I have an Eastwood Versa Cut Plasma Cutter. I am new to plasma cutting. I have been researching rules settings and have seen that you should slow the cutter in the corners and curves, but, in looking up codes for the THC settings on my table, I found the following in the manual: “The THC is capable of automatically adjusting the height of the torch in real time to adapt to height variations in the material.” Does this mean I don’t need to turn off the THC when I set these rules?
THC adjusts for variations in metal that may not be lying perfectly flat.
Slowing down the cut for turns is a different situation. When the plasma stream is cutting in a straight line, it is relying on the stream continuing a touch longer to make sure it clears everything (as much as possible). When the torch turns and changes direction, the minute that happens, there is no chance the the plasma stream is clearing any more material behind the torch like it would if it continued on a straight line.
By slowing down in a tight turn, the torch gets extra time to clear more material and minimize the positive bevel (sloping away from the cut edge). Note: negative bevel would be undermining the plate.
But there is a downside to slowing the torch: there might be more dross on the bottom of the plate. Sometimes that is a more desirable outcome than to have the increased bevel.
Not sure what your asking. THC is there so if you sheet is not perfectly flat or warps as it cuts from heat, the THC will move the torch up and down (what ever is needed to keep the same distance from the sheet)
THC does not effect any rules you set.
most people slow down on small holes and sharp corners, about 60% of the normal cut speed.
I cant remember what radius I have set that torch slows down for. Maybe 1/2?
Someone in here will know the standard
I don’t know what Eastwood uses for a control system, but most systems need the THC turned off for sharp corners, curves or anytime the torch speed slows considerably.
Langmuir’s control software automatically turns off the THC when the torch speed falls below 85% of the program speed, so most of the people here will be unfamiliar with setting rules to turn it off.
The THC statement in your manual is just an explanation of what a torch height controller does. It does not mean that you don’t need to turn it off when the torch speed is slowed down.
When the torch speed slows down, the voltage increases and that increase in voltage will cause the THC to lower the torch to match the target voltage. That can cause the torch to crash into the surface of the metal.
You need to learn about the software that runs your table and find out if it has an automatic “anti-dive” feature to prevent the torch from diving in these situations. If it doesn’t, then you will have to set a path rule or code snippet to turn off the THC whenever you slow down the torch speed.
