Recent advances in plasma cutting stainless steel
When it comes to cutting stainless steel, plasma offers a number of advantages over the other methods
available, and recent technological developments are delivering improved speed, quality and flexibility.
By Steve Liebold, Jon Peters and Jesse Tyler of Hypertherm.
This article appears in the February 2014 edition of AMT and is reprinted here with their permission.
Except:
“…a plasma set-up presents a number of benefits. Plasma uses thermal energy and high-velocity gas to melt and remove material from a cut surface, resulting in fast cut speeds when compared with bandsaws and waterjet systems. And unlike laser, plasma features a thicker cutting capability, and the flexibility to quickly switch from severing 160mm stainless steel plates to cutting fine features on thin stainless (0.8-6.0mm) and mild steel, as well as on aluminium…
…Plasma: The choice solution
Using plasma to cut and pierce stainless steel plates has traditionally been known to be a tedious process. When using conventional plasma systems, operators needed to apply the appropriate mix of gases to bring about optimal cut speeds, while knowing which technology works best for the different grades of stainless steel.
However, with recent technological advancements, cutting the metal has become much easier. A variety of new technologies and methods are now available, which allow manufacturers to efficiently produce clean, high-quality cuts for thin, mid-range and thick stainless steel.”
PDF copy of article: Plasma cutting Stainless Steel
Magazine: The full February 2014 edition of Australian Manufacturing Technology