Torch only firing once per job

[Brent]

The compressed air line should be pretty dry. I’m running the air from the compressor, through a Speedaire refrigerated air dryer and then a Motor Guard M-26 filter before it reaches the plasma cutter.

I did notice air air leak coming from inside the plasma cutter and decided to try to track that down as well before the last run. (The compressor kept coming on every few minutes when the machine was connected to the air line but off.) It turned out the internal coalescing filter bowl wasn’t screwed on very tightly and was leaking air, so I tightened that until the leak mostly stopped (there’s still a small leak through the bottom of the filter/unit).

The bowl/filter also appeared to be completely dry (the plasma cuttered has only been started a few times now).

I’ll try a new swirl ring as soon as I can, but are there any other precautions I should take the next time I install one? I’m not sure how else water could enter the line.

[langmuir-daniel]

Sounds like you have a really good setup there for keeping your air dry. I’m going to provide your contact info to tech support so they can work with you directly. Thankfully they offer a great warranty if it were to come to that.

[rkartman45]

Air compressor is not big enough

[Brent]

The compressor has a small tank, but it’s rated for 6 cfm @90 psi. It seems like it’s keeping up fine during these small cuts since the pressure never dips below 75 psi on the plasma cutter meter (although the compressor does continue to run most of the time once it kicks in).

[cdlale63]

Some plasma cutters have a low air pressure shut off to prevent damage to the torch. The air pressure may be dropping too low during cutting.

[Brent]

I was concerned that insufficient air pressure/flow could be the problem, but like I said the pressure on the regulator dial seems pretty solid and I can turn the torch arc on and off via the button in Mach 3 even when the G code isn’t controlling it correctly.

If there’s another way to check for satisfactory pressure, I can look into that too one the torch is operational again. I’ll also try doing some manual tests (I’ve used shared/shop plasma cutters before, but I’ve never used this one by hand).

[Brent]

@langmuir-daniel I picked up a new swirl ring today and replaced it along with the nozzle and electrode. Seems like the torch is working well again (the edges look great).

Unfortunately, I’m having same problem with the torch not firing after the first shutoff.

I checked the air gauges on the plasma cutter and compressor and they both seemed solid (solid 75 psi on the cutter, tank pressure never dropped below ~95-100 psi. I also noticed that if I let the program run to the very end, the air stays on throughout the entire run, shutting off shortly after the end of the program (despite not cutting throughout).

This time I also tried uninstalling Mach 3 and re-installing it from scratch following the instructions in the video just in case I missed a step the first time around. (It seems like some of the settings from the previous installation persisted though since I didn’t have to select the motion controller or agree to/dismiss the EULA this time.) I did look at the Mach 3 on screen settings and G-code that I could see in the video and both of those seemed correct in my installation. I am wondering whether I could have accidentally toggled a setting that would make it behave this way.

One other thing that I tried today was pausing the program execution and setting the next line to run right after the torch turned off successfully during the previous run (for example, the line right after the T stops cutting). When running this way, I can get the remaining segments to cut out. For example, if the cutting sequence is:

T → dot → border

and the Crossfire does an air-only run on the dot and border, if I pause and restart from the line right after the T the Crossfire will move to the pierce location for the dot, cut it, turn off and then do a dry run on the border. If I pause and start from the end of the dot, the border completes and the torch shuts off successfully at the end of the program.

I’m not sure whether any of this is helpful for debugging possible software or firmware/controller issues, but I’m running out of ideas for things to test.

Including an image of the cut done in segments. Also attaching the full G-code since that was requested earlier.

(Sample letter cutout)
N10 G90
N15 G70

(2D Profile2)
N20 G0 X2.1976 Y0.797
N25 M3
N30 G4 P1.
N35 G3 X2.2755 Y0.8308 I0.022 J0.0558 F30.
N40 G1 X2.2794 Y0.8407
N45 G1 X2.2831 Y0.8543
N50 G1 X2.2853 Y0.8685
N55 G1 X2.2861 Y0.8834
N60 G1 X2.2853 Y0.9
N65 G1 X2.2832 Y0.9159
N70 G1 X2.2796 Y0.931
N75 G1 X2.2747 Y0.9453
N80 G1 X2.2684 Y0.9589
N85 G1 X2.2606 Y0.972
N90 G1 X2.2513 Y0.9846
N95 G1 X2.2404 Y0.9967
N100 G1 X2.2286 Y1.0078
N105 G1 X2.2163 Y1.0173
N110 G1 X2.2039 Y1.0252
N115 G1 X2.1911 Y1.0316
N120 G1 X2.1778 Y1.0365
N125 G1 X2.1641 Y1.0401
N130 G1 X2.1498 Y1.0422
N135 G1 X2.1349 Y1.0429
N140 G1 X2.1237 Y1.0423
N145 G1 X2.1108 Y1.0404
N150 G1 X2.0961 Y1.0372
N155 G1 X2.0799 Y1.0324
N160 G1 X2.0621 Y1.0261
N165 G1 X2.0428 Y1.0183
N170 G1 X2.0221 Y1.009
N175 G1 X1.9996 Y0.9979
N180 G1 X1.9994 Y0.9978
N185 G1 X1.9685 Y0.9828
N190 G1 X1.9677 Y0.9824
N195 G1 X1.9364 Y0.9684
N200 G1 X1.9355 Y0.968
N205 G1 X1.9039 Y0.9549
N210 G1 X1.903 Y0.9546
N215 G1 X1.871 Y0.9424
N220 G1 X1.8701 Y0.9421
N225 G1 X1.8378 Y0.931
N230 G1 X1.8369 Y0.9307
N235 G1 X1.8042 Y0.9205
N240 G1 X1.8032 Y0.9203
N245 G1 X1.7702 Y0.9111
N250 G1 X1.7693 Y0.9108
N255 G1 X1.7358 Y0.9026
N260 G1 X1.7349 Y0.9024
N265 G1 X1.7011 Y0.8951
N270 G1 X1.7002 Y0.8949
N275 G1 X1.6661 Y0.8886
N280 G1 X1.6652 Y0.8885
N285 G1 X1.6306 Y0.8832
N290 G1 X1.6297 Y0.883
N295 G1 X1.5949 Y0.8787
N300 G1 X1.594 Y0.8786
N305 G1 X1.5587 Y0.8752
N310 G1 X1.5579 Y0.8751
N315 G1 X1.5223 Y0.8727
N320 G1 X1.5214
N325 G1 X1.4854 Y0.8712
N330 G1 X1.4846
N335 G1 X1.4483 Y0.8707
N340 G1 X1.4475
N345 G1 X1.4231 Y0.8709
N350 G1 X1.4224
N355 G1 X1.3989 Y0.8717
N360 G1 X1.3982
N365 G1 X1.3756 Y0.8729
N370 G1 X1.3749
N375 G1 X1.3532 Y0.8746
N380 G1 X1.3524 Y0.8747
N385 G1 X1.3318 Y0.8768
N390 G1 X1.3309 Y0.8769
N395 G1 X1.3111 Y0.8795
N400 G1 X1.3102 Y0.8797
N405 G1 X1.2914 Y0.8828
N410 G1 X1.2903 Y0.883
N415 G1 X1.2725 Y0.8865
N420 G1 X1.2714 Y0.8868
N425 G1 X1.2545 Y0.8908
N430 G1 X1.2533 Y0.8912
N435 G1 X1.2373 Y0.8957
N440 G1 X1.236 Y0.8961
N445 G1 X1.221 Y0.9011
N450 G1 X1.2195 Y0.9016
N455 G1 X1.2055 Y0.9071
N460 G1 X1.2039 Y0.9078
N465 G1 X1.1909 Y0.9137
N470 G1 X1.1892 Y0.9146
N475 G1 X1.1771 Y0.921
N480 G1 X1.1753 Y0.9221
N485 G1 X1.1641 Y0.929
N490 G1 X1.1623 Y0.9302
N495 G1 X1.1521 Y0.9376
N500 G1 X1.1488 Y0.9403
N505 G1 X1.137 Y0.9516
N510 G1 X1.1351 Y0.9535
N515 G1 X1.1334 Y0.9556
N520 G1 X1.1232 Y0.9694
N525 G1 X1.1218 Y0.9714
N530 G1 X1.1206 Y0.9735
N535 G1 X1.112 Y0.9898
N540 G1 X1.1103 Y0.9935
N545 G1 X1.1032 Y1.0125
N550 G1 X1.1022 Y1.0157
N555 G1 X1.0967 Y1.0372
N560 G1 X1.0961 Y1.0399
N565 G1 X1.0922 Y1.064
N570 G1 X1.0919 Y1.0663
N575 G1 X1.0895 Y1.0929
N580 G1 X1.0894 Y1.0948
N585 G1 X1.0886 Y1.124
N590 G1 Y1.1249
N595 G1 Y1.8875
N600 G2 X1.1201 Y1.919 I0.0315 J0.
N605 G1 X1.8214
N610 G1 X1.8531 Y1.9198
N615 G1 X1.8817 Y1.9221
N620 G1 X1.9075 Y1.9259
N625 G1 X1.9307 Y1.931
N630 G1 X1.951 Y1.9375
N635 G1 X1.9687 Y1.9452
N640 G1 X1.9836 Y1.9539
N645 G1 X1.9964 Y1.9638
N650 G1 X2.0076 Y1.9749
N655 G1 X2.0174 Y1.9868
N660 G1 X2.0256 Y1.9995
N665 G1 X2.0323 Y2.0129
N670 G1 X2.0376 Y2.0272
N675 G1 X2.0414 Y2.0425
N680 G1 X2.0437 Y2.059
N685 G1 X2.0445 Y2.0766
N690 G1 X2.0437 Y2.0947
N695 G1 X2.0413 Y2.1116
N700 G1 X2.0375 Y2.1273
N705 G1 X2.0322 Y2.142
N710 G1 X2.0255 Y2.1556
N715 G1 X2.0173 Y2.1684
N720 G1 X2.0076 Y2.1804
N725 G1 X1.9964 Y2.1915
N730 G1 X1.9836 Y2.2013
N735 G1 X1.9687 Y2.21
N740 G1 X1.951 Y2.2177
N745 G1 X1.9307 Y2.2242
N750 G1 X1.9075 Y2.2294
N755 G1 X1.8817 Y2.2331
N760 G1 X1.8531 Y2.2354
N765 G1 X1.8214 Y2.2362
N770 G1 X1.1201
N775 G2 X1.0886 Y2.2677 I0. J0.0315
N780 G1 Y2.6098
N785 G1 X1.0878 Y2.6414
N790 G1 X1.0855 Y2.67
N795 G1 X1.0817 Y2.6959
N800 G1 X1.0765 Y2.7191
N805 G1 X1.0701 Y2.7394
N810 G1 X1.0624 Y2.757
N815 G1 X1.0537 Y2.772
N820 G1 X1.0438 Y2.7848
N825 G1 X1.0327 Y2.796
N830 G1 X1.0208 Y2.8058
N835 G1 X1.0081 Y2.814
N840 G1 X0.9947 Y2.8207
N845 G1 X0.9804 Y2.8259
N850 G1 X0.9651 Y2.8297
N855 G1 X0.9486 Y2.8321
N860 G1 X0.931 Y2.8328
N865 G1 X0.9129 Y2.8321
N870 G1 X0.896 Y2.8297
N875 G1 X0.8802 Y2.8259
N880 G1 X0.8656 Y2.8206
N885 G1 X0.852 Y2.8139
N890 G1 X0.8392 Y2.8057
N895 G1 X0.8272 Y2.796
N900 G1 X0.8161 Y2.7848
N905 G1 X0.8063 Y2.772
N910 G1 X0.7976 Y2.757
N915 G1 X0.7899 Y2.7394
N920 G1 X0.7834 Y2.7191
N925 G1 X0.7782 Y2.6959
N930 G1 X0.7745 Y2.67
N935 G1 X0.7721 Y2.6414
N940 G1 X0.7714 Y2.6098
N945 G1 Y2.2677
N950 G2 X0.7399 Y2.2362 I-0.0315 J0.
N955 G1 X0.6037
N960 G1 X0.572 Y2.2354
N965 G1 X0.5434 Y2.2331
N970 G1 X0.5175 Y2.2294
N975 G1 X0.4944 Y2.2242
N980 G1 X0.4741 Y2.2177
N985 G1 X0.4564 Y2.21
N990 G1 X0.4415 Y2.2013
N995 G1 X0.4287 Y2.1915
N1000 G1 X0.4175 Y2.1804
N1005 G1 X0.4077 Y2.1684
N1010 G1 X0.3995 Y2.1557
N1015 G1 X0.3928 Y2.1423
N1020 G1 X0.3875 Y2.128
N1025 G1 X0.3837 Y2.1127
N1030 G1 X0.3814 Y2.0963
N1035 G1 X0.3806 Y2.0786
N1040 G1 X0.3814 Y2.0605
N1045 G1 X0.3838 Y2.0436
N1050 G1 X0.3876 Y2.0279
N1055 G1 X0.3928 Y2.0133
N1060 G1 X0.3996 Y1.9996
N1065 G1 X0.4078 Y1.9869
N1070 G1 X0.4175 Y1.9748
N1075 G1 X0.4287 Y1.9637
N1080 G1 X0.4415 Y1.9539
N1085 G1 X0.4564 Y1.9452
N1090 G1 X0.4741 Y1.9375
N1095 G1 X0.4944 Y1.931
N1100 G1 X0.5175 Y1.9259
N1105 G1 X0.5434 Y1.9221
N1110 G1 X0.572 Y1.9198
N1115 G1 X0.6037 Y1.919
N1120 G1 X0.7399
N1125 G2 X0.7714 Y1.8875 I0. J-0.0315
N1130 G1 Y1.0517
N1135 G1 X0.772 Y1.0254
N1140 G1 X0.774 Y1.
N1145 G1 X0.7772 Y0.9752
N1150 G1 X0.7818 Y0.951
N1155 G1 X0.7876 Y0.9273
N1160 G1 X0.7947 Y0.9042
N1165 G1 X0.8031 Y0.8816
N1170 G1 X0.8127 Y0.8594
N1175 G1 X0.8237 Y0.8378
N1180 G1 X0.836 Y0.8166
N1185 G1 X0.8496 Y0.7959
N1190 G1 X0.8646 Y0.7757
N1195 G1 X0.8809 Y0.7559
N1200 G1 X0.8985 Y0.7365
N1205 G1 X0.9176 Y0.7176
N1210 G1 X0.9379 Y0.6992
N1215 G1 X0.9594 Y0.6818
N1220 G1 X0.9821 Y0.6655
N1225 G1 X1.0062 Y0.6503
N1230 G1 X1.0316 Y0.6362
N1235 G1 X1.0585 Y0.6231
N1240 G1 X1.0867 Y0.6112
N1245 G1 X1.1164 Y0.6003
N1250 G1 X1.1475 Y0.5905
N1255 G1 X1.18 Y0.5819
N1260 G1 X1.214 Y0.5744
N1265 G1 X1.2494 Y0.568
N1270 G1 X1.2862 Y0.5628
N1275 G1 X1.3245 Y0.5587
N1280 G1 X1.3642 Y0.5558
N1285 G1 X1.4053 Y0.554
N1290 G1 X1.4479 Y0.5534
N1295 G1 X1.4703 Y0.5537
N1300 G1 X1.4934 Y0.5546
N1305 G1 X1.5172 Y0.556
N1310 G1 X1.5418 Y0.5579
N1315 G1 X1.5671 Y0.5604
N1320 G1 X1.593 Y0.5635
N1325 G1 X1.6197 Y0.5672
N1330 G1 X1.6471 Y0.5714
N1335 G1 X1.6752 Y0.5762
N1340 G1 X1.704 Y0.5816
N1345 G1 X1.7334 Y0.5875
N1350 G1 X1.7636 Y0.594
N1355 G1 X1.7945 Y0.6011
N1360 G1 X1.826 Y0.6088
N1365 G1 X1.8583 Y0.617
N1370 G1 X1.8912 Y0.6258
N1375 G1 X1.9237 Y0.635
N1380 G1 X1.9548 Y0.6442
N1385 G1 X1.9844 Y0.6535
N1390 G1 X2.0126 Y0.6628
N1395 G1 X2.0394 Y0.6723
N1400 G1 X2.0647 Y0.6818
N1405 G1 X2.0886 Y0.6913
N1410 G1 X2.111 Y0.7009
N1415 G1 X2.1319 Y0.7106
N1420 G1 X2.1514 Y0.7203
N1425 G1 X2.1694 Y0.73
N1430 G1 X2.1859 Y0.7397
N1435 G1 X2.2009 Y0.7494
N1440 G1 X2.2145 Y0.759
N1445 G1 X2.2265 Y0.7685
N1450 G1 X2.237 Y0.778
N1455 G1 X2.2491 Y0.7902
N1460 G1 X2.2592 Y0.8024
N1465 G1 X2.2675 Y0.8149
N1470 G1 X2.2742 Y0.8276
N1475 G1 X2.2755 Y0.8308
N1480 M5

N1485 G0 X2.7531 Y0.6311
N1490 M3
N1495 G4 P1.
N1500 G1 X2.7562 Y0.6637 F30.
N1505 G3 X2.676 Y0.636 I-0.0262 J-0.054
N1510 G3 X2.824 Y0.564 I0.074 J-0.036
N1515 G3 X2.676 Y0.636 I-0.074 J0.036
N1520 M5

N1525 G0 X3.2165 Y0.696
N1530 M3
N1535 G4 P1.
N1540 G3 X3.1565 Y0.636 I0. J-0.06 F30.
N1545 G1 Y0.125
N1550 G2 X3.125 Y0.0935 I-0.0315 J0.
N1555 G1 X0.125
N1560 G2 X0.0935 Y0.125 I0. J0.0315
N1565 G1 Y3.125
N1570 G2 X0.125 Y3.1565 I0.0315 J0.
N1575 G1 X3.125
N1580 G2 X3.1565 Y3.125 I0. J-0.0315
N1585 G1 Y0.636
N1590 M5

N1595 M30

[Brent]

Ok, sent a message to Razorweld support and they said it might be an issue with the torch. Sounds like they’re sending a replacement, so I’ll give another update after that.

[rkartman45]

Your G4 p1.0 Should be P0.1 I don’t know if that’s gonna make a difference or not. what font is the t i’d like to reprogram it

[ManCrafting]

Just curious since I have no experience, but have you tried running anything other than the t. that you have been running? Any other g-code operation?

[richard_horn]

is the G4 P(X) is this the pierce delay? I have not received my table yet but viewing my G code I had G4 P0.5 I assumed that to be the 0.5 Pierce delay. from the Crossfire Assembly Manual instructions.

20. Change the ‘Pierce delay’ value to 0.5 seconds. The pierce delay value controls how long the motion will pause after the torch fires so that the plasma jet has a chance to fully pierce the material. The value you select will depend on your plasma cutter.

Code sample

N10 G90
N15 G70

(2D Profile2)
N20 G0 X2.415 Y1.195
N25 M3
N30 G4 P0.5
N35 G3 X2.54 Y1.07 I0.125 J0. F35.
N40 G3 Y2.01 I0. J0.47
N45 G3 Y1.07 I0. J-0.47
N50 M5

N55 G0 X2.665 Y-0.115
N60 M3
N65 G4 P0.5
N70 G3 X2.54 Y0.01 I-0.125 J0. F35.
N75 G1 X0.04
N80 G2 X0.01 Y0.04 I0. J0.03
N85 G1 Y2.04
N90 G2 X1.04 Y3.07 I1.03 J0.
N95 G1 X4.04
N100 G2 X5.07 Y2.04 I0. J-1.03
N105 G1 Y0.04
N110 G2 X5.04 Y0.01 I-0.03 J0.
N115 G1 X2.54
N120 M5

N125 M30

[Brent]

Yes, I think “G4 P1.” is the pierce delay. From observation, it’s definitely higher than necessary (I set it to 1 second in Fusion), but I read a suggested range of 0.5 - 1 seconds somewhere and went with the higher end of the range. I’ll go ahead and try changing it to a lower number since it seems like the 1 second delay generates a malformed decimal number. (It does seem to pause for 1 second on those lines whether or not the torch is arcing though.)

I haven’t tried anything other than the T yet, but I’ll also give that a try. I assume anything with a single arc firing would work fine.

And @rkartman45 I don’t have a font for the T. I just downloaded the sample DXF file from the Langmuir Systems website and scaled it down for these test cuts. Perhaps they could tell us the font name (it looks like they may have also used it in the “Garden Art Sign.”

http://www.langmuirsystems.com/projects/custom-letter-logo

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

[Brent]

Ok, I think I finally figured out the root of the problem.

Shortening the pierce delay didn’t fix things, but with some manual testing I realized that my torch just won’t successfully create an arc if the air is flowing. It works at the first start since it seems like the air starts simultaneously, but not on subsequent cuts. Manual piercing tests with the air flowing and not confirmed this.

As a workaround, I manually added delays of a few seconds after every cut in the G-code so the plasma cutter had enough time to shut off the air flow before starting the next pierce. After making this change, the part cuts successfully. It doesn’t sound like this should normally be necessary.

@langmuir-daniel I’ll also check with Razorweld, but is this definitely indicative of a problem with the torch, or could this be a problem with the plasma cutter itself?

[langmuir-daniel]

Great job troubleshooting this issue on your own. I can’t say if its a torch issue or an issue with the power supply, but it’s definitely one or the other.

[langmuir-daniel]

Hi @Brent, have you had any further correspondence with Razorweld? Another customer is facing the same problem with their Vipercut 30

[tmarshall]

Having same issues, I do not want to add delays into the g-code, specially running production or multiple cutouts. My delays would be 10+ seconds each…

[Brent]

@langmuir-daniel I got a response to my first message to Razorweld saying that they suspected that the swirl ring issue may have been related to a short and that they’d send a replacement torch. I haven’t heard back since sending them my address. I did follow up a day later with the additional details about the (I guess unintentional) post-flow issue, but haven’t gotten a response to that inquiry yet. I’ll follow up again on both.

I assumed that the machine had some sort of post-flow delay like a welder. I’m seeing delays closer to 4 second at the end of a single cut. If the crossfire triggers another firing, the flow continues (with no arc) but it generally shuts down within a few seconds of the final M5 command for me. Having read about blowback starts since my last post, this behavior makes more sense now.

[langmuir-daniel]

Yeah i believe there is some type of issue going on with the plasma cutter power supply because the vipercut 30 does not have postflow. Even if it did (like the 45 does) it should still fire when commanded; interrupting the postflow.

[Brent]

Ok, I finally called Razorweld/Jasic yesterday. Sounds like they’re going to be switching out the unit I have for one that should work. Mailing it back today.

[langmuir-daniel]

That’s great to hear, Brent. Please let us know how the replacement unit works for you.