In case you missed it, this was posted in another thread
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nice, exactly what I was looking for when I heard about the THC
So, other than this demo, (cool, BTW), has anyone cut product out of corrugated on the Pro?
I gave it a try a while back. I tried lots of different settings but always seemed to have the torch bounce up and down. I was using a new “galvalume” painted corrugated sheet and thought maybe that had something to do with it so I gave up and will try again when I can find an unpainted sample.
The video’s not great but gives an idea of what I was trying.
Ok, gonna add a bit. I’m on a Pro with a Hypertherm 45xp and machine torch. The common advice is to have your plunge rate higher than your cut speed, so I grabbed some 26ga corrugated and experimented with different speeds and plunge rates. I have worked my way down to 25 amps at 50ipm and a plunge rate of 300 ipm and it still hits the steel on the way up. SURELY someone has managed to do this, right? I’m not talking straight line cuts but actual cuts with curves and such.
The max Z-Axis travel speed under THC control is 60IPM;
What are your settings? Smart Voltage on or off?
I haven’t cut corrugated but my guess to start would be to increase Z speed factor. If using smart voltage you could also try decreasing smart voltage offset and distance. If not using smart voltage I would cut some lines in the flat of the corrugated metal to get a baseline voltage, then perhaps try lowering torch speed cutoff.
The Torch Speed CUTOFF is set to 85% by default. It can be changed by clicking the + or - symbol on either side of the displayed percentage. *Note: For intricate art cutting programs that involve frequent back and forth motion of the torch, it’s possible that the torch never accelerates up to the programmed cut speed and therefore the THC will not turn on. We suggest monitoring the live cut speed and lowering the Torch Speed CUTOFF % if your torch is not getting up to your programmed speed.
Sure will be nice if they add logging… having to watch the screen for a flickering voltage value is a bit odd, considering it’s also a more than capable data acquisition system.
OK, good info, I wasn’t sure the max Z axis speed. So, if it’s 60 and I am cutting at 50, we’re getting somewhere. The program speed is 50. Smart V is on. My torch speed varies during the cut between 29 and 50. Torch speed cutoff is 85%. I’m going to take a stab at 70% and see what we get
Nope. Actually a little worse
What is your Z speed factor? With a slower XY travel speed you may (seems that way) need to increase the Z speed factor. If you have it set at default try increasing it.
The Z-Speed Factor sets the Z-axis speed based on a percentage of the current XY speed. For example, if the Z-Speed Factor is set to 10% and the live XY speed at some point during a cut is 100 IPM, then the Z-axis speed at that point in time would be 10% of 100 IPM or 10 IPM.
But as pointed out above it tops out at 60 IPM.
So if it is at the default 5%, your Z speed is limited to 2.5 IPM (5% of 50).
Excellent info, I’ll poke around with it tonight. Thanks Greg!
Well, I thought I had it. Set the Z-axis factor at 35%, program speed was 50 ipm. Did one cut of the word NO. Came out all right. Tried again, torch went down in the valley, came up the ridge, got to the top, then plunged back to the metal and drug. Played around a bit more, had no luck. I just KNOW I am sooo close. Gonna sleep on it and think some more tomorrow. Greg, you are certainly leading me in the right direction!
I wonder if a drag tip would work on this. Corrugated could otherwise be hard for the THC to keep up if the waves are too tightly spaced. Just spitballing though, no experience doing it.
Another thought I had, along with drag tip, (thanks jamesdhatch ) is to maybe not use my breakaway torch mount.
Tried this weekend, disaster…will play later
I thought I’d give the corrugated metal another try, this time with some old rusty galvanized sheet. I was able to make some successful cuts and the Mrs. happy at the same time. 15 amps at 35 ipm, smart voltage turned off, offset and distance at .1, torch speed cutoff at 85%, Z speed 85%, Nominal votage at 50v, tolerance at 1.5v, and sample size 100. I think the metal is 24 or 26 gauge.
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Looks like you have it dialed in pretty good!
When you say an “amp tolerance”, is that a feature the new software for the THC is equipped with?
It is not “amp” tolerance, but voltage tolerance. You can change that in the THC settings in FireControl. The tolerance is the amount of voltage change necessary for the THC to take action and move the torch up or down. If the “smart” voltage or set voltage in the THC is 100 volts and the tolerance is 1.5volts, the THC will not move the torch unless the actual voltage is below 98.5 or above 101.5 volts.
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