The tip on my RW Cut 45 looks good but the hole in the nozzle looks egg shaped. Is this normal wear? All of the cuts I have made were configured using the cut chart and have come out great. When it didn’t cut through portions of 16 gauge I took it apart and cleaned everything up. It cuts good now but the kerf is angled. I expected the tip would be the first to go. Anyone else seen this?
Normal wear and should be replaced. The tip is actually slower to wear usually (twice the life vs the nozzle) but the whole process of determining how much hafnium is missing is mostly subjective so I just replace both at the same time. Not worth wasting the material and time because a cut goes bad. The swirl ring I watch and will swap out only if it looks toasted, cracked or otherwise funky.
The cutting tip or sometimes called a nozzle will wear faster then the electrode. When the cutting tip/nozzle orifice hole starts to enlarge or deform its time to replace it. When the divit in the end of the electrode get to be .060/1/16" deep its time to change it out.
I have a question about the cut chart. I’ve created tools for 1/8, 1/4, 1/16, 5/16, & 3/8 steel and all are .06 torch height. Is this correct?
Yes .06 will work just fine with un-shielded consumables. Just remember that if your using shielded consumables with a cnc shield it will be .035 because the cutting tip/nozzle will be .030 to .035 recessed up inside the shield.
Yeah I always look at the hafnium & ask myself is it 1/16" deep and I scratch my head and just replace it. My teeny tiny ruler’s markings are too hard to see in there 
I know I’m tossing good electrodes but I figure it’s cheap insurance to not waste a $50 sheet of stainless.
In my experience, when you buy new nozzles, they come with matching electrodes. So, unless you plan to sell your excess electrodes, it makes sense to replace them when you replace a nozzle.
That’s not to say you replace them when you swap a nozzle for a different amperage/orifice because you’re cutting some new material. It’s just that, when a nozzle’s blown, it’s probably not a good idea to keep that current electrode around.
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But Hypertherm consumables are so expensive! Stomping foot & ranting 
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Uh huh… sure beats wasting a $100 sheet of material. Or so I’ve heard…
Actually, I don’t know about that. I haven’t spent $100 on a single sheet of material yet. However, I will say, given the overhead of getting ANY quality material, I’ll order more consumables if I can prevent wasting it.
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