Hypertherm user tell me the good and bad

I’m fed up with my razorweld !!
I’m making too much scrap metal…
I even get misfires using it hand held!!

Tell me I should upgrade to the xp45 cnc!!

Well, I don’t have either, but a lot of people are successful with Razorweld so either you have a lemon or it’s something else. Candidates:

  • air supply - is there enough, is it dry?
  • stuck or binding electrode - does it feel smooth if you move it by hand.
  • work clamp - is it connected reliably to the workpiece?
    To name just a few…
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I have clean dry air
When it fires it works flawlessly
Clamp has been on both the sheet metal
And the tray
I replaced the resistor per the razorweld bulletin

I just keep getting misfires…

What table are you using? OG or Pro?
I have an original table and will be switching over to the Pro this week. I’m running the old school RW45 and the only problems I’ve ever had was when the usb cable was loose at the electrical box. Have you checked al cables besides ground?

Yes, made sure all the cables are good

I have the OG table

Well, lets start with the torch and work our way towards the machine.
You say the hand torch misfires as well while pulling the trigger by hand.

  1. Where did you get your consumables?

  2. You stated that you did the mod inside the machine. Have checked and rechecked for any loose wires? Also, check to see if any of the 3 pins have loosened inside the torch contact. This is where it plugs into the plasma cutter machine. Sometimes those loosen up and don’t make a secure contact.

  3. Check to see if the ground plug is secure in its insert on the machine.

  4. Make sure your machine is selected for 2T
    on the front panel.

  5. At the table, sometimes you will get missfires/non fires at the contact point between the metal and the tip… too close/too far away. I’ve cut a piece and the material warpage is enough to cause it to not make electrical contact.

Pm45 xp is in my opinion is the best plasma cutter I’ve ever owned. I own two 45xp’s a 30xp and I just recently bought a 65 which I haven’t even taken out of the box yet but I’m sure it’s going to work well.

I’ve owned miller’s,esab,thermal dynamic’s and a couple cheap Chinese ones and they haven’t compared to the 45xp and there reasonable priced when you can find them on sale.

I can’t really think of any serious complaints I have about them at all besides consumables are a bit pricey but comparing with other models cutting inch for inch there probably cheaper in the long run.

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I see great cuts posted all the time with the razor weld. They just take twice as long as the ones from a hypertherm. The answer may be in where you get your consumeables.

I ran eBay aftermarket consumeables in my harbor freight cutter and they were terrible, constant failure to arc. Switched back to the OE style and was fine.

Do it.Do it now.

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  1. Got the consumables off of e-bay from the guy here on the forums (can’t remember his name right now).
  2. After doing the mod , yes I checked for loose wires.
  3. Ground wire has been placed on both the metal and the table and is secure to the machine.
  4. 2T operation is selected…
  5. I am just getting non-fires

When I got the plasma cutter it had already been opened, but it did not look like it had been fired

S45 torch
Running between 70-80 psi
I can feel the torch working but no fire

Once it fires for an outside cut, cuts great no dross ,clean lines

The inside cuts are the problem quick short little cuts end up with non-fires and missed cuts

I guess I will try some consumables from Langmuir, may as well keep throwing money at it until it works

On the short little inside cuts, are you getting a complete blue line in the program? Meaning, the selected cut lines showing the arrows). Sometimes, if you are in fusion you need to zoom in real tight to see that the lines are all selected/connected.
Do you have any examples of a drawing that you have used?
I know this can be exhausting and frustrating. There are a lot of great people on here that can help figure this out.

Take a look at everything that gets posted to the what the customers are making section and if it has fine details and looks really good its cut on a hypertherm…

This may sound like a dumb question, but it does happen: Do you do your inside cuts BEFORE the outside cuts?

Yes… Inside cuts are first

I am using Autocad and Sheetcam…

This is what I thought was my problem, but on one run it will drop a detail in a certain place,
On a second run of the same G-code it will drop a detail in a second place and cut the first.

I picked up the XP45 when I got the table about 9 months ago. It’s been great, no issues. My thought was I was buying an entry level table for around 2000, and to get a higher end table would be 4-5 times the money, but with the plasma cutter it was about 2-3 times to get one of the best cutters made, so I saved a few extra months and bought the XP 45, I did also get both the had and the mechanical torches (I think you have to do a little wiring mod to make the hand torch work) , I think I paid around 2600-2700 (for power supply and both torches) online through Baker Gas Welding. So again my thought was if going with a budget table (which as worked perfectly) I should go with a higher end cutter, so far I’m very happy with both.

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Hello @Fortifyfabworks - I’m looking at returning the RazorWeld Cut 45 and purchasing the Hypertherm Powermax 45XP or the 65. Based on the difference in price between the 45 and 60, Do you think I should spend the extra and get the 65 or go with the 45XP? The machine will be used to cut tabs used in fabricating vehicle suspensions. Your thoughts?

I do basically the same thing brackets,tabs, mounts and whatever else.
The 45xp works great for that but the max thickness I use it for is 3/8’s with the majority being 3/16’s and 1/4”. If that’s the thickness that you are cutting I’d go with the 45 because the cut quality is good and still has decent feed rates and there’s a pretty big price difference between the 45 and 65.
The only reason I got the 65 is because I got a contract to do a bunch of 1/2” stuff and even though the 45 will do it it just made more sense to go with the 65 probably should have went 85 but I cheaper out a bit.

I had a similar unit to the razor weld and although it worked the cuts were inconsistent and I was FOREVER adjusting air pressure and amperage. Best move I ever made was the Hypertherm 45XP You plug it in, give it 100psi of air crank the knob to 45 and just cut. NO need for adjustment from 7/8” grader blade to 16 gauge steel. Same setting same quality cut. Very little dross. Took ALL my frustration away. That’s the difference, the 45XP does the adjustment for you.

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I agree about the Hypertherm 45xp. Best purchase I ever made hands down. I still have an Everlast 60 that I’ve only used one time.

You won’t be disappointed with the result at all!

I was getting so frustrated before. And seriously, I turn my 45xp on, clamp to the workpiece and cut. It’s crazy how reliable it is.

Consumable life is excellent. I use fine cut on the table and run regular on the hand torch. I cut my large sheets down with the hand torch and leave the table torch connected to the table.

I can’t say anything negative about the hypertherm. It’s one of the most reliable pieces of equipment in my shop besides my dog.

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