Basic Troubleshooting

Consumable Cut Quality and Life

By: Dan McLenithan (Field Service)

September 19, 2007

Copyright, 2006 Hypertherm, Inc. These materials cannot be reproduced in any form without the permission of Hypertherm, Inc.
 Plasma arc as we use it
The plasma exists in a swirling stream of
gas. This gas provides the atoms to be
ionized, the non-ionized cool gas that
surrounds the arc and the force to push the
molten metal out of the kerf.

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 Gases: Purity

Purity - It is essential that the following gases be

delivered to the plasma system in the listed levels of
purity. Failure to do so could result in poor cut
quality, poor consumable life, and overall degradation
in system cut performance.
• O2, N2, F5 & H35: 99.995% pure
• Air: clean, dry and oil-free

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 Gases: Flow Rate

Supply Pressures
• Gas consoles have a specified inlet pressure
requirement/flow rate for proper operation.
• It is recommended to have reliable regulators close
to the inlet ports to the gas console.
• Regulators should be of high quality (2-stage) and
sized for rated pressure and flow rate specified in the
plasma arc cutting system manual.
• The operator should monitor them often to determine
that the pressure and flow requirements are satisfied.

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 Plasma Gas: Air

Pros
• Good economical choice
• Readily available
• Good cut quality on carbon steel

Cons
• Metallurgical changes in cut edge (weldability, formability,
and machineability on carbon steel)
• Consumable parts life is acceptable.
• Increased dross and surface nitriding

September 19, 2007

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 Plasma Gas: Nitrogen

Pros
• Best cut quality on aluminum and stainless steel (when used
in conjunction with Water Injection)
• Excellent consumable parts life

Cons
• Metallurgical changes in cut edge (weldability, formability,
and machineability on carbon steel)
• Increased dross and surface nitriding

September 19, 2007

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 Plasma Gas: (H35) Argon-Hydrogen

Pros
• Primarily used when cutting stainless steel above 1/2” thick
• Smoother and brighter surface finish
• High powered cutting applications (up to 1000 amps and up to 6”
thick)
• Excellent consumable life
• It is used with dual gas systems to improve cut quality on stainless
steel from 3/8" to 2".

Cons
• Higher operating cost due to gas expense
• Rough cut edge on aluminum

September 19, 2007

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 Plasma Gas: Oxygen

Pros
• Best choice for cutting mild steel
• Faster cutting speeds
• Exceptional edge quality
(angularity, smoothness, and minimal dross)

Cons
• Increased operating cost (gas consumption & consumable
life)

September 19, 2007

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 The shape of the arc is the shape of the cut

ƒ Torch
height

Negative Bevel Too Low

Zero Bevel

Positive Bevel Too High

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 The shape of the arc is the shape of the cut
Proper gas flow

Low gas flow

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 What else affects arc shape?
ƒ Feed rate
ƒ Faster than
normal
ƒ Narrower kerf Faster

ƒ Excess dross
ƒ Torch tends to
rise in THC mode
ƒ Slower than
normal Normal
ƒ Wider kerf
ƒ Excess dross
ƒ Torch dives

Slower

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 Arc voltage and torch height control

Speed Affects Arc Voltage

150 VDC 145 VDC 140 VDC

Slower Normal Speed Faster

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 Cutting Speed and Arc Voltage

As cutting speed increases arc voltage decreases and vice versa.

Cutting speed changes:

• When going in and out of corners
• At beginning and end of a cut
• When cutting circles and contours
• This will cause dross in corners and
contours
Reaction of THC:
• Torch will dive as speed decreases
• Torch will raise as speed increases
• THC must be turned off or ”AVC
Disabled” when speed decreases.
This is a required output of the CNC
control.

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 How the arc is shaped

ƒ The HT4400 torch Swirl ring

consumables Electrode (-)
Plasma gas

Nozzle

Shield gas

Shield

Work (+)

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 Consumables

ƒ Change these regularly as a pair

ƒ How do you know when to change consumables?
ƒ Sound?
ƒ Arc color?
ƒ Cut quality?
ƒ Number of starts?
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 Consumable set
ƒ Remaining nozzle life may be difficult to
measure

New Slag build-up shield damage Blown nozzle

New nozzle

New End of life Overused

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 Electrode pit depth

ƒ We recommend that electrodes be changed when the pit depth is .040”

ƒ Part number 004147
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 Electrode wear

ƒ Normal use Excessive use

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 Consumables - Electrode Wear

Un-used Time to change cratered Wash-out Blow-out

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 Damaged Water-inlet tube

When electrode
damage is this
severe, damage
to the water inlet
tube is inevitable!

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Consumables - Electrode

Electrode

Insert

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 Electrode wear is a cause of nozzle wear
ƒ The Hafnium insert life is the key to consumable life

Normal life: Past normal life:

From 0” to.040” Greater than .040”
pit depth pit depth

Swirling Effective arc diameter

plasma
gas flow Arc diameter
With Silver Plus® electrodes the
arc will remain centered with pit
depths up to .080”

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 Other consumables

ƒ The other consumables are changed

less often
Retaining cap:

Should be replaced only if it leaks or is damaged

Swirl ring:

Replace if damaged or fouled.

Replace if changing the nozzle and electrode

doesn’t fix the problem
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Torch Height: Piercing & Cutting

• Pierce height is the initial

height of the torch from
the plate when piercing.

• Cutting height is the torch-

to-work distance
maintained during a cut
cycle.

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 Cutting issues
ƒ Dross
ƒ Low speed
ƒ The dross you see at the
end of consumable life
ƒ Black, burnt, easy to
remove
ƒ May result from low feed
rate
ƒ High speed
ƒ Rare
ƒ Re-solidified metal
ƒ Will not chip off
ƒ Dross free
ƒ There may still be spots of
dross in the corners and at
starts and stops
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 Cut angularity

ƒ Torch
height

Negative Bevel Too Low

Zero Bevel

Positive Bevel Too High

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 Bevel Angle Problems

Excessive bevel angle

• Nozzle damaged
• Torch not square to
material
• Torch travel direction (or
swirl ring spin direction
incorrect)
• Amperage too high/low
for material
• Stand-off too high/low
• Speed too fast/slow

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 Cut angularity
ƒ Gas flow New consumables
ƒ As
consumables
wear the nozzle
orifice typically
becomes
enlarged. This
causes a loss in
velocity and
pressure and so
the arc changes
shape. Usually
causing
increased
angularity at the Worn consumables
end of
consumable life

September 19, 2007

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Correct Cut Speed
Amperage correct for material “sweet spot” is
in the mid-range of cut chart
Speed correct; arc lagging slightly
Standoff correct; voltage dialed in

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 Appearance of Cut
• When cutting metals besides mild steel with oxygen, lag lines
are not a good indicator of cut speed.
• Bevel angle, dross levels and appearance of the cut must be
factored together. The smoothness or roughness of the face
and the dross levels will determine correct speed.
• Concave cut face is due to torch standoff being too low or
consumables are worn.
• Convex cut face is due to torch standoff being too high or
consumables are worn.

Good quality Stainless Steel Cut Good quality Aluminum Cut

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 Direction of the Cut
Clockwise: Cutting outer boundary of part. Part falls out.
Counter-Clockwise: Cutting inside hole. Scrap falls out

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 Low-speed dross

Globular dross that forms in large deposits. Comes

off very easily, in large pieces.

Cause: Eliminate By:

• Amperage too high • Use a smaller nozzle
• Speed too low • Increase speed
• Standoff too low • Raise voltage

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 High-speed dross
Fine roll-over dross that welds to bottom edge.
Cleaning requires chipping or grinding.

Cause: Eliminate By:

• Blown nozzle • Replace nozzle
• Amperage too low • Use larger nozzle
• Speed too fast • Slow down
• Standoff too high • Lower voltage

September 19, 2007

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 Top Dross (Spatter)
Top Dross or Spatter
appears on the top
edge of both pieces of
the plate. Lower the
voltage in increments
of 5 volts (maximum)
until top dross
disappears. Top Dross
is usually only seen
with Air plasma.

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 Symptom Diagnosis: Kerf Width
Kerf is the void created
by the cutting process (or
the volume of material
removed).
Kerf width is important to
the dimensional accuracy
of the part.
Kerf width = 1.5-2.0 x
orifice diameter.
Slower speed=wider kerf
More power=wider kerf
Kerf compensation
setting
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 Cutting holes with plasma

ƒ As with every cutting

operation motion control
is key to this process

ƒ Slow down
ƒ Use a lower amperage
process
ƒ Control arc off timing in
concert with machine
motion

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 Cutting Holes

• Rule of thumb - The

diameter of the
circle should not be
less than twice the
thickness of the
material.
• Cutting smaller
holes will produce a
tapered cut edge.

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 Cutting holes

ƒ These techniques may be useful

Motion stop point

Arc cut off point

Use a negative “cut off time” to begin the arc ramp-

down while the torch is moving. Timing is critical
and will vary with hole size and material thickness
Pierce

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 Misfires

ƒ There are three distinct arcs in a plasma arc cutting system

High frequency arc Pilot arc Cutting arc

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 Double arcing

ƒ This is were the cutting arc touches

the nozzle
ƒ Happens during piercing
ƒ Usual poor cut quality shows up
immediately

ƒ To help prevent double arcing

ƒ Pierce as high off of the plate as possible

ƒ Maintain proper gas flows. Pre-flow and
shield gas flows are critical.

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 Short consumable life

ƒ Over the life of the equipment there will be times when

consumable life is affected by normal wear and tear on the
equipment

ƒ Gas leaks

ƒ Other non-gas flow problems that can affect consumable life

ƒ THC issues
ƒ Pilot arc circuit issues
ƒ Grounding issues
ƒ Coolant flow problems

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 Preventive maintenance

ƒ Confirm proper inlet gas pressures

ƒ Confirm proper gas flows at the gas console
ƒ Confirm that the proper consumables are installed
ƒ Regular operations
ƒ Use O-lube sparingly
ƒ Inspect the torch body
ƒ Make small adjustments in torch height and feed rate
ƒ Change the electrode and nozzle as a set
ƒ Establish a daily routine
ƒ Note any changes in operation

September 19, 2007

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