Plasma Cutting

358Scout

358Scout

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New to plasma cutting and planning on purchasing a unit.
A friend has a Hypertherm Powermax 30 unit that's been discontinued and replaced by the 30XP
Accessories include all lines, some consumables, a water filter, and some steel to play with for $900
That's still a little over what I was planning to spend - but it seems to be high quality and probably more than I require
Definitely not interested in any Chinese-made tools.

Require some experienced comments or suggestions.
Thanks
 
358Scout said:
New to plasma cutting and planning on purchasing a unit.
A friend has a Hypertherm Powermax 30 unit that's been discontinued and replaced by the 30XP
Accessories include all lines, some consumables, a water filter, and some steel to play with for $900
That's still a little over what I was planning to spend - but it seems to be high quality and probably more than I require
Definitely not interested in any Chinese-made tools.

Require some experienced comments or suggestions.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Hypertherm has been making plasma cutters for many years and seem to make a decent product. Like all manufacturers they seem to like to rate to the max the tools capability. My Thermal Dynamics plasma cutter is claimed to be able to cut 1.5" thick material. It will but not nearly as a clean cut as when I cut 1".

I see that the Hyper therm 30 is rated for 3/8", given my experience it will probably cut 1/4" really well and 3/8 pretty well.

Air quality and constant volume are paramount. $900.00 does not seem like a bad deal at all to me.
 
$900 seems like a 'it fell off a truck' deal for a decent Plasma cutter. I paid a LOT more for mine, a Miller rated for 5/8 inch.

For me it was a real toss up between the Miller and a Hypertherm with a built in air compressor. The Miller has the option of adding a CNC interface, so I went that way.

Keep your air as dry as you can, or you pay in consumables wear!
 
I have a powermax 30.. its good for cutting 1/8.. really realy struggles with 1/4 inch.
You need clean air and an air dryer
The vids on youtube greatly exaggerate its capability.. trust me
Consumables are expensive
 
dimeN said:
I have a powermax 30.. its good for cutting 1/8.. really realy struggles with 1/4 inch.
You need clean air and an air dryer
The vids on youtube greatly exaggerate its capability.. trust me
Consumables are expensive
Click to expand...

I have used a powermax 30 quite often and I second that. You need to run it on 230V, don't even bother using it on 110V. It also works best with genuine Hypertherm tips and electrodes. Consumables last a long time, which is a very big plus. 5 tips or 5 electrodes are about $65. There is a noticeable loss in performance with chinese knock off consumables. If you will use it on sheet metal, go for it, but for more serious work 30xp or even 45 is the way to go.
 
I run a hypotherm 45. Cuts 1/2 with ease. The gouge function is awesome. Prob not economical for a guy to gouge all day. But for traditional gouging you need a lot of power. Consumables are damn expensive. I have 400$ air dryer / filter leaving the compressor for the plasma. Will prob get a very fine filter to go right on the Machien. We were practicing blowing nuts off 5/16 bolts with the gouge function. Not long and your blowing 2 sides off the nut. Tap with a hammer and she falls apart. No damage to the threads.
 
I have a power max 1000. I’m able to buy a legacy torch that will accept all the new style consumables. Very good machine that will live up to it’s rated cutting capacity. I’ve never had an issue getting parts for my current original torch either. I believe my particular unit was replaced by the power max 65.
 
I sell, install and service Hypertherm for almost 30 years now.
that's a good price and unit.. parts still around and easily looked after.
Open the cover and check that there's no metal dust build up on the boards and fan.
The conformal coating can be thin in places and steel dust and ambient moisture do make a good conductor .
 
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