Plasma Cutting - Height Control

This week we examine cut height and why it is so important. Focusing on Plasma cutting in general but diving in to CNC as well.
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[@Just1Spark]

I have the same table and plasmacutter as you. I turn off height control and run at .029" I love it.

[@joshuacaylor881]

Very helpful information thank you

[@r.j.sworkshop7883]

Technical stuff is good. Had my plasma out today for a few cutouts in 1/4 wall pipe. I have a larger project to do this weekend with allot of cutting with 1/4" plate. I will have to pay more attention to my heights, I already know that I am all over the place but I will try harder. Maybe I will get better with some practice. Good luck with the unboxing.

[@TomZelickman]

Hi R.J.! I've seen guys freehand cut with plasma or acetylene that was flawless. I guess like anything, its a matter of practice and consistency. Hope this video helped a little bit! Best wishes, Tom

[@edclayton99]

Thanks for the video. I recommend using feeler gauges if you don't have the gauge blocks. That way you can add a couple of them together to get exact sizes rather than the drills. Plus most mechanics have them already in their tool box.

[@TomZelickman]

Hi Ed - that's a great method as well, especially if you are shooting for an exact cutting distance which is typically .060 according to the Hypertherm charts for my machine. Thanks watching and adding to the discussion! Tom Z

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

I used the drills because they are very handy.

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

I don't have a plasma cutter but if I ever do you have me started on the right direction. Keep on keeping on.

[@TomZelickman]

Hi Harold! The way you keep collecting toys, it won't be long before you have one. ;) Best wishes, sir. Tom Z

[@landonpike5489]

I have been having issues with arc voltage settings and height control thanks for the info, VERY HELPFUL

[@RRINTHESHOP]

Good explanation of the importance of the tip height.

[@TomZelickman]

Thank you, Randy. It's one of those things that once you see it for yourself it sticks with you. Best wishes, Tom Z

[@reideichner8597]

Hi Tom, Good explanation for using Height Control! I didn't know you used a lot of 11 gauge. That is pretty heavy stuff. Careful lifting those sheets!! I made some rollers that mount on the front of the PlasmaCam table to help get the sheet on the table. Take Care, Reid

[@TomZelickman]

Hi Reid! Thanks for watching but this was probably old hat for you now. :) I do everything from 14g to 1/2" on my table. My signs are mostly 14g, things that need a balance of sturdy & light usually is 11g. The guy I cut parts for that does decorative fences and gates like 1/4". Targets get as heavy as I can cut. I really do need to work out a better loading system though... Best wishes, Tom

[@erwinbrubacker7488]

Dude, I Love yer intro. Gives me thee itch. 😊

[@TomZelickman]

Thanks! A good friend of mine put that together for me years ago...

[@HughesEarthworks]

Great info Tom! I'm hoping to upgrade my plasma to CNC sometime in the future.

[@TomZelickman]

+Jason Hughes Thank you, sir. As always, you know how to reach me when you need me. We still need to sit down like we did Wednesday and go over those CAM strategies too! Best wishes, Tom

[@builtrodewreckedit]

That's great... my cheap chinese machine had no manual and no helpful starting points for this..... Think ill try and screen capture your page and give a go at some of the settings as close as i can anyways.... Thanks

[@TomZelickman]

You can always grab the Hyperthem manual online as a PDF as well. The speeds and feeds vary based on the material you are cutting so there are several pages of those charts. Let me know if you need any help! Sincerely, Tom Z

[@lukevader8995]

Very cool I'm new to the Plazma Cam system. Do you do any 3d routing and if so could you do a walk through on how to set that up? I've actually learned a ton but I'm still getting bad results. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

[@joshhilstad5343]

Very Helpful!

[@johnsobel4409]

thanks for explaning the height control

[@TomZelickman]

Hope it helps! Thanks for watching - Tom Z

[@twistedtrail8414]

Very helpfull. I have a therrmal dynamics cm151 and mistakenly thought my machine had the same cut height as yours but every machine has a different shape jet. Mine required .19" cut height.

[@TomZelickman]

Hadn't thought about that before but it makes sense. The jet will be based on the orifice size, amperage, and air pressure... Thanks for checking in and letting me know!

[@emmanueladorsu1337]

Hi i have a problem with my controller.. the up and down limit switch are all on and i can't fugure out why.. i checked thw limit switches and thwy work on.. the cable is eqaully not damaged.. what could be the cause

[@TomZelickman]

Did you verify that the cables are plugged in to the correct terminals on the limit switches? It sound like you have them swapped between the open and closed position.

[@emmanueladorsu1337]

@@TomZelickman yes i did.. currently i think its a software problem and am trying to chane the parameters from P1 to P 6 so i can fix in nee parameters..

[@TomZelickman]

I’ll see if I can check any parameters on my side if you would like.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

Still don't know what a good starting number for AVS is, or how it relates to voltage changes. I have a PC DHC2 running Plasmacam 3.11 (not DE). Reason I came is I am running 3/16" 6061T6 and starting with the default of 1.153, I went down to 1.083 which made it dive worse, so I went to 1.223 which seemed to barely dive (-0.07, then +0.07), so I decided to try 1.4 which made it very high, then 1.3 which was less high, then 1.26 seemed to behave, but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it except for alchemy and the Plasmacam manual is crap.

[@TomZelickman]

I feel like I saw a really good writeup from Jim Colt about setting the arc voltage properly. I'll see if I can find it for you.

[@Just1Spark]

@@TomZelickman That would be great. I have the same issues.

[@fhiltechinnovation9772]

thanks for the video

[@TomZelickman]

Thanks for watching and commenting! - Tom Z

[@alikhalil2475]

Appreciated

[@chrisvasquez3841]

do you happen to know how to set the height control for the plasmacam router?

[@TomZelickman]

Apologies - just saw this message. Don't you just turn off the auto height control and set it manually? I would do a search for that on Turnwright Machine Works channel - pretty sure he did a video a long time ago about that.

[@MrDaniell1234]

it will be good to see the delivery vids

[@TomZelickman]

+daniel lyall They will have a lot of fast forwards. Who wants to watch me wrestle with a shipping crate for 20 minutes? 😜 Should get the rest of the delivery tomorrow and then the real fun starts. I'll be all over the place trying to move things around and get it set up right. Maybe I'll do a live stream for fun! Best wishes, my friend. TZ

[@MrDaniell1234]

fast forward is fine just seeing the look on your face would be good. good luck look after your back

[@johnnagoodwin5149]

I am having troubles losing arc connection in mid cutting, can you give me any advice

[@TomZelickman]

Hi Johnna - there's quite a few things to watch for there. Cut height is really important for good cut quality. Cleaner material does better than dirty material as well. I would also check to make sure that you have a good grounding setup. We run an extra ground to a rod that's driven 4 feet into the ground. Hope this helps! - Tom Z

[@eric4946]

Hyper therm IPM setting are total BS, there is definitely a how long is an inch joke when it comes to those guys . Run at half of what they say to start at least to get reasonable finishes !

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

I agree completely. AND there is no interpolation or explanation about anything. It all seems to be an afterthought, definitely not practical info. For example, my HT PM64 cutting 3/16" 6061T6 looking in the book at shielded 45A consumables number jump from 1/8" to 1/4" from 100 to 50 ipm and no variance of the amperage. I wound up using 100 ipm and 35 amps. I was tempted to use fine cut but the book just stop with NO info. A little discussion would be nice from the MFR in the manual. I spend WAY too much time on forums trying to find info HT SHOULD have given in a PRACTICAL format. Good torch, BAD manual.