Trouble cutting 3/8” with Crossfire Pro and Primeweld Cut60 (Not solved yet)

any cutting action yet?

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I was going back and forth on this in my brain last night at 3am.

I know that stupid filter/regulator that Everlast includes is a restriction, but if I use it, I can put 120psi THROUGH my air dryer, and turn that down to 70psi at the back of the machine.

Otherwise I have to run 70psi into the air dryer, as the regulator is on the input and not the output.

It’s probably a moot point. And I’m sure I’m misunderstanding something basic about fluid dynamics, but it seems like I might do better with the restriction as close to the end of the line as possible. Can you speak to this?

Also, what I have, George, isn’t the standard “toilet paper” filter, but this guy right here:

It’s a pretty nice system and I’ve been running 40 days and my beads don’t even show a hint of moisture. I’ve got 10’ of 3/8” hose with Milton high flow fittings between it and the back of my plasma cutter.

Heading out there now. That 3am brain wide awake scenario I described to George really screwed me up. I would have gone out there at 3am, but it was like 18°. Haha!

You can just take the filter out and still use the regulator.

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@CrazyCasey Thats what I do, I run full pressure right up to the input side of the regulator on the plasma cutter. then i do any adjusting i need to right there. I just went out to my system and did some tests. My torch will fire all the way up to 89indicated psi on the front of the machine. I get anywhere from a 4-6 psi drop once air starts flowing. Everlast 52i.

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Well guys; maybe I’ll finally get to try a new electronics assembly, or perhaps Langmuir will offer me a refund. As an automotive fabricator who loves designing parts, I was really excited to try CNC plasma, but for whatever reason I just can’t seem to make it work.

I changed nothing but the plasma cutter and the way that it is wired, and FireControl is crashing in the same way that it has been but worse.

Basically the DRO’s now freeze instantly; the arc doesn’t even reach full voltage most times (the last time it froze at 4.2volts). And the big difference is that now as soon as the cut stops (either I abort or it finishes) FireControl crashes, and I get to send a crash report; crash data is the same each time but I sent them a few reports just for kicks.

I also had one cut where I’m pretty sure the two Y-axis motors tried to turn in opposite directions, because the table howled and torch just sort of vibrated back and forth, which left about a 5/16” diameter whole in the sheet I was trying to straight-line cut.

Anyway, the good news, I guess, is that the Primeweld plasma cutter was NOT the cause of all my issues, even though I had one that was basically DOA, and another that burnt up it’s divided voltage resistor.

The bad news is that the table is completely unusable with the Everlast machine. Obviously the Everlast puts out more EMI than the Primeweld did, but I think there’s something about my electronics that can’t take even a hint of EMI.

I don’t know where to start, so hopefully Langmuir will…

:slightly_frowning_face: So sorry. Was hoping for a good ending here.

The howling could indicate a need for lubrication. If you are using the silicone which, if I remember correctly, you said you were: If needs to dry before it works correctly. If it is wet, it will be grabby.

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Me too Jim. Me too…

It’s not. It was something acting weird. It was howling but not moving, and normally it moves real nice. It’s dry and I retried the cut from the same spot and it was fine. And it wasn’t howling the way it sounds when a motor coupler slips…I guess it was more of a growl than a howl.

It’s just completely being pummeled by EMI, I think. Something is getting somewhere it shouldn’t. Or something… :rofl:

By the way, the THC voltage test runs successfully each time (~120 volts). That one is REALLY screwy.

Well, I know it doesn’t help on a weekend because it is hard to get answers but I think Langmuir is going to do their part to make this right. I mean at this point you have one of the longest running trouble shooting diaries ever written. It is in their best interest to make this right.

If they don’t, I will put $100 toward a go-fund-me project to help you get a new board from Langmuir.

You have certainly done the legwork to try to work through these issues. So sorry again.

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which laptop are you using? are you running on battery?

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I appreciate the gesture, and that is VERY kind, but I’m sure Langmuir will have some more ideas to try.

To recap, I have:

Re-wired my electrical service.
Spaced my plasma cutter away from the table
Straightened all of my wires
Tried a USB isolator
Tried a ground plug isolator
Tried running with everything else turned off
WiFi Off
Laptop Unplugged
Fixed a USB contact issue
Tried 3 laptop computers
Tried 2 operating systems
Tried 2 versions of FireControl
Tried 2 machine firmware versions
Tried 3 plasma cutters (2 different brands)
Tried divided and raw voltage

I’m sure I’m forgetting things.

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Dell Inspiron Windows 11 4.2ghz 8gb RAM OpenGL 4.6, unplugged, everything but FC closed, no antivirus software installed, updates off, and disconnected from WiFi.

The only time I’ve even connected it to the internet was to send Langmuir the crash reports…

Oh, and to download the FC drivers.

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this is weird i will say my guess is that most people have seen some kind of emi at some point.

the way you describe fire control acting is very different from anything i have seen. your setup is jacked up for sure. i now do wonder if something in the control box isn’t fried.

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Are the limit switches unplugged? With all your table has gone through there could be some faulty activations of the switches?

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Casey, Why don’t you take your entire control box off and send it to me. I will hook it up to my table and see what happens.
If it doesn’t work on my table you’ll know right off.
Just a thought…

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That’s an idea. And I appreciate it. Let me see what Langmuir says now that we’ve eliminated the plasma cutter as a variable. I’m hoping THEY might just send me one to try, and since they’re close, it might be quicker. But that’s a good fall back plan, John, I appreciate it.

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Okay. The offer stands. My table has extensive EMI grounding. If it works here it should work anywhere. If it doesn’t we will eliminate EMI issues. It will take fifteen minutes and you will know.

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They were, Jim, and it didn’t seem to make a difference. I can’t run FCv20.6 on my computer, so I hooked them back up. I haven’t had a limit switch error in two weeks, now that I know how to work around them.

It would be interesting to try FCv20.6 with the limit switches removed from the board, but I’d have to find a fourth laptop, or backdate MY new laptop back to Windows 10, which I’m not wild about. I’m hoping there’s an easier way.

Yeah. If Langmuir doesn’t throw some different ideas out, I’d like to try it.

I mean, at this point I’m wondering if my house isn’t built on an ancient burial ground or something. :ghost:

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