Curious what others are setting thier start delay times at. I cut a lot of 14g with a hypertherm 45 set at 30 with a .75 start delay. 3/16th and up I default to 1.
Too long. I cut 14g all day. .33 pierce delay and 30amps 120ipm is what i use. No height control. For 3/16 I'll go .7-.8 For 1/2" or 3/8" I'll go 1.1 or 1.2. I don't have a chart I go off. I fire at the hip. Most of my settings are stuck in my head as it's the same things I've been cutting for awhile
Thanks for the info. Theres a huge gap between your setup and mine. Your using a powermax 45? I also do not have height control so my biggest issue is the torch catching a high spot in the material and moving it so high speeds are not my friend at this point.
For pierce delay, I usually just reference the plasma cutter manual for various metal types and thicknesses
I just recently got the hypertherm. Previously I had been using an off brand that didn't list pierce times. I had been using the default of 1. I've just recently started messing with it. If all else fails, read the instructions, right? I've been meaning to ask, what's is LECS? Noticed that in several user names.
Once I had my delay set close I would back it down in tiny increments until the torch moved immediately upon proper completion of the pierce.
It's definitely a fine tune situation. My issue is with no height control the pierce time varies slightly so I have to leave some room for error.
Yes I have a 2x2 with no height control and a PM45. Wait until your slats build up with crap it's a bitch to get it a consistent height all the way across. I decided to cut my slats down so I can remove them while on the table and removed every other one. Helps eliminate some high spots and parts are more likely to fall into the water and not stick up and catch the torch. I run a rather high torch height because you almost have to without height control.
Man. I did the same recently. Removed every other slat. It definitely helps but now i deal with my part falling into the "swamp" below. Better than messing up the whole part I guess. I babysit mine the whole way, adjusting the torch height manually in the areas I know will be a problem. Im thinking of redesigning my entire table to tackle some of these issues. Or I guess I could just drop 3k on THC. I think I'll continue to adjust manually.
I don't adjust mine when it cuts unless it's close to crashing or i am cutting a large piece Yes the swamp sucks especially when the water is near freezing temps I also decided that when I cut a lot of small parts I always cut one or two extra to save me time from fishing them out. If I need 10 and cut 10 I always spend too much time looking for the last piece. Cut 1 or 2 extra and saves me a lot of fishing time
