I have my ArcDroid and have created the connection described in Video 2. I have not connected the plasma cutter to the ArcDroid yet. Once I connected the wire inside the Hypertherm Powermax 30 Air it began showing a code generally indicating that the consumables are not seated correctly. The plasma cutter no longer fires using the trigger due to the code. The consumables are not the problem, but we cant tell what is. That is my first question. What did I do that could be causing the code.
Next, note that “Air” refers to the plasma cutter having an internal compressor. While I assume that since the torch trigger drives the compressor, the ArcDroid will as well. Any thoughts? Thanks
I found, having nothing to do with the Arcdroid, that once you fiddle with the “retaining cap” on the 30 Air, either tightening or loosening it just a bit, it will fire again, check that you have the consumables seated properly and make sure your power is off (unplugged) before messing with the torch, otherwise you won’t be able to let us know if that solved your problem. By the way, test it with new consumables including the swirl ring.
Test fire the torch manually before using it with the Arcdroid, if it works, then you know its not the 30 AIr which I now notice you said its not yet connected to the Arcdroid.
I’m a novice and seeking answers too so use proper judgement, just giving my 2 cents
Not yet. I took it to a friend at the local dealer where I bought it. He warned me away from using it with the Arcdroid. He felt it had enough challenges on its own. We hope to get it back and use it for just cutting.
We’ve purchased another plasma cutter for the Arcdroid, one known to work. We’re looking forward to good outcomes with both tools.
Thanks for the response @dafbush . Good to know before I mess with mine, unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of going out and buying another plasma cutter at the moment but if I did it would be a Hypertherm 45XP but also need a compressor along with it.
Hello, I have the Powermax 30 (not air) but have noticed and confirmed there are 2 soldering points on the circuit board you can tap into to trigger the torch. There is no need to disassemble the torch itself. The solder points are clearly labeled ’torch start’. I would suspect the Air is similar.
@CraigB Neat work and Thanks very much!
I’ll have to get someone with the know how to attempt it for me when the time comes. I like the idea of not messing with the torch but I imagine messing with the mother board is 10x riskier. Thanks again!
Consult your owners manual. Hypertherm provides charts that are very good starting points. Material, thickness, pierce height, cutting height, feedrate, air, all come into play. Keep in mind duty cycle too.
Well that’s good to know @tacoma492 and Thanks very much. Do you plan on making and sharing any videos of it at work, also you may not know this yet but has the built in compressor kept up with a good sized cut project?
Thanks for the response, As for dialing in the settings, according to @Andrew in his shielded tip post Exposed or Shielded Tip? don’t expect to get best results as the 30Air only has a drag tip. It sure would beat cutting patterns by hand though! Have fun
