Which plasma cutter to buy

Plasma Cutters General Discussion
21

thanks for that info! is there a cnc/machine torch equivalent? I’d prefer not to use a hand torch.

22

Dang. I’m going to end up buying a 45XP, aren’t I?

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23

It would not be the worst outcome?! :rofl:

  1. You would never need to worry about what air pressure to set.
  2. OEM consumables last quite a long time
  3. You can look up your cut settings in the manual and be pretty close!!! How novel is that?
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24

I have 2700 future dollars that may disagree with you… :man_facepalming: :laughing:

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25

Yep! I know what you mean. BigDaddy and Erik (72Pony) speak very highly about the Everlast. It is quite a bit cheaper than Hypertherm. I have no experience with other brands.

26

You’ll be happy…

I’m sure @mechanic416 can get you all setup. I run fine cut low speed mainly with my hypertherm 45xp.

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27

What was your outcome sCary? I purchased a Crossfire and have a Powermax 380. I’d really appreciate some advice. I haven’t wired it up yep.

28

Indigo, I too have a standard Crossfire. I started with a no name plasma cutter, had tons of issues and decided to upgrade.
I bit the bullet and bought a Hypertherm Powermax 45 XP with the CPC option. I also upgraded to a machine torch. It hit the wallet hard but it’s been worth it. That thing is a beast that does what it’s supposed to. I’m really hard on it, lots of SS small parts with lots of pierces.
I always told my kids “You buy good tools once.” That morphed into “Buy once, cry once”.
I’m not sure some of the other non premium cutters could stand up to 300+ pierces on a 2’ x '2 sheet of 18g stainless doing sheet after sheet.

29

I can’t afford the Hypertherm. How hard is it to wire up a plasma cutter that doesn’t have the CNC controls already built in?

30

It’s not really that hard. Kind of depends on the plasma cutter.
The real short version is to get access to the wires that are connected to the trigger on the hand held torch. These will go to the torch control port on the Crossfire controller. Polarity doesn’t matter as it’s just a switch.
If you have a Crossfire with THC you will need to do another step.
The second part is a bit more difficult as you usually have to open up the plasma cutter and get access to the power feed to the torch itself. This will go to the voltage divider box, then to the controller box.
This is GREATLY simplified, I’d advise reading through all the great info available here in the forum and in the Crossfire table set up.

31

You could roll the dice on a used Hypertherm. I picked up a 100a G1650 two years ago for $1200. Still rockin that one.

Next step down would have to be Everlast.

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32

I’ve been running the Everlast Power Plasma 82i for years. It’s a total work horse that has never let me down. Great cuts at an affordable price. PowerPlasma 82i with CNC Package - Plasma Cutters | Everlast Generators

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33

I second the Everlast 82i. I can cut 1 inch of A36 steel without issues. Use @Richarddbeck83’s link, and I believe it has a discount. PM him to make sure.

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