PP256 Perplexing Plasma Problems
I have a PP256 I purchased in 2012. Have never been able to make friends with the plasma cutter, so have not used it.
Today I had to cut a 15" circle out of 1/4" hot rolled steel so I thought I'd give it another try. I connected the torch and re-checked the settings and polarity, and made some test cuts on the corner of the work piece and everything seemed to be working. First problem was the arc wouldn't fire using the circle cutter. Only if I free-handed it using the wire standoff would it cut. So I drew a circle and started cutting it free-hand.
The information I've gathered indicates that at 60A and 75 psi, cutting speed through 1/4" mild steel should be about 70 inches/minute, or a little over 1 inch/second. I couldn't get it to keep from blowing back unless I cut about 1/2"/second. When I turned the piece over I found that slag had obliterated the kerf and I had to grind it off and free the part using an abrasive cutting wheel.
I've never been able to get the plasma cutter on this machine to cut cleanly. Other plasma cutters I've used seem to cut cleanly with the same settings. Wondering what I'm doing wrong.
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