Budget plasma cutter--

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

So how did it work out? In around 1999 I wanted a plasma cutter. The welding supply salesman was in the shop pestering me and I pointed to a stack of 1/2" x4'' x 21' flat. I told him I wanted a machine to cut that. He assured me a Thermal Dynamics 50 amp unit would be perfect and it was on sale at $1875. He was absolutely right, It was the perfect machine. It was the perfect machine to waste almost $1875 on just to have a boat anchor. It cut sheet but there was no way it was capable of 1/2" let alone 3/4"

Hi,

I will let you know as I am about to sever some 1/2"+ metal. What I have found out is it can not "cut" 1/4" steel with a weld, without turning it way up, it can only "sever" it. Seems the hardness of the metal makes a big difference to how the machine cuts and when cutting welds it seems not to be able to blow the slag out of the back of the cut.. Plus, what the OEM recommends as replacement tips and cones, is not correct for their copy of a copy.

 

[drf256]

Jeez, my HT PM45 has no problem cutting 1/2” steel all day long. 3/4 or 1” is doable but painfully slow. The thickest aluminum I’ve cut was 1/4” and it’s fine with that.

When I bought mine, TD was it’s main competitor. I went Hypertherm because it was made in the USA and got better reviews. I believe I paid close to $1500 back then. Was gonna get a PM30, but they were out of them, so they gave me a break on the 45.

 

[jakethesnake]

Welds never cut the same as regular stock. It’s hard to blow the slag out with a torch so I’d expect the same results with a plasma

I don’t have a plasma but I recently used one. A light duty one would be good for me. I’m respectable with a torch but the clean cut of the plasma kinda blew me away