How do plasma cutters work?
Plasma cutters are some cool technology when you understand what they do and how they do it. Plasma cutting machines have been around since being invented in the 1950s. Without going into a lot of scientific mumbo-jumbo, plasma cutters work by forcing an electric arc through an opening that has a gas inside.
When electricity hits the gas, it turns into the fourth type of material that exists in nature – plasma. The first three are solid, liquid, and gas with plasma being the latest addition to the family. The gas portion of the formula can be anything from regular old air inside the shop to Nitrogen, Argon, or any of a variety of compatible gases. By combining electricity and gas, any electrically conductive material can be cut with ease and accuracy.
Why choose to use a plasma cutter?
There are several different ways to cut materials. Machinists can use saws, routers, drills, grinders, and a whole plethora of other tools and technologies to accomplish the task. So, why use plasma? Plasma brings some unique considerations to the party that those other tools just can’t bring. Listed below are the five main reasons why machinists choose plasma cutting over the other technologies available:
- Versatility – Plasma can cut a wide variety of materials accurately without having to change tools or applications. Plasma easily cuts through steel, brass, iron, copper, aluminum, and many other materials.
- Precision – Due to the accuracy of the cutting head and control of the arc plasma, materials can be cut with extreme accuracy as opposed to other types of workpiece machining.
- Speed – Depending on the thickness and type of material being cut, a plasma cutter can cut through workpieces rapidly increasing productivity and reducing operating costs for manufacturing.
- Ease of Use – Plasma cutters come in hand-held designs as well as table-top models that are 20′ x 40′ or bigger. Finding a size and capability to meet needs as well as computer applications for using plasma equipment is simple due to the number of manufacturers producing plasma equipment.
- Cost – Not only does the speed at which Plasma cutters work help reduce production time and costs, the costs to acquire and use a plasma cutter are lower than many other industrial cutting machines.
Plasma cutters make shop life easier
There are several reasons why machine shops, manufacturing plants, and production environments should consider using plasma cutting machines. The increased safety over traditional heat-cutting technologies makes it more user-friendly and it can even go underwater to perform its tasks. The speed, simplicity, and productivity of Plasma cutters can’t be overstated and that’s why so many shops and manufacturers use them today.
Cutting out precision templates, penetrating multiple steel sheets, and quickly slicing through intricate layouts are a few of the jobs made much faster, easier, and more profitable with plasma cutters. Machinists the world over know how much a plasma cutter can increase any shop’s productivity. If you haven’t done so already, then it’s time to discover what Plasma Cutters can do.
