Cut quality stainless

Cutting .040 stainless and getting fuzzy hard to remove dross. X45 at 30 amps 100 inp 70 psi. Any recommendations would help

plasma does not cut stainless verywell…it leaves a lot of dross.
if you want nice cuts…you will have to cut with Nitrogen at $$$$$$

do a search for Stainless with the little magnifying glass top right…

waterjet is the best way to cut Stainless next to laser…

just remember…stainless gives off EXTREMLY HAZERDOUS fumes

Thanks, think I will leave this one alone.

UPDATE: For an in-depth article on the hazard and mitigation: https://www.esabna.com/us/en/education/blog/does-plasma-cutting-produce-hex-chrome.cfm

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Here is a project I did with 20Ga SS:

Also, I think @ctgolfer did some signs in SS and posted them on this forum.

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The metal fume emitted from stainless steel plasma cutting may consist of hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), which is a carcinogen, and other toxicants. Overexposure to plasma cutting fume may cause pulmonary toxicity and other health effects.

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Yep, he did the range markers for his driving range as well as some other signs. He & I were able to score some great SS sheets (11ga) cheap a couple of years ago. I love SS and haven’t had the issues some folks report with cutting it. I don’t use nitrogen :slight_smile:

@TomWS Hex chrome is a proven carcinogen. To give you context of the risk, consider that the exposure limit for hex chrome is .5 micrograms/m3 versus 5mg/m3 for zinc fume. In simple terms, you are permitted 10,000 times more zinc fume exposure than hex chrome. At a minimum, anyone cutting and/or welding stainless should use an N95 mask. Even better is a P100 like the Miller LPR-100.

Please think about editing your comments. There’s nothing to be gained by leaving them in place. The fact is we should all be using respirators and/or excellent ventilation or filtration when we cut or weld, but stainless requires an even higher level of care and PPE.

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every metal has some level of contaminates that are harmful…

every day we each learn something new…never let a day go by without learning something new…

@RandyB

I’m still in the process of becoming self-taught, but I do mostly cut stainless. Air will work fine for that thin material. In fact, according to plasma guru,Jim Colt, nitrogen actually increases the chance of dross (while decreasing oxidation…pick your poison).

If you don’t decide to abandon ship, bring your speed up to 130ipm and keep adjusting until you’re happy with the amount of dross. It is much more ductile than carbon steel dross, so it’s still going to cling, but once you get it dialed, you should be able to remove most of it with just a surface conditioning disc.

I know you all have a nice mutual admiration society, but I wasn’t referring to his politeness or your feelings. He posted incorrect information and even after that was pointed out, tried to minimize the risk by suggesting that because he was ignorant of it, it might be “along the lines of virtually any material…” As you correctly point out, it isn’t: It’s extra bad stuff. Letting misinformation stand risks letting misinformation spread.

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let us not try to have a flame war…BUT

since Tom removed his…I will remove mine…will you kindly remove your quotes and edit for polite conversation please.

you want to know the dangers of hexavalent chromiun, watch the movie Erin brockavitch. can be really harmful stuff if you dont give it the respect it deserves.

I cut .05 stainless for bottle openers…
I slowed down the cutting speed to 45 ipm
70 psi and 30 amps
Dross is still hard to remove but very manageable with a flap disk…

Made bottle openers tried putting 5 in a harbor freight tumbler for an hour with almost perfect results on dross removal an sharp edges

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