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Once you have figured out how to set the welder's amps and adjust the air pressure to achieve optimal cuts, developing the correct technique is the next hurdle. Over the course of many conversations with customers, I have found a common concern of customers is the expense and lifespan of consumables. The consumable life span is no better than the way it is treated, and used.

A number one question I often get is "What's the thinnest material this metal can cut?" That of course to an experienced user of a plasma cutter is a relative question. In reality, any plasma cutter really has no bottom, or minimum thickness that it can cut. It's sort of like trying to define what the smallest fire a single match can set would be.

By now, if you've gotten your plasma set up and a dryer installed, you're likely wondering exactly how much air pressure to use, and what amperage to set for each thickness. You may even be surfing around the net for some chart to give you a precise setting of amps and air pressure with a cross reference for each possible variable and situation. The bonus and hidden feature of plasma cutting, is that close is usually good enough to get the job done, and done well.

One of the most easy to use tools today in the welding industry is the portable plasma cutter. It is been used extensively recent days to cut steel along with several other electric current conductive metals because of their portability facilitated by inverter technology. Several companies are getting benefited by plasma cutting process for it lowers the costs and increases the productivity rapidly. With the advent in technology, portable plasma cutters are better serving the industry.

Tungsten inert gas (tig) is often used for high-quality precision welding purposes. In this particular process an arc is formed between the metal and the permanent non-melting tungsten electrode. With the help of the torch the gas is fed, thereby it shields the electrode and molten weld pool. In case of usage of filler material, they are added discretely to the weld pool.

Spot welding is a great form of resistance welding, which is a technique of welding two or more metal sheets jointly without by means of any filler material by pertaining pressure and heat to the area to be welded.

A more modern approach to starting an arc is the use of "blow back" technology. This technology uses a dead short where a spring loaded electrode is firmly seated against the nozzle face and air pressure is applied to the torch. The air pressure pushes the electrode back so the air can escape from the nozzle hole. Simultaneously, electricity begins to flow creating a spark between the nozzle which is grounded back through the machine to complete the circuit, and the electrode.

There are two common start types that you should be familiar with. One is High Frequency, and the other is a Blow back start. The High frequency start is a simple, but effective method of starting that uses something similar to old fashioned ignition systems of automobiles with a coil, and points to generate a high frequency, high voltage spark at the tip of the nozzle to ionize the air and create a plasma arc that is focused and expelled through the tip of the nozzle. This type of start is efficient and fast but has two basic problems.

If you are interested in purchasing a plasma, one of the first "investments" you will need besides a capable air compressor, is a good quality dryer to remove moisture from the compressor air. Moisture is the arch enemy of plasma cutting. Plasma cutting with moisture in the line can yield disastrous results! Symptoms of having moisture in the line include poor cut quality with snootiness, and angularity of cut, sputtering, quickly worn consumables, and possibly even a destroyed torch.

No doubt if you've been pondering purchasing a plasma cutter, you have a few questions about the operation and what some of the recommendations are for setting up a plasma. Precious little information is available that give rudimentary plasma settings for given thicknesses of metal. And very little information is out there on the different types of starts, or how they work. Maintenance information is almost zero as well.