CNC plasma cuttingPlasma cutting performed by an industrial robot
Plasma cutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma. Typical materials cut with a plasma torch include steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass and copper, although other conductive metals may be cut as well. Plasma cutting is often used in fabrication shops, automotive repair and restoration, industrial construction, and salvage and scrapping operations. Due to the high speed and precision cuts combined with low cost, plasma cutting sees widespread use from large-scale industrial computer numerical control (CNC) applications down to small hobbyist shops.
The basic plasma cutting process involves creating an electrical channel of superheated, electrically ionized gas i.e. plasma from the plasma cutter itself, through the workpiece to be cut, thus forming a completed electric circuit back to the plasma cutter through a grounding clamp. This is accomplished by a compressed gas (oxygen, air, inert and others depending on material being cut) which is blown through a focused nozzle at high speed toward the workpiece. An electrical arc is then formed within the gas, between an electrode near or integrated into the gas nozzle and the workpiece itself. The electrical arc ionizes some of the gas, thereby creating an electrically conductive channel of plasma. As electricity from the cutter torch travels down this plasma it delivers sufficient heat to melt through the workpiece. At the same time, much of the high-velocity plasma and compressed gas blow the hot molten metal away, thereby separating, i.e. cutting through, the workpiece.
Plasma cutting is an effective way of cutting thin and thick materials alike. Hand-held torches can usually cut up to 38 mm (1.5 in) thick steel plate, and stronger computer-controlled torches can cut steel up to 150 mm (6 in) thick.[citation needed] Since plasma cutters produce a very hot and very localized "cone" to cut with, they are extremely useful for cutting sheet metal in curved or angled shapes.
The arcs are generated in a three step process. A high voltage spark briefly ionizes the air within the torch head. This makes the air conductive and allows the "pilot arc" to form. The pilot arc forms within the torch head, with current flowing from the electrode to the nozzle inside the torch head. The pilot arc begins to burn up the nozzle, a consumable part, while in this phase. The air then blows the plasma out the nozzle towards the work, providing a current path from the electrode to the work. When the control system senses current flowing from the electrode to the work, it cuts the electrical connection to the nozzle. Current then flows from the electrode to the work, and the arc forms outside the nozzle. Cutting can then proceed, without burning up the nozzle. Nozzle life is limited by the number of arc starts, not cutting time.
Plasmacutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma. Typical materials cut with...
including plasmacutting, plasma arc welding, plasma spraying, and plasma gasification for waste disposal. Thermal plasmas are generated in plasma torches...
one forms the arc plasma and the second shields the arc plasma. Filler metal may or may not be added. The plasma arc welding and cutting process was invented...
traditional means. Laser cutting for metals has the advantage over plasmacutting of being more precise and using less energy when cutting sheet metal; however...
punches and taps. In fabrication of structural steel by plasma and laser cutting, robots move the cutting head in three dimensions around the cut material....
need to be oxidized. This process differs from plasmacutting operations because in air carbon cutting an open, unconstricted arc is used, and the arc...
process is called cold cutting, which eliminates the damage caused by a heat-affected zone, as opposed to laser and plasmacutting. With the recent proliferation...
and plasma Erosion technologies: by water jet, electric discharge, or abrasive flow machining. Chemical technologies: Photochemical machining Cutting fluid...
application of the process. A variation of the process is plasmacutting, an efficient steel cutting process. Submerged arc welding (SAW) is a high-productivity...
Cornish, New Hampshire home. From this makeshift facility, replacement plasmacutting torches and consumables were designed, sold, packaged, and shipped....
apparatus is destroyed. Industrially, electric arcs are used for welding, plasmacutting, for electrical discharge machining, as an arc lamp in movie projectors...
can be difficult without appropriate relief cuts. CryoJet Laser cuttingPlasmacutting Electrical discharge machining Digital modeling and fabrication...
Home Page". "Metrostav AS: Private Company Information". Bloomberg. "Plasmacutting electrode has high silver content". The Fabricator Magazine. Retrieved...
cutting Machining – the mechanical cutting and shaping of metal which involves the loss of the material Oxy-fuel welding and cuttingPlasmacutting Sawing...
relatively compact at 46.2 ha (0.462 km2). It is equipped with the plasmacutting machines, steel processing and welding facilities, material handling...
The group manufactures products for thermal metal working (welding, plasmacutting). Approximately 280 employees at the three locations in Finsterwalde...
application of the process. A variation of the process is plasmacutting, an efficient steel cutting process. Other arc welding processes include atomic hydrogen...
modernization of the shipyard began, under which new halls with CNC plasmacutting machines will be built, in which work will be largely automated. As...
for large tube fabrication or HVAC, is increasingly carried out by plasma-cutting rather than punch tools. The first punch & die type tool for notching...
etc.[citation needed] The facilities include modern CNC machines, plasmacutting machines, and inert gas welding sets. The factory obtains its iron and...
photochemical machining, and ultrasonic machining, or even plasmacutting and water jet cutting, are often performed by machines that could most logically...
ammonia). There are hot plasmas typified by plasma jets used for metal cutting, welding, cladding or spraying. There are also cold plasmas, usually generated...
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