How not to treat your plasma cutter

Plasma Cutters
1

This is the company Hypertherm 45xp that they bought in 2020ish. Mostly gets stored in the parts room of a batch plant and used only in emergencies and during the off season during winter repairs.

The protective cover is trashed, the cable/hose lead is ripped and taped, and I think based on the electrical tape, exposed wires.

I got a call yesterday to come and cut something since they trashed the torch and wanted me to order a new torch lead.

“Hang on, let me look at it”

  • “I already did, I can’t get the nozzle out, it’s ruined, we need to order a new torch”

“Just hang on, let me look at it”

I get to the plant and they had managed to finally cut the .250 plate that needed cutting. The unit was set on Gouging, and they literally sawed through the steel. The project manager was there and told them to get rid of that POS plasma and get an oxy acetylene torch.

I should have let them think it was junk and picked up yet another perfectly good power tool from the dumpster. Yes, I said another.

20230608_071741
20230608_0717411920×3950 1.23 MB

20230608_071750
20230608_0717501920×3950 572 KB

Evidently the nozzle got trashed when they were trying to bore some holes in 3/8 wall tubing…on gouge.

Time to have a training session with them.

7 Likes
2

Should be able to get another few hundred pierces out of her!! Let her work to her full potential.

Well you know the bigger the title and paycheck it does something to their brain. They become teenagers again and know it all and then some.

6 Likes
3

I went to work at a fab shop a few years back. They had 2 thermal dynamics stuck in different corner saying they were junk and couldn’t be fixed. I waited patiently until the boss said to throw them away. I ask if I could throw them away at my house and he said yes. One had a wire broke for the 220/480 switch the I only had to solder back on and the other had dirty contacts on the PIP switch on the torch nozzle and needed a new internal filter housing after they got water in it and froze it up. The one is a cut master 82 that I run on my table and the other is a cutmaster 52 that I use manually. To think if I hadn’t been there that day they’d be in the garabage :unamused:

3 Likes