small inexpensive plasma cutter-advice please [Archive]

Grahame Collins

14th February 2008, 09:27 PM

Hey Fossil,
I followed the link my self.
It seems ok at first glance.

I have not heard of Toshiba making plasma cutters or welders.I might google that to see which Toshiba that may be.

Specific questions that should be asked are:
Warranty, they state they will stand behind their product 110% but strangely do not say how long for.

Spare parts ? Are the spares specific to the cutting torch or can a spare be sourced else where to fit. An important consideration as business can and do go belly up for many reasons.

Not a mention of how thick the unit unit cuts in steel and aluminium. It is something I would expect from a business with 30 years of welding sales experience.

Hopefully the above are just oversights but worthy of a purchasers consideration.

Cheers all
Grahame

Grahame Collins

14th February 2008, 10:00 PM

NO OFFENCE MEANT TO ANY ONE

I sorry that I DO appear cynical, but the thought of one of our new forum members being taken for a ride pees me right off.Someone needs to ask the hard questions.

I was unable to find references to a Toshiba Plasma cutter on international Google other than plenty of hits on Aussie Ebay.

Maybe they only make Toshiba plasma cutters for Oz for Australia.

Lots of Google stuff about Plasma TV's

One other thing Plasma cutter buyers.

Plasma cutters will go through cutting nozzles and anvils like corn through a goose if they do not have a micron filter and dryer attached to the air supply.

The fine particles of rust and water vapour in the air supply forced through the tiny orifice at high velocities rips the bejesus out of them.
It is the tiny hole that helps make it work! Cost and availability of tips ,anvils and ceramic shields become important about this time.

Cheers
Cynical
Grahame

Mathuranatha

14th February 2008, 10:03 PM

Thanks bros. I followed Fossils link 2 ,did say they do a 12mm cut but your right didnt mention the length of warranty . At $575 , they are getting cheaper here . Saw some advised in the US for about $150-$200.

Be good to here from someone who has bought an inexpensive portable one in oz and is using it , and getting consumables and spare parts etc

The number of angle grinders I've worn out would have paid for a plasma cutter well over.

" Haribolo "

AV Elec

14th February 2008, 10:08 PM

The number of angle grinders I've worn out would have paid for a plasma cutter well over.

Plus, a plasma cutter has got to be a hell of a lot quieter...

Grahame Collins

14th February 2008, 10:36 PM

Well given its a 12m cut thats excellent, its more than I did expect truly.
Its is worth following them up and asking a ques or two.

If found 1 reference to the Toshiba Mosfet and its the circuit board.

If this mob is any good they will offer a filter to suit the machine. The other consideration is the duty cycle which at 60% is reasonable.

I missed the 12mm , I will go back and read it again then.
Grahame

Fossil

15th February 2008, 07:48 AM

I have never used one before. The trusty gas axe and grinders have done well for me over the years.

What are these machines like to use?

Mathuranatha

15th February 2008, 10:33 AM

Reckon I've spent a real lot on renting and refilling oxygen bottles 2 over the years .Seems like some plasma cutters just run on 240v and compressed air ?? No need 2 fill up bottles ??
I'm with Fossil ----would be really good 2 hear from someone thats got one .

prozac

15th February 2008, 11:57 AM

prozac

15th February 2008, 12:04 PM

I'm mistaken. That mob is in Qld. The epay ones are in WA.

prozac

hux

16th February 2008, 01:27 PM

The real issue I have with these chinese plasmas and TIG's is that although plenty seem to be sold I have yet to come across anyone with them.

It would be really nice to get some direct feedback about the relative strengths and weaknesses.

I would llove a plasma cutter myself but I feel like dropping a lazy $500 into some POS about as much as I feel like going to work this afternoon to earn that much.

Fossil

16th February 2008, 01:43 PM

You and me both Hux!

I am having a beer and doing guitar lessons with my young boy, and then off to work I go!

Grahame Collins

16th February 2008, 03:13 PM

If it helps

Global Welding supplies are a Qld. mainstream company with a shop and deal with industry in a big way. They are also make time time for the serious handyman.

While you will not get Ebay prices I have found they are genuine blokes who go out of their way do the best for the customer.

While you may pay the commercial price, in return you will get good service from a team who have the necessary knowledge and experience to set up a new welder given that you supply the guys with details on what you want to achieve. You will not get sold a POS.

I suppose I do get a bit niggardly with the discount hunters mentality, but they buy a bargain basement unit and expect it to perform to high standards way beyond what price and quality reasonably indicate.

It great to see a few blokes doing their own research first Kudos to you
Keep your electrodes dry.
Grahame

Grahame Collins

16th February 2008, 04:23 PM

While I am sitting around waiting for it to stop raining I sent his off to Global welding re plasma cutter

"Hi I have some questions regarding your plasma machine.I am considering plasma cutter machines but I need more information.
There is no warranty period stated .Why not if you are willing to stand behind you product?

1.Maximum cut in aluminium

2.Maximum cut in steel

Do you sell an air filter unit with a rated micron to suit this machine.?

The torch consumables.

Are they available as separate spares once the 5 sets with the machine are consumed. ?
What is the price of a set.?
Are the these parts specific only to the torch or are they generic parts that fit plasma torch heads? In short, are they available elsewhere commercially?
If the torch head becomes damaged is it available as a spare part and what is the cost? "

The response will indicate if the machine is viable.

Grahame

Schtoo

16th February 2008, 09:13 PM

The ad says Toshiba mosfets, the things that handle all the power and make it manageable. Not the welder itself, but that wouldn't surprise me either.

If Toshiba made parts was the only sticking point, well, it wouldn't be. Toshiba make industrial electronics gear so good it will make you cry.

I think most of Toshiba's business is in the industrial stuff rather than consumer electronics these days. They still make lotsa TV's and stuff, but they make very nice industrial stuff too.

Grahame Collins

16th February 2008, 11:52 PM

Hi Schtoo
I probably misworded the post as usual.

My problem is not with Toshiba but the fact they made a play on the Toshiba name.
In the blurb was mentioned of the depth of experience and quality of the staff. Usually welding companies promoting something which is that good do hands on promotion with sample jobs and opportunities for customers to try the product.The staff if hands on should be involved in that.

Staff with the experience and quals they were speaking of should have been capable of organising a better advertising specification table than was supplied.

To me the info smacked of coming straight off the side of the packing carton. Having wrestled with filter problems I fail to understand why there was no mention of them. To my knowledge the particle problem is still a current one that operators must deal with

No mention of how many have been sold.

If they were the bee knees perhaps one would expect to see them used professionally as in panel beating where I assume plasma's are used quite a lot to avoid distortion in cut and shut work. Or maybe they could have a list of recommendations from happy customers.

A look at the product list is not very confidence inspiring.Why are there so few known in industry brand names brand names ? There may be more but all I spotted was Kobe electrodes and Kiswell wire.

It may well be an honest machine but the manner of presentation leaves room for doubt.

Grahame

prozac

17th February 2008, 12:45 AM

Hi Schtoo
I probably misworded the post as usual.

My problem is not with Toshiba but the fact they made a play on the Toshiba name.

Grahame

When marketing computers the phrase "Intel Inside" comes to mind. The seller is legitimately making good use of Intel's reputation to indicate that the computer has quality components in its manufacture. I think this is the same sort of claim being made by the makers of the Plasma Cutter.

I don't know if having a Toshiba whatsit in the thing is a big deal to a welding person but it sounds like it might be. BTW, I am not saying the Plasma Cutter must be good, just drawing the analogy.

prozac

hux

17th February 2008, 10:49 AM

When marketing computers the phrase "Intel Inside" comes to mind. The seller is legitimately making good use of Intel's reputation to indicate that the computer has quality components in its manufacture. I think this is the same sort of claim being made by the makers of the Plasma Cutter.

I don't know if having a Toshiba whatsit in the thing is a big deal to a welding person but it sounds like it might be. BTW, I am not saying the Plasma Cutter must be good, just drawing the analogy.

prozac

Prozac

Intel actually want them to promote the processor. Afterall there are only the two brands Intel and AMD. Hence why Intel and AMD supply the stickers that you can stick on your no name box to proudly declare to the world that you have A or B brand. Also the processor manufacturers provide reference designs for boards - providing general quality/performance references.

I agree with Grahame. I think there is a lot more to a plasma cutter than a pair of mosfets. A few $10 parts aren't really the key part of the whole machine. It's what is in the rest of the box.
I look and think that the linked CUT40 looks suspiciously like the rest of the CUT40 plasma cutters on ebay.
Tradetools Qld have a CUT40 as well with the air filter/drier built in.

Are all the same machine that come out of one of an unknown number of chinese factories that make the same thing according to one central design?
Perhaps the linked machine has had a spec upgrade on the circuitry? Perhaps it has nothing more than a blue paint job and a bag for the bits.

There is an old saying "Poor people can only afford to buy once". Put simply should you spend $1000 once or $500 on something that doesn't last? As I said earlier - I woudl feel a lot more confident if somewhere on an Aussie forum I had heard some feedback about any of these machines.

Fossil

17th February 2008, 11:37 AM

Good points Hux.

I did a google search "chinese plasma cutters" and came up with some interesting comments. A lot bagged the machines, but one or to commended them as capable. For what it's worth, I am sticking with the gas axe! :)

Here is a couple of the comments:

They hold up good until they fail, which is soon after you buy them. Then
they sit there until you can find spare parts. IF you can find spare parts.
Circuitry is weak. Connections are minimal. Wiring is substandard.
Electronics are mostly recycled plastic. Other than that, they're just
okay.

Don't mess around. Go buy a HyperTherm. And if you buy CCC (Cheap Chinese
Crap), don't complain about the smell later from decaying flesh when it dies
on you.

And here is a contractor that uses one who is happy with his purchase: He has a link to a pic of the machine on his work truck, at the end of his post.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotfoot
My Riland Cut 40 Plasma Cutter continues to operate very nicely. Here is my report,as a former owner of a Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 38, sold only to get the greater cutting power of 40 amp machine (Moral: Do NOT under-buy!!!http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/images/smilies/frown.gif )

The Riland used up (Totally) one tip already. The TD never used up a tip in the over a year period that I had it. No big deal, and I bought an extra bag of the tips off ebay.

The TD had a thinner, cleaner kerf (cut). The Riland is not at all ragged, but the TD did cut thinner and cleaner by a tiny bit....even I probably would have trouble picking which design was cut with one vs. the other, though.

The TD started its cut through any kind of paint, rust, gunk...the Riland wants to see metal to start...rust is OK, but paint insulates against it starting its cut. Once the cut begins, it no longer matters (I guess the active cut provides the metal for the electrical contact).

The Riland blows the TD away on cuts over 3/16"...but its a 40 amp, the Cutmaster is a 30 amp. The TD 40 amp would probably swamp the Riland, but would cost $1,000.00 more!
I bought the Riland for its 40 amp capabilities, and have not been disappointed!.

The Riland, being an inverter, is much smaller (about like a 4 slice toaster), and is lighter. Nice if you need to backpack it across Swaziland on your Aerial, eh mate?http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/images/smilies/smile.gif

Glad your happy,,Its a killer of machine!!!!!!!But dont want to get in trouble,again!!!!!http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/images/smilies/eek.gif Cuts 3/8" diamond plate,rusted and Pained off the back of my truck,,should have seen the bosses faces at GE,where i did the Job,all laughfing,,,a lunch box Gizmo!!well Job done and every oone happy!http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/images/smilies/biggrin.gif Jack http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=18142&d=1150339320

thesupervisor

17th February 2008, 05:43 PM

i have made quite a few purchases from globa lwelding supplies unlimted i have found them to be knowlegable and have a good range of stock ill have to ask them about the plasma when im in there next

Grahame Collins

17th February 2008, 11:10 PM

Hi Supervisor

The Global Welding supplies who we both deal with has
many brands that are well known to we tradies.They are mostly the old IWS staff who left when BOC purchased IWS.I understand that Ron Barker who founded IWS has interests in our Global.

The point I tried to make in the earlier post, was the WA Global lot had only two brand names I knew of.

ALL of the the mig tig plasma cutter line was apparently Chinese.All of the welding helmets were Chinese.It did not ring true to me that a welding supply as pro outfit who had been 30 years in business (according to the E blurb.)was basically only selling Chinese machines.

Supervisor. Is there a bloke called Royce in your welding shop? He would be a dual tradie .He came from being a fitter until he got smart and became a boilie.If so,please tell him old mate Grahame the Tafe Teacher from Emerald said hello.

thanks
Grahame

Mathuranatha

18th February 2008, 11:03 AM

Found a few similar discussions on some US sites.Seems the pros and cons of various plasma cutters is a quite a popular and controversial subject for discussion last few years .Anyway definitly want one , just a matter of witch one .Probably have 2 spend as much as what i paid 4 the 25yr old rusty 4x4 I'm drivin.

Grahame Collins

18th February 2008, 03:37 PM

For those wishing to know a bit more i wrote a small description of the process and how a plasma is used.
Its a few threads down

Grahame

chappo1970

19th February 2008, 05:56 PM

All,
Just new to this forum and thought I could offer my 2 cents worth.
I have bought and used both the 200amp AC/DC tig and the 3 in 1 40amp plasma cutter bought off ebay (see the links below) and have found both to be of good quality and robustness for the average user like myself :2tsup:. They are CCC'c but the company I bought them from are a legitimate business with premises and backup. Please exercise good grey matter when buying off ebay or alike and do the homework. I contacted them first and discussed what I wanted to do with them prior to the purchase. I also liked the fact that they only deal in welders and not pit bikes, rubber duckies and cheap ride-on mowers (if you get my drift). I also made sure they had the back up, support and spares. Now I haven't had to rely on that yet after 6 months of weekly use but that day will come when I will need to. They also provided me with a legitimate tax invoice and a written 12 month warranty.

I think the ebay stigma thing is like a lot of things out there where unfortunately you only hear the bad rather than the good and misinformation is rife. I would suggest like anything you purchase you should do the homework and check out the business you are buying from. I have a story about a 13mth old lawn mower ($450 bucks :~) that went bye bye and that local mower company didn't stand by their product so it's just not limited to ebay and alikes, it can happen anywhere.

I have mainly used them for ally fabrication 2-3mm plate (make centre consoles in my spare time) and the occasional mild steel job (kiddies playground, go-kart etc). I have cut upto 12mm plate with the plasma but I wouldn't brag about it, in fact, I should have used the trusty gas axe but for thinner materials, say upto 5mm, it is great and I find myself going for the plasma over the grinder. As with everything metal the 5 P's apply to get a quality outcome, being Preparation Prevents a P#ss Poor Performance. Suggest reading Grahame Collins thread about plasma's and his earlier comments on consumables is very correct. Spend the money and have your air sorted, I haven't bothered with the heater but a good quality moisture trap and filter is essential to get some service life from the cutters consumables.

I would suspect if you were going to use them in a trade/industrial sense then they may not be able to stand up to it to well. However a mate of mine who is a boiler maker has used both to make a fuel tank for the boat and he was very surprised by the quality and the outcome. Now he is a good soul, and may have been kind to me, but he is the klnd of bloke that doesn't mix words, if you know what I mean. I have no affinity with this company so please make your own decision before any purchase.
I hope this helps.
The 40amp plasma:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130198570051&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_RCRX_Pr4_PcY_BIN_IT&refitem=130192241725&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&usedrule1=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget&_trksid=p284.m183&_trkparms=algo%3DCRX%26its%3DS%252BI%26itu%3DUCI%252BSI%26otn%3D4
The 200amp AC/DC TIG
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/AC-DC-IGBT-TIG-WELDER-SOLID-BRAND-AUS-BACKUP_W0QQitemZ110224127473QQihZ001QQcategoryZ11774QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Grahame Collins

19th February 2008, 11:26 PM

Gidday Chappo

Welcome to the forum .Good on you for your contribution If more of us can do that, some of the potential buyers can really get a handle and confidence on what it is safe to buy.There is no better recommendation than a personal one.

Its the cheap price many of us see before the quality or in some cases lack of it. I seek to heighten buyer perceptions so they can ask the right questions.

I see a bit of E bay stuff when you add on the freight or postage it runs out about the same as one could buy locally.

I would sooner have the ability to deal face to face with a vendor when something is faulty.

I emailed the vendors mentioned above and am yet to receive a reply. To be fair maybe they need to check back up the line before they give me an answer.

Grahame

chappo1970

20th February 2008, 01:05 PM

Thank you for the welcome this is a great forum to be involved with.

Grahame, I agree with the postage/delivery can add up and you definitely have to put it into your calculation and decision making. But once I added what was available from my local guys, Peal Engineering Supplies (Great Guys by the by!), and what was available over the net. I had to go this way, sorry Peal :(, but the money is ALWAYS better in my pocket. I know the stuff they sell is top notch gear and should I ever turn this facsination with metalworking into a career I would buy from them in a whisper.

Some of this CCC gear is rubbish, no doubt, but some of it is good entry level stuff for those that have a little cash to spend on a hobby to see what they can make and see.

I imagine like most hobbies you move on to better gear as your skill and level of understanding increases over time. I must admit there is an 80amp Unimeg at Tradetools thats burning a hole in my pocket. I just need to figure out how to sneek it past the "cheese and kisses", she watches the shed like a hawk and I swear she has a secret tool manifest that gets ticked of daily.

Grahame Collins

20th February 2008, 08:40 PM

I just need to figure out how to sneek it past the "cheese and kisses",
Chappo
Looks like you need a spot of intense metalwork forum tool training.
Sneak it in when she is not there . When She who must be Obeyed ,spots it ,you then adopt
The Bewildered expression
and proclaim "Whats wrong with you woman, I had that for ages."A pro will also remove all possible traces of new packing and apply a thick layer of dust. Apply a clutter of legit tools on over and around the said machine to give the impression of it always being there.

You said it was worthwhile forum didn't you?

GRAHAME

Inverter

5th April 2008, 10:04 PM

Hello guys, i tend to read up on this site every now and then and upon seeing this post i decided to take the large leap in joining lol. anyhow, i am the globalsuppliesunlimited on ebay and i would be happy to answer any of your questions as they arise. Cheers Guys. :2tsup:

Yonnee

9th April 2008, 06:15 PM

I've always been of the opinion that "Plasma cutter" and "Cheap/Inexpensive" were a contradiction in terms!!

Hello guys, i tend to read up on this site every now and then and upon seeing this post i decided to take the large leap in joining lol. anyhow, i am the globalsuppliesunlimited on ebay and i would be happy to answer any of your questions as they arise. Cheers Guys. :2tsup:

Where are the ones you sell made? Do you carry back up supply of spare parts (and not just the consumables)?

I have been wanting to get a plasma cutter for over 10 years (used to use one at work) but could never justify the 4 figure price tag.

Inverter

12th April 2008, 12:54 AM

Haha makes sense. Anyhow, we carry a full range of spares to spare boards. We have a new one arriving God willing first week of may. It will be a Pilot Arc 40 amp unit. With the pilot arc it can ???? through painted surfaces, rust etc. Pilot Arc you just press the trigger and the arc starts. With most of the units out on the market you have to touch the base metal to start the arc and they couldnt cut through rust or painted surfaces. This new unit will cost a tad but more than our old touch start units but the benefit is far worth it. Our welders and cutters are manufactured utilising Japanese and Western components such as Toshiba Japan, Infineon Germany, Siemens Germany and many others. Like most manufacturers we have them assembled in the PRC or Taiwan to save on costs. All the factories are ISO certified and all of our welders hold the CE European Standards certification and the Australian C-Tick Certification. We stand behind all of our welders 100% offering a 1 year warranty in the unlikely event. Also unlike many other companies, we cover freight back to us and freight back to you in the event of a warranty fault.

I've always been of the opinion that "Plasma cutter" and "Cheap/Inexpensive" were a contradiction in terms!!

Where are the ones you sell made? Do you carry back up supply of spare parts (and not just the consumables)?

I have been wanting to get a plasma cutter for over 10 years (used to use one at work) but could never justify the 4 figure price tag.

Yonnee

12th April 2008, 01:17 PM

Haha makes sense. Anyhow, we carry a full range of spares to spare boards. We have a new one arriving God willing first week of may. It will be a Pilot Arc 40 amp unit. With the pilot arc it can ???? through painted surfaces, rust etc. Pilot Arc you just press the trigger and the arc starts. With most of the units out on the market you have to touch the base metal to start the arc and they couldnt cut through rust or painted surfaces. This new unit will cost a tad but more than our old touch start units but the benefit is far worth it.

So... how does it work then? Still need a complete circuit to start an electric current. Doesn't just happen in mid air?!

All the factories are ISO certified and all of our welders hold the CE European Standards certification and the Australian C-Tick Certification.
In some cases a number of powered machinery coming from China has a 'CE' logo sticker on it where the 'CE' stands for China Export. Not saying that your goods don't comply, but you can see why people are wary.

We stand behind all of our welders 100% offering a 1 year warranty in the unlikely event.
Then why not 2, or 3, or 5 years? As a home hobbyist, a plasma cutter would be lucky to be used more than 20 times a year for less than 10 minutes at a time.

Also unlike many other companies, we cover freight back to us and freight back to you in the event of a warranty fault.
That puts you at the top of my list for a supplier to buy one. So many companies expect the customer to be inconvenienced and out of pocket for returning faulty products, particularly electrical goods that fail in the first few uses.

How much more are these newer units likely to be?

Yonnee.

Inverter

16th April 2008, 08:04 PM

With the Pilot Arc instead of touching the tip to the the base metal which causes an ignitio.... The pilot arc does not use high frequency but uses a "pilot" between electrode and nozzle ionises the gas which generates the plasma before arc transfer. We have the CE which isnt what matters here in Australian. The C-TICk is the main focus and what we also have which is the Australian Standards. In order to get this we had to have each machine tested and keep on file a fulll EMC test report which usually runs up to 55-60pages. This new unit should be roughly around $750-$850. :2tsup:

Yonnee

16th April 2008, 11:57 PM

MMMMmmmmm... Plasma.

Grahame Collins

17th April 2008, 07:48 AM

The pilot arc does not use high frequency but uses a "pilot" between electrode and nozzle ionises the gas which generates the plasma before arc transfer.

Hi Inverter
What is the value of the current that the pilot runs at?
I am familiar with transfered arc plasmas which were monsters compared to the small units currently available.

Are there smaller ones now running as transfered arc machines due to modern electronics?

Also the gas that is ionised. As far as I was aware compressed, filtered atmospheric air is the "gas" used in the lower end machines.. Is this what is ionised by the pilot arc, you mentioned.? The older plasmas ran some pretty toxic mixes requiring water baths and ventilation.

Can the units you sell be set up on an X-Y trace table?

Filtration has been a major issue in recent years.What do filtration your machines require so that the nozzle caps last for a reasonable length of time?

If machines are not already so equipped, what micron size filters are needed . Water in the air supply was also a big problem. Do the machines have driers?

Thanks
Grahame

Inverter

27th June 2008, 07:48 PM

Hello, I am the owner of globalsuppliesunlimited on ebay and I would like it to be known that we are in NO way affiliated with www.globalweld.com.au (http://www.globalweld.com.au). I am happy to answer any and all your questions regarding any product we offer

CHeers
Jason

I did a quick search for the company selling this stuff, and I think I have them here - http://www.globalweld.com.au/index.html.
Contact 'em and see if they are the same mob. Bet they will do you a better deal direct than via epay.

prozac

Inverter

27th June 2008, 07:55 PM

Hello Grahame, we (ebay name globalsuppliesunlimited) are in no way affiliated with global welding supplies. Im happy to answer any and all of your questions. I just saw you asked some questions to me before i didnt answer..... ill answer them now as i was not aware you asked them as i dont come on to much. thanks in advance:2tsup:

Hi Supervisor

The Global Welding supplies who we both deal with has
many brands that are well known to we tradies.They are mostly the old IWS staff who left when BOC purchased IWS.I understand that Ron Barker who founded IWS has interests in our Global.

The point I tried to make in the earlier post, was the WA Global lot had only two brand names I knew of.

ALL of the the mig tig plasma cutter line was apparently Chinese.All of the welding helmets were Chinese.It did not ring true to me that a welding supply as pro outfit who had been 30 years in business (according to the E blurb.)was basically only selling Chinese machines.

Supervisor. Is there a bloke called Royce in your welding shop? He would be a dual tradie .He came from being a fitter until he got smart and became a boilie.If so,please tell him old mate Grahame the Tafe Teacher from Emerald said hello.

thanks
Grahame

Inverter

27th June 2008, 08:21 PM

:2tsup:I Just saw your questions and im sorry im a few months late lol. Below are the questions you asked and the answers to them in bold.

While I am sitting around waiting for it to stop raining I sent his off to Global welding re plasma cutter

"Hi I have some questions regarding your plasma machine.I am considering plasma cutter machines but I need more information.
There is no warranty period stated .Why not if you are willing to stand behind you product?

Im sorry if it was not stated but we have rectified it. We offer a 1 year warranty backed by us here in W.A. If in the unlikely event of a problem we stand behind our products 100% and will cover transport back to us and then back to you again so you have no out of hand expenses unlike most other sellers. We have virtually a 0% Dead on arrival rate because we have implemented pretesting of the units and all its functions before it is packed. All units are labeled with a green sign that shows the date of testing and the testing engineers number so if somehow a problem were to arise we go straight back to him for it.

1.Maximum cut in aluminium

Ali maximum severance cut 6mm and quality cut 4mm

2.Maximum cut in steel

Steel max severance cut is 12mm and 10mm quality

Do you sell an air filter unit with a rated micron to suit this machine.?

All units are sold with an air pressure regulator the filters the moisture and oil residue.

The torch consumables.

Are they available as separate spares once the 5 sets with the machine are consumed. ? We carry all spare consumables

What is the price of a set.? you can purchase a set of 30 tips, 30 electrodes,10 swirl rings, and 10 shield cups for $99. Please note that not all electrodes and tips are created equal. There is a choice between long and short and a choice between the metals of zr and hf. the hf is a much more quality metal and costs more but lasts longer and this is what we sell. we also sell the extended length tips and nozzles

Are the these parts specific only to the torch or are they generic parts that fit plasma torch heads? In short, are they available elsewhere commercially?
It uses the esab pt-31 torch so consumables are readily available throughout Australia

If the torch head becomes damaged is it available as a spare part and what is the cost? " We sell complete torches with 5m lead for $99 which would be a more cost concious choice. but if requested we do have the head alone.

Now I want to mention that we are selling a 40A Pilot arc version of the same machine that uses a trafimet s45 style torch. if you have any questions shoot away.

P.S. once again i do apologise on the delay as i will check back here more often. Unanswered questions make us looky dodgy and that is exactly what we are not. We have been on business 34 years so we are industry leaders. If you request i can make a seperate post about our company which would pretty much clear all your minds about how big we are and how legitamite we are. I do

The response will indicate if the machine is viable.

Grahame

billym

28th June 2008, 10:00 AM

For those wishing to know a bit more i wrote a small description of the process and how a plasma is used.
Its a few threads down

Grahame
I have been right through to end of page 3 and cannot find the above. Am I having another seniors moment:(?bill:)

bsrlee

28th June 2008, 08:00 PM

Its actually in another thread, I found it by accident a day or so ago. Do a search by author/posters name instead of subject.

billym

29th June 2008, 08:26 AM

thanks bsrlee, glad is not me:?:?:?computers :(bill:):):)

Darren Khnobbs

8th July 2008, 07:15 PM

quote[ Hi Inverter
What is the value of the current that the pilot runs at?
I am familiar with transfered arc plasmas which were monsters compared to the small units currently available.

Are there smaller ones now running as transfered arc machines due to modern electronics?

Also the gas that is ionised. As far as I was aware compressed, filtered atmospheric air is the "gas" used in the lower end machines.. Is this what is ionised by the pilot arc, you mentioned.? The older plasmas ran some pretty toxic mixes requiring water baths and ventilation.

Blah blah blah -

Grahame]quote

Well actually Grahame, although the sunshine is brighter over your end of town, it's actually wrong to be saying that the plasma's ran toxic gas's.

The did tend to produce lots of OZONE and OXIDES of NITROGEN etc., as a result of their operation, and not from them being fed nasty gases.

We need to be clear on this, as misinforming people with technically incorrect information or wildly inaccurate opinions is rather "unprofessional".

The second matter is that the reason why all the major plasma cutter manufacturing companies produced air fed plasma's - was when given the TCO - or total cost of ownership, it's actually alot cheaper to be running a plasma on CLEAN air than it is for exotic "intert" gas's.

When company A produces an excellent plasma cutter, that costs 1/4 the amount to run in terms of consumables, as company B's product, well - who are the smart customers going to be buying from?

Using nice, clean, low moisture air, gives as every bit of a comparable service life in an "expensive to feed" plasma, as it does in an air fed model.

All the smart plasma cutting machine engineers who invest enormous amounts of time and research into their own products know this.:U

I know that I don't have big ego to compensate for sense of inadequacy, which is why I am always right.

Cheers

Daggles.