Plasma with onboard or external air source?

[RhinoJr]

It seems that both the Hypertherm Powermax 380 and 600 are highly regarded here, but both require external air sources, not that I’ve ever seen anyone complain about that. I’m not interested in the smaller 190 with built-in air. What about Thermal Dynamics Drag-Gun Plus? At 35A output, it’s closer to the 600’s 40A than the 380’s 27A. The Drag-Gun plus is slightly less money than the 600, and the 600 needs a filter setup. Is Hypertherm still the way to go, even without the convenience of the built-in compressor?

[glfredrick]

Generally speaking, the plasmas with the external air are more serious pieces that can cut greater thicknesses.

A word to the wise, however, make sure that your air supply is ABSOLUTELY without water! It only takes a few drops to short out the unit. That's the #1 problem I see with the ones I sell on the Snappy truck... Whatever you are already doing to filter the shop air -- do more. Get one of those little add-on moisture traps for painting and stick it inline after the regular water trap to be on the safe side.

[cybergeek23851]

What about Thermal Dynamics Drag-Gun Plus? At 35A output, it’s closer to the 600’s 40A than the 380’s 27A. The Drag-Gun plus is slightly less money than the 600, and the 600 needs a filter setup. Is Hypertherm still the way to go, even without the convenience of the built-in compressor?


The Drag-Gun's suck. We have five in a closet gathering dust. I fired one up while the big plasma cutter was slated for replacement, and it was a waste of time. I was cutting 1/8 inch plate and it would barely handle it. We have a Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 51. It would be the equivalant to the Hypertherm 600. The 600 looks like it would be a fine machine.

[PAToyota]

I'm curious whether the plasmas with on-board air have moisture issues... A local place has a used refrigerant dryer - 20 cfm at 150 psi for $650. Guess I have to decide how serious I am about running my Hypertherm 1100, I guess. :flipoff2:

[CRYPTIC CRAWLER]

w/onboard air you are limited to cutting time they work best for quick severs.go with external air supply models.have a 5-6 yr old powermax 350,only problem was a cut off of hot steel landed on hose and melted in for some damage. pretty sure hypertherm makes plasmas for miller.

[PAToyota]

I sort of wondered about that. There is no room for a storage tank, so it is pretty much direct drive. Couldn't see how it would keep up.

[Travis Waldher]

how many CFM do you need?

Judging by how my air tools run, with the engine at 2,000rpms the air compressor is putting out around 5-6cfm@90psi