Hello from Corona Ca

Introductions
26

Right on. I’m here and will help if I can. Still learning honestly.

Today was Inkscape (which I’m liking so far for free). Couple of things I’m sure others do better like allowing you to rotate a part around easily. So far all I can figure out in Inkscape is 90° at a click.

The tool
Itself is great then the software you use to support is another story. Got to find what works for you.

I dig that Langmuir gives you a process flow logic and then allows you to swap in your tool of choice. Super positive on the purchase so far for a noob.

Cheers!

27

That looks to be a picture if there’s no supporting .dxf file.

You could try Inkscape and import it, convert it and then save it.

Cheers!

28

I ran that part again and it was perfect. Not sure why it turned out like that before.

On to trying to cut aluminum today. The first cut was total garbage, too much amperage, it looks like and feeds were a bit slow.

I’ve been using the xls chart that was found on the site.

Cutting 6051 1/4 aluminum.
30amps, 70ipm, kerf .06”, arc start .15” cut height .125”, pierce delay 1.0s,

Not sure what tip size the razor weld comes with. I’ve seen folks chatting about down different sizes.

29

Glad you asked. Was really hoping it wasn’t an issue with the machines accuracy!

30

Inkscape is in the digital garbage can and Fusion360 subscription is in full swing. Now that’s got the making parts and gcode going, but still not cutting consistently or cutting consistent parts that is. it’s not a smooth as I would have hoped. Have a call into the team for support find out what I am doing wrong, or what black magic i might need to learn. right now it’s a big 5lbs hammer from where I am sitting, but today was meet with nothing but failures, something different each time, fix one things and that just means one gremlin moved on and new one showed up… grrrr…

31

Fusion is definitely my favorite.
that’s cool you got your workflow figured out.

Could you post some examples of the cut quality?

What kind of problems were you having? And what kind of corrections did you implement?

32

@TinWhisperer, well let me see where to start…

starting yesterday I was attempting to cut some targets. They are out of 1/2 mild steel, 8" in diameter, leveraging the cut settings from hypertherm reference materials:

  • Torch Cutting Height 0.06
  • Initial Arch Start .18 arch
  • Cutting Speed 30ipm (adjusted to 20ipm based on not cutting through)
  • Pierce Delay 1.2
  • Amperage at 65amps (today added 5amps just gits and shiggles)
  • Airflow at 60psi (while running)

Now the odd part is it cuts in a straight line like a champ (yesterday). but today it won’t cut anything due to errors in arch or THC issues. It also cut a nice hole out in a portion of the part. Just not the entire part. It’s not making any sense.

Now where are we, oh yes, today I go out and I think ok, back to basics.
*Check air source for water, check good

  • Check all the inline filters (oh which I have two, 1- on the tank, and the OEM one on the hypertherm. check good
  • Check consumables, check good
  • Check ground, check good
  • Check program, check good
  • Check water level in table, check good,
  • Check myself before i wreck myself, oh wait, no no that’s the 90’s…

Fire up the system, run the part, get the no spark errors messages in firecontrol, touch height too high, or ground no good, or THC sense’s no voltage, arg! Run the THC testing in Firecontrol (firmware 1.11XR) and check good.

I start all over again and reboot the entire thing…no joy, 4 hours wasted and go to grab a beer, because that at this point. That is way more productive than what I am getting out of the machine.

Straight cut to ensure it actually is the right setup. (yesterday)

tempImagerufjFs
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Target Failed cut 3rd time overlapping to not waste more material ( and, wasting materials ugh) and the actual target or what should be a target. Yet it is because it decides to not cut all the way through in some spots and not in others, etc, etc. (nice edges on the hole it actually cut through on though…insult to injury.

tempImageRYdjfl
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Consumables post cutting:

tempImageJLgecm
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Drank beer, opened the porn box and fired off a support request to Langmuir, came to the forum to read and search more on what I am having issues with. Found out that I have support since it’s and XR. So plan on calling and talking with them tomorrow, if that bring’s not joy. I will look to sell this off and find another solution. :slight_smile:

Time for another beer…oh and all Hypertherm consumables, OEM baby!

33

Is this your Pierce height?

Are you not running a razor weld 45?

How are you setting it to 65 amps?

Seems low I see guys running up at about 75 PSI.

Applying feed rate optimization (slows down in the corners and radius) is a good way of going about it. When you’re developing your toolpaths Fusion it’s in the 2D profile menu. If you search “optimization” above a few topics will come up.

The hypertherm settings are going to be way too fast for the razor weld. 65% of the hypertherm value would be close.

Are those fine cut consumables that you’re using in that picture?
I would not be using fine cut consumables to cut that thick of a material.
Use Standard consumables at 45 amps.

Also think about getting a desiccant cell before your plasma torch.

Try a longer pierce delay too. 1.6-1.8sec

What voltage are you seeing during the cut in fire control?

Are you using smart or nominal voltage in fire control to set your THC.

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34

Your pressure needs to be at 70-75 psi. as Tin stated, and you need to slow cut speed to 20 ipm. for 1/2".

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35

Can I ask a simple question…why not start with thinner gauge material…scraps of 11g…see how it performs…then work your way up…

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36

@toolboy I had done that when I first started and cut some of the bottle openers, and J-hooks, and target stands. had the same quirky issues at the time and was lead to believe it might have been a razor weld issue…so picked up a hypertherm, rechecked all the set procedures and screw lash, etc.

I could do again but wasn’t sure why that would matter,

37

Turn off the THC when you cut the thick stuff. My pro will do that with 3/8 and 1/2 when it’s on for some reason. It’s not needed for thicker material, it won’t move that much.

2 Likes
38

@Bill_A Roger that I will give it a go. Thanks for that advice,

39

You cannot use those fine cut consumables on that half inch plate.

Now that I know you’re running a hypertherm.

Are you running a PowerMax 85?

Use a 65 amp nozzle.

Which swirl ring are you using?

Make sure it’s a double row of holes in your swirl ring.

Find cut consumables use a single row of holes in their swirl ring.

1 Like
40

@TinWhisperer - I thought that might have been the issue and swapped them back to the standard consumables that came with the torch last night. Same issues, also was suggested that maybe 60psi was a bit low, so cranked that back up to 90psi.

will keep trying to see what’s what

41

it is easier and cheaper to get the cutting right on thinner materials…then you upgrade the cutting difficulty.
you do not see new drivers in the Indy 500…you gota work out the issues and problems on the thinner stuff…

go back to basics…solve the problem that has always been there…air issues…water issues…something is off from the start

1 Like
42

Working with Cameron over at Langmuir, more to come as we figure it out. Currently looking at they THC never touches off at the start of a cut. He runs the same code on his machine and it works perfectly, i run the code and nada…

video of it running in test mode. iCloud

43

Posted this in another thread tonight, but good grief it works!

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See full details below…

2 Likes
44

Fantastic. Congrats. That looks a nice cut.

45

Congrats and hello from a crossfire pro user in Temecula :+1:

These are great systems. I wish I had the space to house an XR. But I had to settle for the pro due to space limitations.