Maintaining Your Plasma Cutters

Extending the life of your Plasma cutter can help you save loads of money therefore it is important to know and understand the best ways to maintain your cutter. If you do need repairs done Tru-butt is able to assist. The first things to do is replace your consumable parts regularly. The consumables include the cap, shield, electrode, nozzle, and swirl ring, however the electrode and nozzle are the most commonly replaced consumables.

Next it is important to monitor the plasma gas pressure while you are using the plasma cutter. The gas pressure from your plasma cutter should remain as to the prescribed cutting charts and never drop or increase by more than +/- 5 PSI. If your plasma cutter pressure is lower than -5 PSI it will affect the cut quality and damage the nozzle orifice. Furthermore, if your pressure is higher than +5 PSI, this will lead to your electrode to wear out faster and it will require a consumable replacement. If you are unsure refer to the plasma cutter manual to get the ideal settings for your application and material.

Thirdly it is important to maintain proper air filtration within your plasma cutter. This is necessary as the air within the air compressor can often get contaminated with water or oil. If the air does get contaminated, even if it is a small amount of water or oil, the plasma stream will result in the failure of the electrode or nozzle.

Finally removing any spatter from shield cap and torch is necessary. Removing spatter is important because if it is left on the cap it will damage the electrode or nozzle quite quickly. When it comes to cutting denser material that requires extended piercing times, spraying the shield face with a little bit of anti-spatter will help to stop the spatter from sticking on the shield. Do not pierce through or cut material that is not part of the capability of the specific amperage. If you do cut such material, you will be negatively impacting the shield cap which will eventually lead to the electrode and the nozzle getting damaged.

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