Up & Running for 2 weeks now, few intermittent issues

[backwoodsmetalworks]

Not sure if this is the right category for this so pardon me if it’s not. I have had my XR up and running for about 2 weeks now & have noticed a few repeated issues that have been intermittent.

Here is my setup/equipment,
-Langmuir XR
-Hypertherm 65 Sync W/ CPC Port & cable
-Quincy 60 gal compressor
-2 Seperate Desiccant Filters
-Fusion 360
-Sheetcam

The first issue is the torch moving before voltage has been sensed. This error has came up when doing detailed interior cuts & lettering.

The first time I received this error I adjusted the pierce delay in sheetcam from 0.5 to 1.0 seconds, reloaded the program & it finished the entire project without an issue.

The 2nd time I received this error I was using a program with 0.5 pierce delay, I closed the error message and restarted the cut without making any changes & it completed the program without any further issues.

The 3rd time I received this error I was using a program with 1.0 sec pierce delay, shortly into running this program I received the error, I closed the error message & restarted the cut without changing anything & it completed the entire program without any issues.

The 2nd issue I’ve been having is the torch not cutting all the way through the material. For both of these issues I have been using a 45a FineCut cartridge and have been cutting a range of materials from 14ga to 11ga. I’ve noticed this issue mostly happens on outside contours, after it has successfully completed clean interior cuts.

Few notes about the most recent time this issue has happened (today)(Pictures attached)

-I cut the entire interior of this 11ga sign with no issues, using 45a fine cut cartridge
-When it went to cut the final outside contour cut, it pierced, cut clean for about 4 inches then barely penetrated the material for the next 8 inches.
-I was not paying attention to what the torch was doing when this happened so I am unsure of what the torch was doing (voltage, height ect.)
-After this happened I tried to run it again & it did the same thing, I then ran the program until it was done while it was intermittently making full penetration around the outside of the material.
-After the program was completed I immediately generated 2 straight line cuts around the sign so I could remove the sign from the table, these cuts were at the same IPM as the last outside contour cut. These 2 straight line cuts, cut perfectly fine with full severance of the material and virtually no dross at all.

A few other things I have done,
-Ran THC tests in fire control 2 separate times, these tests passed with no issues.
-Drained desiccant filters before cutting.
-Verified 110 PSI to plasma cutter
-Checked all cable connections from CPC port, to THC box, to the table computer and all connections to the touch screen.
-Verified all contours in sheetcam are under the same Plasma Cut Operation
-Ground clamp is always directly on the material
-Cut settings are per HyperTherm manual

Similar things associated to these two issues,
-Both issues occur when using 45amp fine cut cartridge
-Both issues only occur when using third party dxf files (Etsy, Fireshare, PlasmaSpider)

[rat196426]

Do you have work clamp direct to material you are cutting?

[backwoodsmetalworks]

Happened again… same thing… not cutting all the way through on the final outside cut. It did look like the torch came up high as it was cutting.

-14ga mild steel
-45amp fine cut cartridge (new)
-water drained before cut
-ground clamp directly on material
-45a, fine cut, high speed, 14ga book settings in sheetcam
-Inside offset was used for interior peices and outside offset was used for the final perimeter cut, both of these operations have the same peirce height & cut height.
-File is from FireShare…

[Phillipw]

I have hypertherm 65 non sync model. The other day mine started acting the same way the longer it cut the higher. I run my computer on a non grounded plug to keep electrical interference down. The problem was the USB cable from my computer to the control box had gotten to where the could touch the power cord for my computer.

I would double check you cable management then consider electrical interference from the plasma.

[backwoodsmetalworks]

Thanks, I’ll be sure to check that out!

[Phillipw]

Hope it helps and it was always more prominent on the large or longer cut. I always try to keep my USB and power cords away from others. Not sure if it is fixed on the xr table or not. You may want to grab a ground isolating plug for the computer. You could be getting feedback from your plasma through the breaker box

[backwoodsmetalworks]

Little update on this problem, I separated the USB cable from all the other cables. I cut a small sign from 14ga steel using 45a fine cut cartridge, same procedure as I’ve done with everything else in this thread. I started the program & all the interior cuts, cut great without any issue but when it went to make the final exterior cut it didn’t pierce all the way through the material (same problem I’ve been having)

After that I went back into sheet cam and made some changes to my outside offset operation, I changed the cut height from 0.14 to 0.10 and changed the IPM from 220 to 190. I then went back and re-ran the program and it cut the entire sign without issues, although I did have a fair bit of dross.

I’m not sure if this is the permanent solution for this issue but going forward I will adjust my outside offset cut height to 0.10 instead of the book settings of 0.14 and see if this fixes the issue.

[72Pony]

@backwoodsmetalworks

Hypertherm 65 Sync

Are you using the smart voltage or using the arc voltage from the manual?

[backwoodsmetalworks]

Smart voltage. Not sure how to set it up the other way

[72Pony]

Skip down to section 4 where it discuses SMART and Nominal voltage.

https://www.langmuirsystems.com/thc/guide

[Phillipw]

Does anyone know if the xr table suffer the same ground interference as the pro?

@backwoodsmetalworks are you using a ground isolator on your computer?

[backwoodsmetalworks]

I do not have a ground isolator on the computer yet, will be doing that soon.

[Phillipw]

That possibly your problem electrical interference affects can vary.

[backwoodsmetalworks]

Been awhile since my last update here,

Since I last posted in here I started cutting with nominal voltage instead of smart voltage & haven’t had anymore of my previous problems…

[Sloan]

The settings you mentioned are much different than what I use. Do you use sheetcam? There’s a file you can load into sheetcam that has all of the hypertherm tools and settings set up. I always pierce at .15 and cut at .06. 11 gauge with 45a fine cut, I’m cutting at 120ipm.

[backwoodsmetalworks]

Yes, as I mentioned the settings I did change were to diagnose this cutting issue. This issue was happening using recommend Hypertherm settings in sheetcam

[Sloan]

Okay, the reason I said something was because the book setting’s are not as comprehensive as the file that’s floating around the web. I had to modify two rules that were programmed into the file I found, but other than that, it beats the hell out of manually entering them.

[Phillipw]

He is running a hot 65 sync. Their cut settings are way different from the original hypertherm.

[Sloan]

I’m running a 65 sync as well. All I’m saying is, it’s much easier to modify settings in an already populated library than to enter them all manually.

[Phillipw]

Got you I understand was just thinking you may have missed that.