Been practicing some F bombs with different settings. Don’t know what I’m gonna do with all them, hand them out on Halloween I guess with a bottle of O’douls maybe… Anyway finally settled on a setting and decided to cut out a laptop stand. Doing good till it got to the first circle…it sputter once, then continued cutting then sputtered a second time puking up the tip of the electrode right on the material. Any ideas what causes this?
Worn out consumables? bad ground?
Different thicknesses material?
give up now…that is really bad news…the Plasma Gods have turned their back on you and only poor cuts will follow…NOT!!!
just kidding…
- consumables worn
- water in the air line
-not dry enough air
-tank not drained…
it might be moisture…
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You over extended the life of the consumables. You should have checked them and changed them out before starting on the stand.
I have seen cutting tips worn with orifice holes three times bigger then the should have been and still cutting.
You need to keep your eye on the electrode as the hafnium in the end is only about 1/8" deep and the electrode should be changed out when there is a 1/16" deep pit in it or this will happen.
Replace the electrode, swirl ring and cutting tip and start over.
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this is a great phot example of what o watch for on the consumables…
I think a picture of the tips might be of help also…
I have seen some people replace the electrode and still have a bad tip…and vice versa…
I kinda figured that was the case. Which leads me to my next question. What’s a good average for pierce count on a set of consumables? 683 was the count on this one. Or is that one of those too many variables question?
not bad…but again it depends on your dry air quality…metal prep…cut time as well as …
you can have less pierces and more cut time…or more pierces and less cut time…
but air quality is a prime factor…that will ultimately determine your consumable life
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There’s an extensive thread here on pierce count. The poster was looking for multiple thousands to be “reasonable” and ended up getting there as I recall. An awful lot depends on THC or not, plasma unit, air quality, material used, etc.
@mechanic416 great pictures illustrating the different states of the electrodes. This is one thing that I have struggled with is determining a good time to change the consumables. I feel that I often change them too early, but this seems to outweigh a blow out.
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I said to replace the swirl ring with the tip and electrode after this happens.
This is why I posted this thread IPT or PTM 40 and 60 swirl ring
Mostly water in your air line. Other possible would be a drop in air pressure.
When you are pushing the envelope on your electrodes and you see the blue green flame of death you are done.
Variable? definetly…
With a HF refer/dryer on an RW45, I’m getting 1500-2000 pierces, or more. Dry air is the biggest plus, and I do only run at 35amp average. Running it wide open and fast will smoke them faster. 75% max amperage and slower IPM, will get better life from your consumables.
Don’t give the Fbombs away except to possible clients, the do sell good for $4-$5 
Have Fun! Bigger and Better will come! 
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