here is a little help…
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Less than 300 pierces.
The thing is regardless of cut settings, I usually end up with the same results. If I go too fast it doesn’t cut through on lead in, even with a slowed lead in. Almost everything I cut the pieces don’t just fall out, I have to push them down through and sometimes break them off at the lead in point.
I cut some 1/8" the other day and there was it was showing that the torch wasn’t square left and right. I changed the torch holder and nothing seemed to change.
I guess my biggest frustration is I was doing test cuts where I was at the point I was satisfied, went to cut a bigger project with the same settings and it cut completely different.
I’ve looked through these, it just seems regardless of what settings I use I still don’t get good or consistent results. I never feel comfortable enough to load in a file, hit cut and walk away.
I think your cut height is to high . You need to remove the CNC shield and manual measure the gap between the cutting tip and the work piece. 30 amp should be about .045" and 40/45 amp should be .060".
If you were getting bevel and changing the torch did not matter the consumables were bad.
You never start a program hit cut and walk away. That can end up being a very costly mistake.
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I’ll definitely have to verify cut height.
As far as setting the machine and walking away. I meant that as far as not having to babysit every step of the cut.
reading your posts and looking at your pictures…I feel you are at the same place I was a number of months ago…you are rushing perfection…
what I mean by this is when you do cust and it does not come out right is seems you are changing a whole bunch of setting rather that just adjusting one setting and trying again
you need to take a piece of metal and cut a bunch of 6" lines…side by side…
the for each line you cut…you change one parameter like amps only for about 10 lines…
here is an example…read the thread attached
this is a great example of how to fine tune your cutting.
everyone has slightly different results…metal quality, air quality, electrical supply, consumable condition and quality…all these factor into a cut.
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I think that rushing definitely has something to do with it. I’ll read through that post when I get a chance, thank you!
Just a thought on your issue, make sure you have a good ground.
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I always ground to material and periodically clean the contacts on the ground. I haven’t had an opportunity to try any new variables to see if my cuts have improved.
My 2 cents, i have been running my Crossfire table since 3/2019, viper cut 30, consumables from Paul Gamble, amazon and the mother ship. I have been welding and fabricating for 30 plus years, amps are set around 27, speed currently for 14 ga. A36 is at 67ipm, no THC, i know it as slag proper name is dross, will always be present to a degree on 14 ga. , the parts above of you if you drop them on the floor will the slag fall off? if it does you are closer than you think my friend, travel speed is big, you have to take your time and dial it in, if on large jobs, long cuts you see slag increase, you may be losing air pressure. Take and breath and work the problem, do not let the problem work you. sip some good bourbon, smoke a fine cigar, keep calm and cut on. Semper Fi
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Solid advice. I just get overwhelmed with all the possible variables that could be causing my issues and dint know which direction to take.
I have extensive experience in the CNC world, been a machinist and in the machine trade for 23 years. Its been mentioned above but not necessarily in these words, when you are troubleshooting and dialing in a process change ONE variable at a time. I.e. change amperage, air pressure, cut speed, cut height, THC settings, etc. but one at a time. Get your best setting for that variable and then move on to changing another. This way if you solve your issue, you know what you changed to fix it and you understand what a particular change does to the quality of the cut.
Also, if your cuts looked good on a small test but went south on a longer cut you may be dealing with a pressure drop issue. Try your best settings you have developed on a larger piece and watch the pressure gages on the compressor and the plasma during the cut. Do they change as the cut progresses or remain the same? Also, as part of the pressure drop issue, what air line diameter are you running to the plasma? Is it feeding directly from the air tank or through shop plumbing? Try switching to a 3/8 ID air line directly from the compressor to the plasma. But again, make this change and leave the other variables the same if you try it. That way you understand the impact if any.
Chris
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welcome back…
I completely agree with this…as I am guilty of this myself being at the time a total noob to plasma CNC…now I am a partial Noob…
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We were all noobs at things during our lifetime, great part about places like this forum is that we have resources like this to ask questions and accerate past noob much faster. Cheers!
After taking a couple days away from my machine, went to do the line test and it wouldnt load correctly. so i decided to cut on a different small bottle opener. I decided not to run my compressor since I wanted to empty anyway and change the drain valve. So my cuts started at about 80 psi, and went down to about 60 psi. I mostly wanted to see the effect on low pressure, also changed some feed rates as I did cuts to see how it changed dross and cut quality.
14g HR, 30amps, THC set to 110v nominal, with a 5v range.
I started at 100 ipm, average amount of dross ive seen.
Dropped to 70 ipm, a lot more dross notived.
Upped to 130 ipm, and saw the dross I’m trying to achieve on every cut.
From there I tried some different THC settings until I felt air pressure was effecting cut quality.
First picture was dross I saw from 100 ipm.
Second picture was my best results. (130 ipm, THC set to smart voltage) There was a little more dross, but not much and it came off super easy.
Before cutting I took some pictures of my consumables (less than 300 pierces)
I cleaned the shield after taking the picture, not sure whats causing the slag in the shield.
Enjoy my gross fingers.
Next time I’m going to change the drain valve on my compressor, attempt a little more fine tuning and then try to see how my cuts change while the compressor runs. I know my setup is capable of producing the cut quality I want, I just need to figure out what in my system is causing poor quality.
Thanks for all the help so far!
What do you have for airline filtration? You have a lot of oil or water in air system, neither is good for getting quality cuts and hard on consumable’s.
I have an aftercooler setup on my compressor with an inline auto drain, goes to a harbor freight refrigerator dryer, then to a devbliss qc3 dessicant filter, then to a motor guard m60 to my plasma.
The inside of the cutting tip has been firing off center, it is bad as the hole has been eroded out, the marks are normal other wise.
It may just be the picture but the electrode looks like its also firing off center, but other wise looks good.
The stuff inside the cnc shield is doss form piercing blow back.
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What would cause it to fire off center? Incorrect install?
So on my way home, I stopped by the shop to install a new compressor drain and move my regulator from before the plasma cutter to after the compressor and before anything else.
After I let the compressor get filled back up I decided to try a quick experiment to see where my switch was set to ( messed with it the day before, but never ran my compressor.)
I had an air nozzle hooked up, and held it wide open with the regulator set to 75 psi, it took about 1 minute and 45 seconds to for the compressor to drop from 130 psi to about 105 psi.
From there it took about 1 minute and 40 seconds for it to fill back up and shut off.
Not sure if this is acceptable, or if compressor is on the weak end. It’s old and was a hand me down from my father.
About to load up a file and go try some fine tuning. Ill report back later after I’ve done some cuts.