When to change your electrode

I’ll drag out my USB microscope tomorrow and post a sample. But, again, do you guys have a VERY skinny depth gauge or something?

You could probably use a pin adapter for a dial indicator on a setup.

I usually find that the nozzle goes first anyways and I just replace the set.

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Just look at it. If it looks like about a 1/16 of an inch change it.

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Here is a good video from Hypertherm on the subject.

looks like hypertherm recommends .040" as the replacement point.

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I just eyeball them. .060" is the thickness of 16 ga metal.

This one is still fine.

This one, I wouldn’t trust on a longer cut, so I’d replace it.

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Thanks y’all!

So, just because i have a cheap microscope, I shot a new set of H45 Finecuts and a couple I pulled out of the bucket. There’s a reason they were in the bucket.
New Nozzle
Bucket Electrode
bucket nozzle
new electrode

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Great pictures @keith1, I did a similar test but from the other side of the nozzle.

A note in line with this topic about electrodes. I read somewhere that the copper plus electrodes for hypertherm somehow feed the hafnium core forward as it’s consumed🤷🏻‍♂️ hypertherm wizardry

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@TinWhisperer “I read somewhere that the copper plus electrodes for hypertherm somehow feed the hafnium core forward as it’s consumed🤷🏻‍♂️ hypertherm wizardry.”

That would be wizardry for sure. Because you would never know when the hafnium would be used up or when the electrode would fail.

It would fail in the middle of a $5000 48" X 72" sign that’s when!!

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This is the best information I can find about it currently.

I’ll see if I can find anything more about the feeding forward trick.

You go look that up, I would really like to see that in a Hypertherm manual/print from Hypertherm. Jim was a nice guy, but remember he was a Hypertherm salesman.

I use them the are A++ electrodes. Lasts a lot longer. You can tell the are ready to be changed just like regular ones. Keep material under 1/2 and each fire around 30 seconds. I get 1500 plus pierces and several hours arc time. Here is one I recently changed.

Sorry correction that was a standard my bad this is a copper plus

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I am looking, I know it is one of these patents…

https://patents.justia.com/search?q=hypertherm+electrode&page=2

On the box it says: US Patent 8 115 136 patent pending 06/17/13

It seem to be about the blow back start functions of the electrode.

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OH NO! :scream_cat:
Now Manual Man controls access to the Patent Office!!!
We’re doomed!

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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: you crack me up.

Looks like a drawing of their standard electrode too. I’ll look thru more packaging later, I’d imagine the related patent # would be on the marketing somewhere

Might be still pending. It takes YEARS to get a patent! DAMHIKT!