Work performed at an industrial level, especially jobs that require cutting steel, is best handled with a heavy duty plasma cutter. Let’s take a look at plasma and plasma cutters.
So What Is Plasma?
In simple terms, plasma is the fourth state of matter. This might sound like a complex answer, but it’s not as complicated as it might sound. Most people think of matter as having three states: solid, liquid, and gas. Ice, when heated, becomes water. Water when heated becomes steam. If sufficient heat is applied to steam, its particles become ionized and electrically conductive. A plasma cutter is able to use this electrically conductive gas (extreme heat) to cut any medal that’s conductive. This results in a much cleaner and faster cutting process than cuts made with oxyfuel.
How a Plasma Cutter Works
A plasma arc is formed when a gas (argon, shop air, nitrogen) is forced through a small nozzle inside the torch. Plasma is introduced and the resulting high-pressure gas flow is known as “plasma jet.” This jet stream can reach temperatures of 40,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This allows the torch to cut through steel as a knife can cut through butter.
There needs to be a power supply of plasma and constant DC voltage that’s responsible for maintaining the plasma’s arc during the cut. The plasma torch provides alignment and helps cool the electrode, swirl ring, and nozzle.
Benefits of Plasma Cutters
A hypertherm plasma cutter is heavy duty, made of industrial quality, employs state-of-the art technology, maintains high accuracy for years, and is quite easy to learn and operate.
It’s always best to purchase a hypertherm plasma cutter from a reputable company that can design, build, and offer maintenance of the machine throughout its life. Customer service is still king. While a plasma cutter can be built tough, they still need maintenance and parts replacements over time. It means a lot when a company is an expert on a product that they build.
A person should always consider parts and labor warranties as well. Lifetime support and transparency should be expected of any company sell plasma cutter equipment.
