I’m looking for recommendations on which plasma cutter might be a good choice for cutting 16 gauge powder coated metal. I have a grounding stud, so that’s not an issue. Just looking for something that can handle the job.
Make sure you have good ventilation. Going to be a ton of smoke and stink from the powder coating. Your going to have issues getting the arc started as the coating is plastic and a great insulator. Your really going to need some bare metal where ever the arc starts.
Pretty much any plasma cutter will handle 16 gauge without issue. The powder coating will also be spoiled on the boundaries of the kerf and the area of the pierce as molten metal spews about.
I appreciate the feedback Bob.
I did a test cut on a friend’s plasma cutter with a sample piece at 30 amps, 240v and it worked good. The enclosures get repainted afterwords and the tested piece painted fine.
I’m just trying to figure out what plasma cutter to go with, based on the list here in the forum and that is also in my budget and not an extreme overkill.
We used a Hypertherm powermax 45. If I order one, it sounds like I the 45xp has a CPC port on it, so it would be good to go with the ArcDroid.
Any other ideas on plasma cutters? Would it be better to buy a 30xp and modify it?
I have the Hypertherm 45 myself. Great machine. Has been replaced by the XP. You need the machine torch for plug and play with the cnc port. Easy enough to open the case and tap the wiring to allow use of a hand torch and not use the cnc port at all.
Others have had good success with lower priced off shore cutters but I can’t attest to any of them. Plenty of posts on here about them. Just make sure what you buy is NOT high frequency start. The 30xp will be fine for what your describing to do but will limit you on future heavier projects.
Just a note correct me if I’m wrong but powder coating melts at about 300 degrees plasma is in the thousands any should blow clean but it will melt the coating inches from your cut with just the heat from the cut just make sure its low frequency
Go as big as you can afford or more its cheaper than buying two cutters because your old one want cut it. I have a hynade CNC Plasma Cutter Blow Back, Non-HF Pilot Arc Non-Touch 110/220V Plasma Cutting Machine, THC Torch Height Control Enabled (CUT60DN) at around $500 dollars and it works great for me.
