Well mine sure wouldn’t increase while I had it up and running yesterday.
You have something strange going on. When you did the reinstall did you delete both fire control folders. I believe one is in the users folder. Someone else can confirm.
What windows version are you using,? I was using 10 pro a update messed everything up. I ended up buying a mini PC.
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I have a MacBook Air with macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 installed on it.
Been using this computer for three years with no problems until Fusion and FireControl needed to be updated. That’s when things went bad.
I don’t have experience with a crossover. So I am dumb there
I ran the old version of fire control for several years and never updated it. Works don’t break it.
My computer slipped a update that I didn’t catch in time to delete. Firecontrol wouldn’t connect to the table. I uninstalled and reinstalled then the newer version of fire control. The new version wouldn’t let me run from line or loop
I tried two older laptops that hadn’t updated and they worked fine … so I bit the bullet and $165 bought a mini PC. Haven’t looked back.
You may have updated issue. With windows you have 10 days to uninstall updates.
Do you have another laptop you can try? Borrow one?
This was from a previous post awhile back
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Well frustration has set in and making me really mad. I increased the pierce delay on 16g sheetmetal from 100% to 130% and it cut. For 1/4" steel I decreased the pierce delay from 100% to around 30% and it cut. Today when I went out to cut both of the same material, it would fire and make a pierce but then shut down and give the error code. I increased and decreased several times, only to have the same outcome. It would fire and then shut off. Any idea what the heck is the issue? I even went back to Fusion360 and set up my plasma cutter in the library like it was originally.
1/4 A36 steel 45 amps, .7 pierce delay everything else stays the same.
Refrain from increasing the delay with FireControl. Use the Fusion post to set that. Yes, you can use it for minor adjustments that are underway.
Just my two cents.
Make sure your work clamp is on the steel, not the slats. What plasma cutter do you have?
Also, make sure you have 70 psi while the torch is cutting. Not 60, not 65. 70 or even 75.
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I agree with BigDaddy’s post: you need to find the correct settings. Doing the adjustment in FireControl is a one-off just to get that cut resolved. Certainly not something to use regularly.
It is very likely something is going on with your computer communication. At this point you need to check your cut height. This file has a 0.02 springback built into it so on the 1/4 inch it is likely to be 0.08 inches when you check with a feeler gauge:
cut height test.tap (224 Bytes)
Hypertherm recommends at least 90 to the back of the machine. I just checked the manual for Hypertherm 30XP and it said your air should be set to 80-100 to the back of the machine.
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If you use firecontrol to increase your pierce delay to get it to cut, make sure you do the math to then find where you need to be next time you post process. Because your speed adjustments in firecontrol reset every time you reload a file.
So .05 x 1.30 = 0.065 is what you should change your post processing to be.
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Well before all of these updates the system was working fine. Cut fine for three years with my Hypertherm 30xp. I’ve cut 16g, 20g, 3/16", and 1/4". I even tried to cut 1/2" but my plasma cutter didn’t like it or I was cutting too fast. Like I said, worked fine for three years before the updates. When I first installed Fusion360, I set up my plasma cutter from their tutorial page. All of the perimeters were in there, along with the pierce delay info. Yes my ground is on the work piece, air pressure has been the same since the beginning with no issues. Some of the other users have said to increase the pierce delay from fire control, but what do I know.
I don’t know about the others, but my post processor seems to remember the last piece delay I put in on the job before. When I post, I change it to what I want before sending it to FireControl.
As for the air pressure, you could losing a regulator or have an obstruction. Just because it worked for years doesn’t mean it is correct now. You should check it. Something besides Fusion has changed on your table.
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That is correct. That information repopulates but it will also repopulate if I open someone else’s f3d file and go to the post processor screen. The next time I go to cut something for myself, those values are now in there.
Always check and confirm those numbers.
My system worked fine until I got a new computer. Perhaps an update of the OS changed something similar to as if you got a different computer.
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So I just looked at my post properties:
Cut Height (in) - 0.063
IHS Springback (in) - 0.02
Pierce Delay (sec) - 0.5
Pierce Height (in) - 1
From my tool library for the Hypertherm 30xp:
Nozzle Diameter - 1"
Kerf Width - 0.06 inches
Head Clearance - 0.04 inches
Cut Height - 0.05906 inches
Pierce Height - 0.15748 inches
Cut Power - 30
Pierce Power - 30
Pierce Time - 1 s
So from those settings, I never changed anything when I “post processed” a design
From what you are saying, I should set my pierce delay to 0.70 for 1/4" material? I should set my pierce delay every time I cut something to what ever the material calls for?
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And lower your pierce height to .15. Good lord, 1 inch?
And loose the spring back.
Start a cut, press pause, measure the gap between the plasma torch and the metal with feeler gauges, adjust your post cut height accordingly to get it to .06
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If that 1" pierce height is not a typo, that’s your main issue.
Pierce delay will be different for different thicknesses of material. The delay is to allow time for the torch to fully pierce through the material before moving.
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That is the Pierce delay that I use. I’m saying that before you send the post processor to FireControl, make sure that the settings are what you want. 1 sec ~.7 should work. Also your cut height. 06, and the pierce height should be .12~.15, not 1. I’m sure that’s a typo.
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So since I have already Post Processed a project, what is the best way to set the pierce delay? Just created a part and put in some of the values that @Bigdaddy2166 suggested.
cut height 0.063 inches
pierce delay 0.8 seconds
pierce height 0.12 inches
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Repost it under a " project V2" and resend it to FireControl. Go to your saved files or overflow, hit post-processor, and enter your new values.
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Well I took your advice @Bigdaddy2166 and set my pierce delay for .8 sec and my pierce height at .12 inches. This cut my 1/4" plate perfect. No Issues
Well it keeps getting interesting. Went back and made a version two of a design with new pierce height and delay for 16g (pierce delay .4 and pierce height .14). Went back out to the shop and it cut perfect. Tried another design and had the same error code as I’ve been having before. So back to the house and made a version two, and got the same error code. Made a version three and deleted the pierce delay and the pierce height and re-entered them with a pierce delay of 0.4 and a pierce height of .15. Wouldn’t cut, so in FireControl I bumped the pierce delay down from 100% down to about 80% and it started cutting. However, it would start cutting a letter and not finish the cut. I let it continue to cut while I messed with the pierce delay setting. Then the power on our street decided to go out. Just can’t seem to get this figured out. My ground clamp is actually on the piece of metal and my air pressure is around 90 to 100 psi. My consumables have less than 80 pierces and around 20 minutes of run time on them. Here is what the cuts looked like
I will try this again:
Have you verified the actual cut height?
Run a simple test cut of a 2"x2" square with a 3/4" hole in the center (It does not have to be those exact dimensions). Show images of the results front and back of the piece cut and the edge cut.
Post the gcode file (attach to your post).
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