The 100 amp consumables on the duramax retrofit torch take a different swirl ring. And the fine cuts on the duramax torch also take a different swirl ring.
I’m not sure which literature you’re looking at but I would review the hypertherm retrofit torch manual
In the retrofit cut charts 3/4 is as thick as you can do at 85 amps for piercing. And another note is that when you start cutting thicker materials with the hypertherm the Pierce height changes from 250% of the cut height to 400% so you’d be looking at a Pierce height of .24 " . The reason this is done is so slag doesn’t blast into the nozzle and destroy it prematurely when cutting heavy material. So potentially destroying your nozzle before it even gets a chance to do any cutting maybe causing some of your issues
I set up all my thick items for edge start. Thick being anything over 1/2". Any internal cuts I will pre drill a .250 hole where the pierce will be.
It also calls out a different shield. The swirl ring is taller, not larger holes that I can see. I will swap out all the bits and pieces today and do another trial.
FWIW - Even the 3/4 cuts that I did turned to crap and a trashed nozzle after 16" with the 85a consumables.
Verified the swirl ring, appropriate shield for the 105 electrode and nozzle. Verified the electrical connections on the plasma and the ground right to the work on the small samples.
Only marginally better. It’s not trashing the nozzles as much, but I still can’t get it to get a decent cut quality. With the machine torch cutting at 11 inches per minute it’s just kind of wavy. If I grab the Legacy and torch that came with the machine I can get pretty vertical cuts by hand. Just not as smooth
I don’t know that it is the cutter. Same plasma unit, Retrofit Machine Torch (228790) Hypertherm consumables - both 85a and 105a, 75% of rated cut speed and it gives me that type of inboard/outboard wavy cuts on a mostly straight line (minor arc).
Switch over to the OE Legacy torch 50’ long, with about 25’ of cutting on that 85a nozzle at 90a and I can get the cuts that I have shown at a faster IPM. Most recent is pulling along a straight edge, but I already did a finish cut on a piece off a template.
In the sample 2 posts above, all I did is switch out from the machine to the hand torch, never touched the work clamp. But to answer your question, the work clamp is actually newish as that was my first suspect. I went from 8ga work clamp lead to a 0/1 welding cable drop, and from 50’ down to 25ish.
The MRT was a new/open box - not saying that it is not the problem. It might have some internal issue.
I don’t know that Hypertherm will help, 15 +/- year old 2nd or 3rd hand cutter and MRT not purchased from authorized dealer…Ill try.
So it seems like it’s fixed, although quite a bit slower than I was anticipating. I had to raise the cut height another .070 and slow the cut speed down to 7 in per minute.
So what ended up being the height difference between the 100amp swirl and the upto 80 amp swirl ring?
Does the 1650 have a voltage dividing board that offers other outputs then 50 to 1? If so could it be set up for one of the other outputs? I combed through the manual briefly but I didn’t see you break out on the voltage dividing board.
No, I have not done the heath test, and I don’t recall any low voltage warnings. This THC has caused me more problems than I care to think about with both my 45 and now the 1650. Cutting just fine and out of nowhere raises up until it’s past gouging and turns into a flame out on the 1650 or turns into pilot arc on the 45. This is after a couple minutes of cutting on a program. It will even duplicate on a repeat cut.
The 1650 is already stupid sensitive for loss of arc contact. It will not do an edge start above 60 amps. I have to start 50-60 amps, then after the lead in starts, I have to roll up to my cutting amps (85 or 100 depending on power supply ~ 208 or 480). This includes my .120 pilot holes I predrill.
I did not measure. Maybe 1/8 or 3/16. Almost a .250 on the legacy hand torch.
My cut height is .125 to the shield at 100a. The nozzle is recessed about the same as the 45-85a Duramax consumables. Legacy is .185ish recessed.
Does the 1650 have a voltage dividing board that offers other outputs then 50 to 1? If so could it be set up for one of the other outputs? I combed through the manual briefly but I didn’t see you break out on the voltage dividing board.
[/quote]
No. It’s male spade terminals J15 and J16 on the board. Raw voltage. It does not run through the CP cord though, I have to run a separate line.
Sorry that was auto correct. Should have been 76 volts volts is a little low. Well maybe auto correct is to blame for part of it… you would see the voltage warning in the THC health test.
I think I know what you are talking about now. Yes I ran the test when I connected the 1650. IIRC 156-160 free arc voltage. Worked for 2 days, then went into weirdsville.
I need to pop open the case…again…and check the connections, maybe run a check while cutting to verify. Might be my VIM box has been sketchy from the start.
