There is something you are all over looking here when it comes to consumables for any plasma cutter or torch.
As this thread is dealing with the Razorweld plasma cutter and the X45 torch here is a few thing you may or may not know. and will apply to other plasma cutters and torch’s.
First the consumables that Razorweld and Langmuir sells for the Razorweld are (made to look like Hypertherm consumables) from China they are not Hypertherm. Hypertherm does not recommend using there consumables with the Razorweld X45 torch. Now if you plan on going with Hypertherm consumables you need to use everything, electrode, tip, swirl ring, retaining cup (won’t work on the X45 hand torch , but will work on the machine torch) and cnc shield as everything is made to work together as a complete unit. Mixing Chinese consumables, Tacmo consumables and or Hypertherm consumables will never work well.
NOTE: One of the reasons Hypertherm has went to the cartage is because of all the Chinese aftermarket consumables being sold.
When a customer ask me for consumables for there Razorweld I tell them right up front. If they do not use everything there can be cutting trouble, misfires, poor cuts etc. Its not to make more money or sell them extra stuff they don’t need. Its so they have a complete setup so if there is some kind of trouble it is most likely not the consumables.
NOTE: Everything used on the plasma cutter torch are consumables. Electrodes, cutting tips, swirl rings, retaining cups and shields. Yes some wear out faster then others. But when your having trouble just changing the electrode and or tip will not always fix the problem unless you can see for sure it was bad. One of the most over looked consumable is the swirl ring. Well it looks good so it must be good, WRONG.
So how important is the swirl ring? Do you ever replace it? Does it wear out? Does it affect the cuts? Lets see if this can help answer some or all of these questions.
The swirl ring does 5 thing when installed.
#1 Its a spacer between the torch head and the cutting tip
#2 Its a air seal between the torch head and the cutting tip
#3 Its an insulator between the torch head and the cutting tip
#4 It has air holes to swirl the air around the electrode to keep it cool (note: the hafnium in the end of the electrode becomes 3500 to 4000 degrees when cutting)
#5 it has air holes to swirl the air that comes out of your cutting tip to help keep a plasma flame uniform. ( Note: over air pressure will deform the flame )
Now to me the answer to the questions are YES the swirl ring is very important and should not be over looked. It wears out the same as other consumables and should be replaced if you start having cutting issues.
