I don’t believe the 30 XP was built with the intent of mechanized cutting as far as hypertherm is concerned.
Even their own site points to the 45 in the 30 literature for mechanized cutting.
I have no doubt that @mechanic416 information is correct. And through trial and error someone found that these parts ( old hypertherm 45 ) happen have the same thread pitch and fit together.
I’m just saying that there’s no manufacturer support or literature or intent for using this hand torch like that.
So any particulars or information for using your setup for a unintended use is going to be based on user experience and opinion, the manufacturer’s opinion would be used one of their other products entirely for this application.
When you look in the cut charts for the 45 XP
For shielded and non shielded consumables
it’s exact same work torch height.
So I’m not sure why the work to torch height would change whether using shielded or non shielded consumables based on hypertherm glossary description of work to torch height.
"Work to torch distance -
For shielded consumables, the distance between the shield and the workpiece during cutting.
For non-shield consumables, the distance between the nozzle and the workpiece during cutting.
This is also known as the cut height"