Plasma cutter.... what can they and can't they do?

[swinny]

I've grown very tired of cutting with a 4.5" grinder all the discs dust and crap from them. 

 

I only ever need to cut up to 10-12mm max.....

 

Can they do rusty metal or bolts?  What about painted metal and? Can they cut off digger brackets at 12mm thick etc?

 

Been thinking of this one for a while :

 

 

R-Tech P30C Plasma Cutter 240V 30A | Lightweight & Portable

WWW.R-TECHWELDING.CO.UK

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Plasma Cutter R-Tech P31C

 

Only got a domestic power supply.... on a 13 amp plug nut sure the socket is a 16 amp one. 

 

Had a digger bracket made up recently and couldn't get the bolts down the recess so had to mess about with grinder and die grinder = ball ache! Would have been a piece of pee with a plasma cutter!

Edited May 1, 2022 by swinny

[spuddog0507]

6 minutes ago, swinny said:

I've grown very tired of cutting with a 4.5" grinder all the discs dust and crap from them. 

 

I only ever need to cut up to 10-12mm max.....

 

Can they do rusty metal or bolts?  What about painted metal and? Can they cut off digger brackets at 12mm thick etc?

 

Been thinking of this one for a while :

 

 

R-Tech P30C Plasma Cutter 240V 30A | Lightweight & Portable

WWW.R-TECHWELDING.CO.UK

---

Plasma Cutter R-Tech P31C

 

Only got a domestic power supply.... on a 13 amp plug nut sure the socket is a 16 amp one. 

 

Had a digger bracket made up recently and couldn't get the bolts down the recess so had to mess about with grinder and die grinder = ball ache! Would have been a piece of pee with a plasma cutter!

Lads in building next to me have one and there making steel framed buildings, load all buckets and all agri repairs etc, but there,s wont be 480 quids worth tho, more like 3/4k as they are cutting every day with it, seen them cutting 40mm plate with it a few wk back and made a very tidy job in quick time,, i would think the machine you quote above will do owt you want to do, you all so need a compressor as well which i will suspect you all ready have,, 

[topchippyles]

Not sure how good they are but i popped in to lidl last night and they were on sale there. Get what you pay for in quality like everything else. Found this on youtube. Never used one myself but always something i would like to try.

 

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by topchippyles

[openspaceman]

46 minutes ago, spuddog0507 said:

need a compressor as well which i will suspect you all ready have,,

Yes, OP will need to factor in both of them running once the air pressure drops.

[swinny]

27 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

Yes, OP will need to factor in both of them running once the air pressure drops.

Got a 50ltr compressor here so plenty

[tcfengineering]

I recommend you give Technical Arc some consideration :

Technical Arc – The UK's leading manufacturer of welding & cutting equipment.

TECHNICALARC.CO.UK

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The UK's leading manufacturer of welding & cutting equipment.

They are UK manufacturers, I have a plasma cutter, a MIG welder and a TIG welder from them and they are all superb. Really great company to deal with and great backup should you ever need it. You can talk to the actual person who screwed your machine together which is worth a lot for me. They also guarantee spares availability for something like 20 years.

[doobin]

42 minutes ago, swinny said:

Got a 50ltr compressor here so plenty

50l is not a lot when plasma cutting. You will need to have spare capacity for both to run at once as mentioned. 
 

I have the largest R-tech 240v plasma cutter (cut50) and it’s great. Cuts 12mm easily and I have also cut 20mm without a problem.  It really does suck the juice though, you will trip a breaker easily if you don’t have the right wiring setup. 
 

I would avoid the cheap lidl type. The difference between them and the better ones is night and day, especially over 6mm. Chinese amps are not the same as r-tech amps!

 

The other thing to consider is the torch. Chinese torches and consumables are a lot more fragile and can be hard to get bits for. The R-Tech and other good brands run the LT-70 torch and consumables, which I think is a version of a Hypotherm torch. It’s a bit like euro vs Chinese mig torches- stick with a standard. 

[swinny]

I'm not planning on doing art work with it just cut stuff off. Short runs etc... won't the compressor keep up?

 

Main thing is... what about rusty stuff and then painted stuff? Will it get through? 

[Ratman]

I'm not planning on doing art work with it just cut stuff off. Short runs etc... won't the compressor keep up?
 
Main thing is... what about rusty stuff and then painted stuff? Will it get through? 

Best to buzz a clean line where you want to cut with a flappy disc, same as everything in fabrication, preparation is key! We have one a cebora at work, will cut up to 12mm steel/alloy, its fecking brilliant! [emoji108] you wont look back, and saves loads of time!!!

[Moose McAlpine]

1 hour ago, swinny said:

I'm not planning on doing art work with it just cut stuff off. Short runs etc... won't the compressor keep up?

 

Main thing is... what about rusty stuff and then painted stuff? Will it get through? 

 

You'll empty 50L in a few seconds, although slower than air tools as the plasma's intake pressure is regulated down. I have to 50A R-Tech and it empties my 200L compressor fairly quick.

 

For painted/rusty stuff you'll need one with a pilot arc, which burns the crap off the surface just before you start cutting. The 50A R-Tech has this, but the 30A doesn't.