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  #91  
Old Wed 03 October 2012, 12:20
Zouave
Just call me: Eric #115
 
Sacramento, CA
United States of America
Wow! Really love the color! Congrats on getting it up and running. :-) Inspiring watching your progress.
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  #92  
Old Sun 07 October 2012, 14:46
Brain
Just call me: Branko
 
Lipik
Croatia
Send a message via Skype™ to Brain
@ gerald : Thanks mate, im really happy with the machine, and i already got some ideas on how to improve it even more for plasma cutting purposes... Still didnt have the time to finish the wiring and to make it look as its supposed to look...

@Zouave : Yeah the color is awesome, its supposed to match the ESAB yellow on my plasma

Regarding an early verdict on the functionality of my hardware : I still have some problems setting up my THC ( Torch height controller 301d , Texas microcircuits) im constantly cutting my pieces at about 243 volts, which according to my plasmas manufacturers data sheets is way to high ( im talking about a 4 mm sheet being cut, because im mostly testing on 4mm as i stumbled at a load of scrap sheets in one corner of my shop )... So according to Esabs data sheet concerning the settings of my plasma while cutting with a mechanized torch, the voltage settings on my thc should be set at about 110 volts. When i set it to that setting im diving into my material... Maybe i didnt set up my thc right, im using my plasmas internal voltage divider ( 20:1 ratio according to a pdf i found on the internets ) , but i cant really figure it out because the instructions that came with the torch height controller are missing some instructions...

Another problem that im facing is an unstable arc on thin sheets, 2mm and beyond. Maybe plasma isnt really meant for thin sheets but i guess the real problem is my plasma arc starting cycle combined with my thc. My thc gets an arc ok signal as soon as the plasma begins its arc starting cycle which is combined of a preflow of gas, a pilot arc, the main cutting arc and a postflow of gas, so the problem is on the first cut where the arc ok signal is sent to the electronics as soon as the gas preflow begins. This means , that movement of the axis begins before the torch has fired ( if my pierce delay is set to 0 in sheetcam which i guess should be the setting when working with thin sheets). The torch fires eventually but the movement has already begun so when the cut gets to its end it doesnt connect to the beginning... ( as im writting this im realizing that i maybe should set the pierce delay to a minimum setting in order to get around this problem)

I also get some really strange behavior when trying to cut 0,55 mm zinc coated sheets, although i tried this as an experiment only, and im really not planning to cut zinc coated materials, i guess that the strange behavior is triggered by the zinc messing with the voltage of the arc and sending this mess back to my electronics....

All in all, i got about 5 more days of work. finetuning, learning by doing and so on...

If i only could find 5 days ;-)
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  #93  
Old Sun 07 October 2012, 15:08
danilom
Just call me: Danilo #64
 
Novi Sad
Serbia
Voltage is a combination of amperage and feedrate, it seems you should up your feedrate
for thin sheets its sometimes 5-6m/min depending on the plasma source.
For pierce delay, set it to 1 sec and make a leadin move in sheetcam it should work nice.
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  #94  
Old Sun 07 October 2012, 15:23
Brain
Just call me: Branko
 
Lipik
Croatia
Send a message via Skype™ to Brain
Hey thanks danilo for the tip. Any tip for cutting height in combination with different thicknesses of materials? im getting my most know-how out of youtube videos, and it seems to me like they are all cutting their sheets as close as they can cca. 1 mm of distance...
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  #95  
Old Sun 07 October 2012, 15:27
danilom
Just call me: Danilo #64
 
Novi Sad
Serbia
best way to figure out the volts is to get a really flat piece, disable the thc, use IHS to get zero, set Z height at 1.5mm, start the cut at manufacturers recommended feedrate or little below,
record the voltage during the cut. Set the same voltage in the THC and cut

I recently started investigating plasma and this info is from my 2-3weeks investigation and some little experience in couple of days cutting.
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  #96  
Old Sun 07 October 2012, 15:40
Brain
Just call me: Branko
 
Lipik
Croatia
Send a message via Skype™ to Brain
Gonna try it out first thing tommorow morning...

Thanks mate
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  #97  
Old Sun 07 October 2012, 18:28
Quadro
Just call me: Anthony #77
 
South Australia
Australia
Brian,
The temperature of the material makes a differance, I have been known to put thick sheets of metal out in the sun during winter to soak up some heat.
Also air pressure and the grade of material has an effect.
It might help to write these down in the notes of Sheet Cam for each material thickness for reference later.
For each material grade/thickness I create a seperate tool.

Anthony
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  #98  
Old Mon 08 October 2012, 07:28
Brain
Just call me: Branko
 
Lipik
Croatia
Send a message via Skype™ to Brain
As it turned out my voltage divider was set incorrectly, so i ended up cutting at the wrong volts setting> height setting... As i said i was cutting at 248 volts sheets that are supposed to be cut at 110 volts... Luckily my mate Ivan droped by today and helped me set the thc up as it is supposed to run.. He s gonna upload a video later of a 100*100mm square cutout of 20 mm mild steel... Crazy sh*t i tell you
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  #99  
Old Mon 08 October 2012, 13:37
Khanid
Just call me: Khanid
 
Lipik
Croatia
Here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnc5p...ature=youtu.be
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  #100  
Old Mon 08 October 2012, 23:06
KenC
Just call me: Ken
 
Klang
Malaysia
The edges look straight
Smoke was minimal with the water bad.

Job well done!

Can't wait to see more.
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  #101  
Old Tue 09 October 2012, 03:18
marko cro
Just call me: Marko #107
 
Dakovo
Croatia
Very sexy cutting, and very precise. No reduction I see, and still so precise.
Very nice machine.
Tell me do you cut aluminium?
If so, I could cut some aluminium plates for spindle mount, and reduction for motors.
You can send me PP with price. I am from Dakovo.
(vec smo se culi preko youtubea)

Last edited by marko cro; Tue 09 October 2012 at 03:21..
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  #102  
Old Tue 09 October 2012, 09:15
bradm
Just call me: Brad #10
 
Somerville(MA)
United States of America
Very nice! Now that you are up and running, maybe a little preventive maintenance, like some shrink wrap around those motor wires in the shrapnel zone?
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