New from Kansas

Hey all.
Just ordered a Pro about a week ago. Expected delivery is April, so hopefully that’s about right.
In my case, I have a little sportscar taking up space in my garage. I decided it was fun, but not fun enough for it to compete with the rest of the garage space dedicated to working on stuff. Gotta treat the thing with kid gloves and pull it out for anything dirty, which is most of what else I do out there.

So the shipping delay gives me time to finally sell the car and set things up otherwise.

Anyway, I got the Razorweld 45 with it so hopefully the compatibility will be good (any advice here appreciated). I figure if I outgrow it someday, I’ll deal with that then - and it might be fine anyway. Didn’t order any consumables but I figure I’ll just look into that between now & then. It would be nice to have a couple spares I’d guess, but not sure of the best source for that yet. I’m sure there are options I don’t know about.

Also opted for the THC because… well maybe that’s just obvious.

Otherwise, that’s it. If I missed something important, let me know.

Order number is 2375x. Not sure how optimistic April sounds for that, but we’ll see.

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congrats…do not let the wait drive you nuts…
tic
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you nuts yet?

toolboy** I’m nuts and I have papers to prove it!** Welcome to the club vinito!!

Kind of curious about the Razorweld.
First, I would prefer a straight machine torch if that option was available but the hand torch is doable so biggie. Still, if it was available…
Second, I’ve heard that some plasma cutters create some kind of EMI that can glitch the controller while others don’t. I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for to be compatible with the Crossfire, but if I can get a more solid plasma for similar money (the Hypertherms seem way to expensive to me, but…) I would consider it. Festiva successfully uses a Titanium, for instance. Anyway, any advice is welcome.
Third, I’ve seen a few posts regarding problems from the Razorweld right out of the gate. Maybe it’s not the best way to start in the first place? A new machine requires enough mental juggling to get started and a glitchy plasma would make things very frustrating I’d say. Maybe any plasma would have the chance of glitches so the ones I see are anecdotal and not significant for the bulk of Razorweld owners?
Anyway, I’m just a little concerned about the reliability/robustness of the Razorweld, so any advice is welcomed whether it’s to just roll with it or to upgrade at the start.

Thanks.

Hmmm. I’m halfway starting to consider upgrading to a Hypertherm 85 just to raise the inevitable ceiling for outgrowing capabilities.
The thing is dang pricey, but given time between my projected delivery date (April) and now, I can see myself softening myself up to accept the higher investment.
Also, I might be a little more apt to want to cut thicker stuff, i.e. 3/4", a little more often than the average guy. I’m already a metal worker by profession (machinist) and the vast majority of what I make will be functional parts, which is likely to include thicker stuff now & then.
Dang! Suddenly a $4K setup becomes $7K+ with one little decision, if I go that way.
Not sure I’ll do this yet, but I’ve started to become slightly paranoid about the Razorweld today. I’m still not sure if the Hypertherm would be a source of incompatibility issues, whether EMI stuff or control system connections, etc.
I guess maybe I should post this in a more appropriate heading, and I will eventually. But any advice is welcome. I’m sure this kind of talk is typical “new guy” thinking, so appropriate for the Introductions area.

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You will be much happier with a hypertherm compared to a razorweld. When buying a plasma cutter for the table it cant have high frequency start which hypertherm isnt.
The hypertherm 85 is a serious cutter I own a full fab shop and I have a hypertherm 30xp two 45xp’s and a 65 and a trackker 5’x10’ table and a cross fire that I use for prototype and trial and error parts.
Seems like you are into the industry a bit and not going to be making little signs out of 16g steel so I would pull the trigger on a better plasma table.

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Well I do make heavier stuff than typical probably, but it’s still going to be my own “hobby” uses thus the smaller footprint and cost are a requirement in my case. You are correct that I won’t be making signs and such much at all, but if the table costs $10K or more then that’s an instant deal breaker. Basically it will still be relatively occasional use (not commercial or industrial) but capability for thicker material is a big plus in my case.

Thanks for the quick reply. It’s one solid vote for Hypertherm vs. cheap. More replies appreciated.

A 45xp will cut 1/2" I did it for a long time, the 65 will do 3/4" and the 85 will do 1". I’m sure you looked into it but the price difference between the three is pretty big.

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Hey vinito, I just finished assembling my new crossfire pro. I run break in program with success but on fence right now to what plasma cutter to dedicate to the table. I have owned a titanium 45 plasma cutter now for two years with no problems and cut 3/4" steel a lot with it for heavy equipment repairs. But I am thinking of buying the prime weld cut 60 because of priced better then the titanium with more ump. Just thought i would let you know about my experience with the titanium…

Thanks rat. That looks like an interesting option for the price!

Which brings up a question: Is a hypertherm costing 6x or so the cost of budget plasma cutters actually worth the vast price difference? If somebody has experience comparing the two types, I’d honestly like to hear your opinion on this.
I can afford to buy a Hypertherm, it’s just that I like to be at least halfway smart when I spend money. I also hate wrestling with sub-par equipment and would rather come out of the gate with something that works well rather than fight for a year before ultimately spending the money anyway, which ends up being the cost of the expensive tool, plus the crappy one, plus inflation. Still…

Incidentally, based on a little looking and Fortifyfabworks’s post, I’m kinda leaning at the 65 rather than the 85, but not even sure about that yet. I do have a couple months to decide after all.
Thanks again for input.

I’m not doubting you cut 3/4" with a 45 amp machine I’ve done it with my 45xp hand cutting and have cut out a couple things on my table with it but getting it set up is a pain trying to get a edge start going and getting your part cut out right and not to mention painfully slow at 5 or 6 ipm whatever the speed was.
I was happy with my 45 when I cut 3/16 to 3/8 but then I started cutting a lot of 1/2 and thats when I bought the 65.

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I have used hypertherm for years hand cutting are good plasma cutters for sure but, I cant justify the price for home use. I’m thinking of buying the cut 60 for my crossfire pro it is less money then the titanium 45.

I was looking at the hypertherm 85 as well just for future growth, but found a 65 at an unbeatable price. I am waiting on my table as well, but have so much shit to do in the garage before i can run my pro that i feel like i need more time!

I bought a machine torch to run with my 65 and may add a handtorch in the future!

Welder 6131 - sounds like a good path you took.
But you lie about the screamin’ deal on the Hypertherm 65 unless you can steer me towards it. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Haha, ya I wish I could…it was an ebay find used without torch, cpc port or work lead. No one was bidding on it for this reason I suspect, but I already had a work lead and was planning to buy the machine torch anyway. Also found someone selling a cpc cable upgrade kit that was under retail price as well, so I came in around 1500ish less than a new Hypertherm 65 kit after it was said and done with.

I’m from Kansas too. I was in the first shipment of the Pro but it sat for almost a year before I put it together. Love it ever since. I have Razorweld45. It’s fine. Someday I may upgrade. I think it’s limited on tip size. But it works fine. Only errors are ones that I caused… and fixed.

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Well I’m kinda going off the deep end.
First, I decided to take up Langmuir on the ArcFlat weld table discount, so maybe I’ll get a present in the mail before April? I didn’t have a welding table at all, so it should be very useful.
Second, I’ve been doing a lot of figuring and reading and I decided what would work much better for me is a Hypertherm Powermax65 with a machine torch… so much for a budget system :smile: But since I’ll likely cut mostly between 1/4 to 3/4 material rather than doing mostly ornamental stuff, it should suit my needs much better.

I would like to check one out in person, but no real takers on that and maybe none very close to me anyway. I guess I might be that Kansas City guy for somebody else someday.

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Im pretty much 2 hours north of KC. If it wasnt for my on call 24/7 job I would enjoy showing you my tables. Seems with this weather latley im off to work every day and most nights.

Thanks jimt. Well it’ll be a while before I receive any shipments. Maybe some slack time will come up between now & then.

Well for an old guy, I’m pretty excited today.
Just unboxified an ArcFlat table. Looks like a nice size for my somewhat cramped shop. Nice & heavy for its size.
Got the Powermax 65 ordered the other day with enough consumables to carry me for a bit, and of course I’m in the queue for a CF Pro. Should be a fun and interesting spring & summer.

This got me re-visiting thinking about a laser cutter again lately too. I might even pull the trigger on that, once I figure out which way to go from the multi-dozens of choices to weed through.

I guess some kind of flood gate opened up. You know… the one that helps you keep money in the bank.

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