $550 the first one was a dud but after an exchange im feeling better. Its just a little guy with 115Vor 220V plug and play...... untill your compressor is inadequite .... my plan is varied but im thinking 2 compressors and possibly a pig tank? Any thoughts?
It calls for 6 scfm but each compressor i have is about half that (oil less). Pictures of course but only if such a contraption works.

 

[PeterT]

Compressor 'specs' can be a real challenge to interpret because they rarely tell you all the info you need. Some are completely bogus. About the best you can hope for is a CFM & delivery pressure 'coordinate' which is hopefully indicative of the motor hp & compressor size itself. This one for example shows 5.4 SCFM @ 90 PSI. Even then I think they can play games unless they further define this as 'sustainable running' vs. assuming a fully charged tank. Similarly you might see a higher CFM spec, however at a lower (or totally undocumented) delivery pressure than your tools are meant to operate so beware.
https://www.rona.ca/en/air-compress...MIi6fvotD41wIVhV5-Ch0bsApCEAQYBCABEgKYKPD_BwE

I hadn't realized those cutters gobbled that much air but makes sense the way they zip through metal.

 

[CalgaryPT]

I struggled through with my first cutter years ago with a small compressor and pig tank. Worked fine, just as long as you planed your cuts well and kept them short. It's do-able. Don't over filter/dry the air as this drops the pressure a bit. Calgary's air is so dry you can get away with a basic filter.

 

[Bofobo]

Im pretty sure it has a separator/ filter of sorts in the flow adjuster .. has a drain out the bottom ( i disassembled the first one to look) if i were to increase the drying it would be el chepo silica gel, but a small cut showed me the compressor and plasma cutter cannot be on the same outlet (duh) but it worked for an inch or so

 

[CalgaryPT]

Years ago I looked at upgrading my electrical to a 200 amp service. The City transformer was two houses away but the cost was about 15k. So that was the end of that dream. Turns out even with all my welders and other stuff I’ve been lucky. The plasma I have now I’ve never maxed out. Even the smallest of machines are great to have around. Once you get it dialed in there’s nothing like that feeeling of cutting like butter.

Congrats and good luck.

 

[Janger]

Hey Mike
The plasma cutting we were doing was with this 5.x cfm compressor. https://m.kmstools.com/california-air-2hp-10-gallon-twin-stack-quiet-air-compressor-123448
We didn’t run out of air cutting up those tanks. I think even a smaller one would work ok just with shorter cutting cycles. Cut wait cut wait.

Keeping the air dry is super important - even a drop of moisture blows up the consumables. I have a inline filter thing and desiccant combo and make sure I blow out the hose before I connect the plasma. This is after wrecking half a dozen plasma tips wondering what the heck was wrong. I found the plasma built in filter was not adequate. I disagree with Peter on this one.

 

[Bofobo]

Two compressors worked great! ... my problem was tripping the 15A breaker the plasma was on and i think i needed just a tiny bit more flow but i adjusted as i went and finnished before i got optimal.

 

[Dabbler]

Several compressor guys told me that solution wouldn't work for my sandblast outfit, but it worked fine too... Good job!

 

[kevin.decelles]

I concur with janger in the dry air recommendation. We discussed plasma a few weeks back and I said that I had went through my first set of tips in 6 years. He mentioned that he was going through them quickly until he added the dryer .

I've had a dryer/ filter in place forever, could be that is key . I use my plasma a lot......


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[Jwest7788]

I concur with janger in the dry air recommendation. We discussed plasma a few weeks back and I said that I had went through my first set of tips in 6 years. He mentioned that he was going through them quickly until he added the dryer .

Same here on my end. Dry air is super important. -- Getting the moisture to (cool and then) drop out is the most important for plasma. I'm under the impression that it's liquid water that destroys the consumables.

Calgary's air is so dry you can get away with a basic filter.

There is definitely some water involved. Quick calculator online says it's 6.6ml per 80 gallon tank fill with today's temp and relative humidity in YYC. It's only a teaspoon of water per large tank, but makes it good advice to get a bigger water trap then you need, but after the trap, a small desiccant filter will have a super long life. Those little tiny traps can fill up pretty quickly if you're running a plasma for any period of time.
--> This is why we need to drain compressors after each use, even in Alberta.

This project, which was admittedly overkill (but a lot of fun) get's a surprising amount of water if I'm running the compressor for the afternoon:
https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/attachments/2016-02-25-21-53-02-jpg.664/

 

[Bofobo]

This advise has led me to this solution and the following refinements, the eureka came when i spilled this tub of bits. This pic is of the back, a straight accident just waiting to ruin the day. I had this piece kicking around for years , no idea where its from when or why i have it but thats just a scrappers life