Plasma Cutter??

[pitzerwm]

Went to the annual Art in the Park here on Friday and got interested in some metal sculpture/metal art and the ADD is kicking in with boredom, so I'm looking to buy a plasma cutter. Anyone have one and/or can make recommendations etc?

 

[mjwalsh]

The artistic tendency that we all share!

Bill,

I bought one that was both a welder(tig included) & a plasma cutter online. The plasma capability quit working as soon as warranty was up & after I had already stocked up on wear out attachment plasma tips. It was one I had searched on line for the 3 in 1 & I was hoping it would be good enough since we weren't planning on using it very much. It cost around 600 dollars. It seems to create a lot of electrical noise so I had to be careful what breaker I plugged it into. I wonder if anyone else had better experiences with these less expensive DC Inverter IMPORTS & after sale service.

Water Jet cutter is the best & most accurate. Laser is less costly but still leaves a more burn appearance. A bimetal blade on a jig saw is much better than I had thought it would be.

My comments are mostly directed at stainless cutting of which we had to do a lot of during the framework part of our still unfinished dog wash. For the bottom tray for our 4 column vending we even used our chop saw. That of course was more like grinding.

I am appreciating manufacturers more & more to some extent considering the intricate processes that they do or arrange to have done.

 

[pitzerwm]

MJ what brand did you buy?

 

[Reds]

I was in the metal fabricating biz for 10 years (1970's). I had a lot of Miller & AirCo equipment, but no plasma cutters. When I decided to get a plasma cutter a couple years ago I bought a Miller Spectrum 375 Extreme. The Miller brand has been around for a long time and is well regarded among the welding trade. It is a small, portable plasma cutter that will run on single phase 240 or 120. I wanted portable so I could use it wherever I needed it. It will cut up to 3/8" thick steel or stainless. It's a real nice machine and I have never had any trouble with it. It has a nice stable "arc" and does a real nice job on stainless or steel. Now I only use my oxy/acetylene torch to do dirty out of position cutting. The best place I found to buy welding equipment is cyberweld.com - they sell all the top brands of welding equipment, but the good stuff isn't cheap. When I was in the welding biz I specialized in fabricating stainless steel equipment. We used shears, nibblers, and abrasive cutting equipment to cut our stainless. I know now that a plasma cutter would have been worth it's weight in gold. It does a good job on sheet metal with minimal or no warpage. Just like a torch, you have to practice or use a guide to cut nice straight lines with it. Good luck.

 

[MikeV]

Bill, I also bought a Miller plasma cutter several years ago. It has performed flawlessly since I've had it. It a 120vac and will cut up to 3/8" steel and/or stainless. Since most of the equipment I work on is stainless steel, I thought it would be a good investment. Go for it, you'll have fun with it.

 

[CRHAMEL]

Bill,

If You really like the plasma you would LOVE A LAZER, That s on my christmas list(someday). We have a Thermal dynamics XL 50 (Plasma) we have uses it for years no problems. We just got a 300 amp miller Tig welder With a Liquid cooled gun, We also have a sheer brake, 90 ton iron worker and the list goes on......If you ever want to drop buy and play with someting the door is alway open

 

[mjwalsh]

Bill,

I just have a model # CT-416D. By the below link it looks like others have had problems. It is kind of heavy to be shipping back & forth though.


http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=31004

 

[pitzerwm]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Reds]

Depending on what you are doing with it, and how hard you will be using it, you should pay attention to the duty cycle on the machine you buy. If you would be using it nonstop you need 100% duty cycle. Duty Cycle is the amount of time it will run in a ten minute period (expressed in a %) without overheating and tripping the internal circuit breaker.

 

[MEP001]

I always wondered exactly what that meant. I've always made sure to use and recommend compressors with a 100% duty cycle so it can survive a "stuck on" condition.

 

[pitzerwm]

I'm thinking the Miller 375 X with a case, I will make a few phone calls tomorrow and go for it. I'm pretty sure that this one is more than I need which is better than less than I need. Skipping a week or two at the casino should pay for it

 

[Reds]

Bill, buy a few spare tips if they don't come with it. I believe Miller has a "consumables" kit that may come with it. Also, they sell a little fixture that has 2 wheels and you position your torch in it so you can run the wheels down a guide piece and get a nice straight cut. If you are planning on cutting any straight lines it's a great help. Also, make sure you wear your goggles - I use "Jackson Nemesis Safety Spectacle - Black shade #5. I assume you know that you need about 100lb of air pressure too (hooks into rear of machine).

 

[JJJakubowski]

Hey, Bill:

You kinda sorta implied that you were going to try your own hand at metal sculpture/art. Is that the case? Are you planning on moving on from art collector to becoming an art-maker?

JJJ/SSCWN

 

[pitzerwm]

Well, as usual I'm bored and went to an art fair here, thought some of the stuff was cool, so was thinking, that I would try my hand at it. Thanks to Red and others I had made a decision, but having thought about it, I realize that I have no idea what I would make or care to make and figured, I'd just end up with another expensive toy in the corner, so hesitating on pulling the trigger. There is a special on the Miller that ends tomorrow, so just might do it anyway.