logo
logo
Sign in

How to Use a Plasma Cutter at Home

avatar
James smith
How to Use a Plasma Cutter at Home

A plasma cutter is an excellent tool to own. Especially if you're running or building a home fabrication shop. They're easy to use, compact and can actually make you some very fast money. Several people started using a plasma Cutter years ago and would like to know how to use a plasma cutter in particular, sometime sooner.

First of all, don't try to cut yourself a new project - particularly if it's metal, unless you know exactly what you're doing. Metal can be very dangerous, as it conducts electricity, and a spark in the wrong place can literally melt steel! (It's happened.) If you do happen to get a metal project cut incorrectly, you'll need to stop immediately and take the piece out of the plasma cutter immediately, and keep moving the shielding around to avoid any more or less plasma energy being emitted at that point. Once the piece is out of the cutter, you've pretty much guaranteed a bad outcome if you try to go through with it.

How to use a plasma cutting machine isn't difficult, but there are some important concepts that you need to be aware of before getting started. These are things like the difference between "induction" and "driven" plasma arc cutting. You should also understand the difference between "direct" and "indirect" cuts, as well as the difference between the two types of cuts: wet and dry. This article will also touch upon the safety aspects of plasma arc cutting.

Induction plasma cutters use a constant electric current to literally guide a plasma arc between two pieces of material, which form a metal or plastic sheet in the process. There is generally less material cut effectively with this type of machine than dry cut machines, since fewer pieces of metal are exposed to gas during a dry-cut process. You might be wondering why it's important not to expose metal to gas, particularly given all of the possible safety issues with plasma cutting (and the potential fire risk as well). As you can imagine, this is something that you'll need to discuss with your shop's safety department, but in general, it's safer to operate an induction machine under the supervision of a professional than it is to go ahead and cut without following safe practices.

The kind of cut that is performed on metal with a plasma cutter consists of exposing the metal to a stream of high voltage, usually running from a small electrical generator (or similar, but smaller). The spark that follows creates a small plasma that vaporizes the surrounding metal, creating hot spots and black marks on the surface. One of the most common types of cuts with this method is the stamping cut, which is performed by injecting a large amount of molten metal (usually aluminum) into a thin layer of metal, causing the two metals to join together (typically with a nice even layer of shiny metal). Some of the most interesting uses for a plasma torch, though, are the crosscutting torch, flame cutting torch, and grinding torch (these are actually pretty cool...but not for the home operator).

There are lots of things that make up the operation of a plasma cutter, and the more that you know about them, the better you'll feel about using the machine. A lot of the time, the gas is ignited under the metal, which causes it to heat up and expand (hence the term "expanding cut"). After the metal cools, it's cut again, this time with a fine wire, which leaves a nice round edge. This is known as the trailing cut. After the metal cools again, it's cut once more with a larger fine wire, leaving a square edge.

How to use a plasma cutter cutter isn't rocket science. It just takes some practice. The first time you cut with a plasma torch, be sure to wear protective eye gear and don't hold the torch to your eye (it's very dangerous). You can hold the torch to your eye with your hand or with a specially designed safety helmet, but only after you've removed your glasses. Don't hold the torch to your face, either, because that's a big mistake.

When you first get your machine, check the box that comes with it to find out how fast it cuts the metal. This will help you set the proper travel speed for your machine. Setting the correct travel speed will keep your plasma cutter from consuming too much energy. If you have any questions, visit the manufacturer's website or call their customer service line.

collect
0
avatar
James smith
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more