Multiplaz-3500 Evaluation, Part 03
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:57 pm
Multiplaz-3500 Evaluation, Part 03: Incoming Inspection and Preliminary Tests
DISCLAIMER!
Let me emphasize that I will not be able to tell you whether the Multiplaz-3500, or any other piece of equipment, will be a good investment for you. Only you can decide that. My intent is to provide as much factual information as I can about the Multiplaz-3500 so that others in our company can make an informed decision about that. The company has no objection to my sharing the information with you as long as I leave their name out of it and make it clear that I am not endorsing any particular product.
DISCLAIMER!
The Multiplaz-3500 box was delivered by UPS and was in good condition with only a few scuff marks. The unit was well packed inside, with all of the components inside of the carrying case. The carrying case is well made, with four main compartments: one for the inverter power supply; one for each of the two torches; and one zippered compartment under the case top for the spare parts kit. The outside of the case has a pocket on each side for the other cables (one to the workpiece; one to the filler rod) and for the shoulder straps. There are several sleeves on the front outside for small parts. In a separate envelope is the literature, including an owners manual and a multi-lingual instructional DVD. You can find photos of the carrying case and the torches, and some technical specifications, at
http://www.multiplaz.com/about.
Each Multiplaz torch is much larger than a typical plasma cutting torch and is about the size of a cordless drill. The dimensions are: 8.5” L x 2.5” body diameter x 7.5” H. The torch cable is 79” (2m) long. Each Multiplaz torch weighs about 2 pounds (2.5 pounds including the cable). The weight is reasonably well balanced and the handle is comfortable for me (obviously a matter of personal preference). The power cord on each Multiplaz torch is sturdy and well made. It is smaller and more flexible than a regular air-cooled torch cable, but is not nearly as flexible as my CK Superflex cable. (I have been spoiled by that cable.) The torch cable carries 4 wires; one to the cathode (~10 A max.), one to the nozzle (~10 A max.), and two to the temperature sensor in the torch (a few mA).
The weight of the inverter power supply is about 18 pounds. The dimensions are: 14” L x 5.5” W x 8”H. The weight of the carrying case with everything in it is just under 30 pounds. For comparison, the dimensions of the Fronius TransCut 300 inverter power supply are: 18” L x 7” W x 11” H. The weight of the carrying case with everything in it is advertised as 32#. Portability is one of the features emphasized in both the Fronius TransCut and the Multiplaz-3500 advertisements and, in terms of overall size and weight, the two units very similar.
We inspected the quality of the packaging, of the parts manufactured by the Multiplaz Technology Company (power supply, torches, tools, etc.), of the parts bought from other manufacturers (cables, connectors, display, etc.), and of the documentation. We consider that all of the parts are of good quality, with good fit and finish. There were no rough edges or surfaces. Cables are well made with heavy-duty connectors and molded strain reliefs. The unit appears to be solidly constructed and there were no loose parts or rattles. The power supply does not come with a plug on the AC power cord. (There are too many different plugs in use around the world.)
In the manual that we received, the pages were all there but they were out of order. That was fixed by unstapling the manual, reordering the pages, and restapling. A minor nuisance. You can download a free copy of the latest version of the manual at
http://www.multiplaz.com/manual.
If you are interested in the Multiplaz-3500, I recommend that you download a copy of the manual. It will help you better understand this evaluation.
The multi-lingual DVD (English, Russian, German, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic) did not play correctly on a standard North American DVD player, presumably because it is recorded in PAL format, rather than NTSC. The DVD did play correctly on a Mac under OSX 10.6 and on another computer under Windows 7.
The warranty registration via the Internet did not work. There was no such page on the Multiplaz website. I reported the problem by email and was told to FAX the form. The website registration is supposed to be fixed at some point.
After affixing an appropriate power plug for 220 VAC, we prepared to plug in the power supply. To our surprise, the power supply has no AC power on/off switch, only a fuse. When you plug the unit in, the fans come on (apparently always at full speed) and the display lights up. The lighted “on” and “off” pushbuttons on the front panel only control the power to the torch. We consider this a serious shortcoming. We do not wish to be plugging and unplugging a power cord that is carrying current, even if the current is small (0.4 A standby current). Also, in case of a problem with the power supply, we want to be able to quickly and safely remove the AC power. This is a shortcoming that could easily be fixed by the manufacturer. In our case, we installed a 250 VAC, 20 A, DPST switch in series with the AC power cord. We also installed a AC Power Meter (reads volts, amps, power factor, and watts) in series with the AC power cord so that we could measure the AC power input and determine overall electrical efficiency.
Preliminary Tests of the Cutting and Welding Torches
We loaded the cutting torch with distilled water. (This was slightly awkward because we didn’t have a good arrangement to catch the water that flows out of the nozzle once the internal reservoir is full. This is not a serious problem. From now on we will make sure that we have a catch basin under the torch nozzle.) We connected the cable to the power supply, adjusted the free movement of the “start” button (really a knob) on the torch to about 3 mm (2 mm to 3 mm), set the Mode I current indicator to position 4, pressed the “on” button, fully depressed the “start” button on the torch and then slowly released it. Sure enough, about 2 seconds later a plasma jet was coming out of the nozzle. Once the plasma discharge was stable, we set the operating voltage to about 190 V by adjusting the “start” button (clockwise increases the cathode-to-nozzle distance and voltage, and counter-clockwise decreases them). The torch takes a minute or two to stabilize when starting cold (the temperature and pressure of the evaporating liquid need to reach equilibrium).
It was somewhat confusing at first as to the proper settings for starting each torch. The conditions are different for the cutting torch (water only) and the welding torch (water/ethanol mixture). Reading the manual a few times did the trick and, for those who care, the (cold) starting conditions are listed here.
To start the cutting torch:
Set the free movement of the “start” button on the torch to 2 mm to 3 mm
(this is the cathode-to-nozzle distance for the starting arc).
Set the Mode I current indicator to position 4 (6 A). (Mode II current indicator off.)
Press the “on” button.
Press and release the “start” button.
Once the plasma discharge is stable, adjust the voltage to approximately 190 V.
(this is the cathode-to-nozzle voltage of the arc).
Wait for the plasma jet to equilibrate. Readjust the voltage as necessary.
To start the welding torch:
Set the free movement of the “start” button on the torch to 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm
(this is the cathode-to-nozzle distance for the starting arc).
Set the Mode I current indicator to position 4 (6 A). (Mode II current indicator off.)
Press the “on” button.
Press and release the “start” button.
Once the plasma discharge is stable, adjust the voltage to approximately 165 V.
(this is the cathode-to-nozzle voltage of the arc).
Wait for the plasma jet to equilibrate. Readjust the voltage as necessary.
When started, there was a long yellow needle-like plume that extended about 3” out of the orifice. As the torch warmed up (equilibrated), the yellow plume shortened to about 1” and then to 0.75 “ (2 cm). A bright purple plasma developed at the orifice. The plasma was about 1 mm in diameter (the diameter of the orifice) and extended about 1 mm out of the orifice. The plasma discharge was very stable. The gas velocity was high and one could feel the heat of the gas stream 18” directly in front of the nozzle. One could not feel any heat 0.5” directly above the orifice opening.
We then let the torch run until it was out of water (to test the overheat shutoff function). As the torch ran out of water, the plasma jet changed shape and color noticeably. The yellow plume started to grow longer, the plasma grew shorter, and the voltage dropped. If one were actually cutting, one would realize that the water was running out and one could turn the power to the torch off before the torch started to overheat. Since we wanted to test the automatic shutdown feature, we let it completely run out of water. It shut down fine. The torch ran 21.5 minutes before it shut down. (Useful cutting time would be about 20 minutes.) The torch holder baseplate worked well and most of the torch body (plastic) did not get hot. (The part nearest the nozzle was too hot to hold.) The torch handle did not even get warm. We then cooled the torch nozzle by putting it in about 1.5” of water in a metal can (as shown in the Multiplaz videos.)
We then ran the same test using the welding torch, with just distilled water, the Mode I current indicator set to 4 (6 A), the cathode to nozzle distance set at ~1 mm, and the voltage set to 165 V. Upon starting, it was obvious that some of the water vapor (steam)was leaking out around the outside of the nozzle (between the nozzle and the torch cap). We turned off the torch power, loosened the cap. cleaned the nozzle back rim, and reseated the assembly. No further leakage was apparent. Upon restarting, the torch started up fine. As with the cutting torch, there was initially a long yellow plume, but, because of the larger orifice, the plume was shorter and wider (more “bushy”). The purple plasma was also larger in diameter (~2 mm, the diameter of the orifice) and shorter (~ 3 mm = 0.125”) than in the cutting torch. The gas velocity was noticeably less than for the cutting torch and one could feel the heat of the gas stream 18” in front of the nozzle, but now about 6” higher than the nozzle (due to convection). The torch ran for 21 minutes and then shut down fine. As with the cutting torch, the plume lengthened, the plasma shortened, and the voltage started to drop about 1.5 minutes before the shutdown. We cooled the torch nozzle by putting it in about 1.5” of water in a metal can and then removed the filling neck cap to prevent the vacuum from drawing distilled water back into the torch. After the torch was cool, we flushed air through the filling neck with the nozzle pointed down to be sure that all of the fluid was out of the torch.
We then added a premixed solution of 50% water and 50% ethanol to the welding torch and restarted the torch under the same conditions (the Mode I current indicator set to 4 (6 A), the cathode to nozzle distance set at ~1 mm, and the voltage set to 165 V). It took 5 restarts and about 2 minutes to get the arc to stay lit but it eventually did. (The plasma “stuttered” a lot, as if liquid was getting in the orifice. Overfilled?) Once the plasma was stable, there were some noticeable differences from the plasma with water only. The plume was a light pink color and the plasma itself was almost white. The plasma was ~4 mm (0.16”) in diameter and extended out from the orifice ~6 mm (0.25”). The gas velocity seemed somewhat less than with pure water and one could feel the heat of the gas stream 18” in front of the nozzle, but now about 12” higher than the nozzle (due to convection). As before, the plume lengthened, the plasma shortened, and the voltage dropped as the torch ran out of fluid. The torch ran for 14.5 minutes and then shut down fine. This shorter time is what one would expect, as 60 mL of a (50% water/50% ethanol) mixture vaporizes into only 2/3 of the gas volume that 60 mL of pure water does. We cooled the torch nozzle by putting it in about 1.5” of water in a metal can and then removed the filling neck cap to prevent the vacuum from drawing distilled water back into the torch. After the torch was cool, we flushed air through the filling neck with the nozzle pointed down to be sure that all of the fluid was out of the torch.
We then added a premixed solution of 50% water and 50% isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) to the welding torch and restarted the torch under the same conditions (the Mode I current indicator set to 4 (6 A), the cathode to nozzle distance set at ~1 mm, and the voltage set to 165 V). Again, it took several restarts and about 2 minutes to get the arc to stay lit but it eventually did. Once the plasma was stable, it looked about the same as with the ethanol mixture. The gas velocity also seemed about the same as with ethanol and one could feel the heat of the gas stream 18” in front of the nozzle, and about 12” higher than the nozzle (due to convection). As before, the plume lengthened, the plasma shortened, and the voltage dropped as the torch ran out of fluid. The torch ran for 14 minutes and then shut down fine. Again, this shorter time is just what one would expect, as 60 mL of a (50% water / 50% isopropanol) mixture vaporizes into slightly less than 2/3 of the gas volume that 60 mL of pure water does. We cooled the torch nozzle by putting it in about 1.5” of water in a metal can and then removed the fill cap to prevent the vacuum from drawing distilled water back into the torch. After the torch was cool, we flushed air through the filling neck with the nozzle pointed down to be sure that all of the fluid was out of the torch.
to be continued
larry lee
P.S. I have mentioned the Fronius TransCut 300 plasma cutting torch at times in this evaluation as it is the only unit that I know of that is comparable to the Multiplaz-3500 cutting torch. I checked with Fronius USA about the availability of the TransCut 300 and was told that it is not for sale in the USA. The reasons given for this are:
1. The performance of the TransCut 300 is limited and it could not compete successfully in the US market against the products offered by established companies like Thermal Dynamics and Miller.
2. Because of the cost of development and the limited sales, the price of the TransCut 300 is much more than that of other plasma cutters with higher performance.
3. The aqueous solution that is used to produce the plasma is classified as an oxidizer because it contains a small amount (<1%) of 2-oxobutane (methyl-ethyl-ketone or MEK), in addition to the 10% to 25% ethanol. It would have to be shipped as a Dangerous Good (Hazardous Material) from Austria to the USA and the cost would be too high.
According to a Fronius USA salesperson, Thermal Dynamics asked to license the technology from Fronius, but Mr. Fronius declined. Mr. Fronius felt that the technology needed more development and that Fronius should focus on their main market, which is automated production, rather than on a small manual cutting torch with a limited market.
(To me, that sounds like a good reason to license the technology to someone else. But then, I don’t run the company. It would be interesting to see what Thermal Dynamics could do with it.)
There is also a minor correction to my description of the TransCut 300 in Part 01 of this evaluation. The sentence that reads
“The Fronius Transcut 300 holds 1.5 L of proprietary liquid (a mixture of water and alcohol) in two cartridges inside the power unit and the liquid is pumped to the torch through a tube.”
should read
“The Fronius Transcut 300 holds 1.5 L of proprietary liquid (a mixture of water and alcohol) in a tank inside the power unit and the liquid flows to the torch through a tube. The 1.5 L tank is refilled using 0.7 L cartridges.”
DISCLAIMER!
Let me emphasize that I will not be able to tell you whether the Multiplaz-3500, or any other piece of equipment, will be a good investment for you. Only you can decide that. My intent is to provide as much factual information as I can about the Multiplaz-3500 so that others in our company can make an informed decision about that. The company has no objection to my sharing the information with you as long as I leave their name out of it and make it clear that I am not endorsing any particular product.
DISCLAIMER!
The Multiplaz-3500 box was delivered by UPS and was in good condition with only a few scuff marks. The unit was well packed inside, with all of the components inside of the carrying case. The carrying case is well made, with four main compartments: one for the inverter power supply; one for each of the two torches; and one zippered compartment under the case top for the spare parts kit. The outside of the case has a pocket on each side for the other cables (one to the workpiece; one to the filler rod) and for the shoulder straps. There are several sleeves on the front outside for small parts. In a separate envelope is the literature, including an owners manual and a multi-lingual instructional DVD. You can find photos of the carrying case and the torches, and some technical specifications, at
http://www.multiplaz.com/about.
Each Multiplaz torch is much larger than a typical plasma cutting torch and is about the size of a cordless drill. The dimensions are: 8.5” L x 2.5” body diameter x 7.5” H. The torch cable is 79” (2m) long. Each Multiplaz torch weighs about 2 pounds (2.5 pounds including the cable). The weight is reasonably well balanced and the handle is comfortable for me (obviously a matter of personal preference). The power cord on each Multiplaz torch is sturdy and well made. It is smaller and more flexible than a regular air-cooled torch cable, but is not nearly as flexible as my CK Superflex cable. (I have been spoiled by that cable.) The torch cable carries 4 wires; one to the cathode (~10 A max.), one to the nozzle (~10 A max.), and two to the temperature sensor in the torch (a few mA).
The weight of the inverter power supply is about 18 pounds. The dimensions are: 14” L x 5.5” W x 8”H. The weight of the carrying case with everything in it is just under 30 pounds. For comparison, the dimensions of the Fronius TransCut 300 inverter power supply are: 18” L x 7” W x 11” H. The weight of the carrying case with everything in it is advertised as 32#. Portability is one of the features emphasized in both the Fronius TransCut and the Multiplaz-3500 advertisements and, in terms of overall size and weight, the two units very similar.
We inspected the quality of the packaging, of the parts manufactured by the Multiplaz Technology Company (power supply, torches, tools, etc.), of the parts bought from other manufacturers (cables, connectors, display, etc.), and of the documentation. We consider that all of the parts are of good quality, with good fit and finish. There were no rough edges or surfaces. Cables are well made with heavy-duty connectors and molded strain reliefs. The unit appears to be solidly constructed and there were no loose parts or rattles. The power supply does not come with a plug on the AC power cord. (There are too many different plugs in use around the world.)
In the manual that we received, the pages were all there but they were out of order. That was fixed by unstapling the manual, reordering the pages, and restapling. A minor nuisance. You can download a free copy of the latest version of the manual at
http://www.multiplaz.com/manual.
If you are interested in the Multiplaz-3500, I recommend that you download a copy of the manual. It will help you better understand this evaluation.
The multi-lingual DVD (English, Russian, German, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic) did not play correctly on a standard North American DVD player, presumably because it is recorded in PAL format, rather than NTSC. The DVD did play correctly on a Mac under OSX 10.6 and on another computer under Windows 7.
The warranty registration via the Internet did not work. There was no such page on the Multiplaz website. I reported the problem by email and was told to FAX the form. The website registration is supposed to be fixed at some point.
After affixing an appropriate power plug for 220 VAC, we prepared to plug in the power supply. To our surprise, the power supply has no AC power on/off switch, only a fuse. When you plug the unit in, the fans come on (apparently always at full speed) and the display lights up. The lighted “on” and “off” pushbuttons on the front panel only control the power to the torch. We consider this a serious shortcoming. We do not wish to be plugging and unplugging a power cord that is carrying current, even if the current is small (0.4 A standby current). Also, in case of a problem with the power supply, we want to be able to quickly and safely remove the AC power. This is a shortcoming that could easily be fixed by the manufacturer. In our case, we installed a 250 VAC, 20 A, DPST switch in series with the AC power cord. We also installed a AC Power Meter (reads volts, amps, power factor, and watts) in series with the AC power cord so that we could measure the AC power input and determine overall electrical efficiency.
Preliminary Tests of the Cutting and Welding Torches
We loaded the cutting torch with distilled water. (This was slightly awkward because we didn’t have a good arrangement to catch the water that flows out of the nozzle once the internal reservoir is full. This is not a serious problem. From now on we will make sure that we have a catch basin under the torch nozzle.) We connected the cable to the power supply, adjusted the free movement of the “start” button (really a knob) on the torch to about 3 mm (2 mm to 3 mm), set the Mode I current indicator to position 4, pressed the “on” button, fully depressed the “start” button on the torch and then slowly released it. Sure enough, about 2 seconds later a plasma jet was coming out of the nozzle. Once the plasma discharge was stable, we set the operating voltage to about 190 V by adjusting the “start” button (clockwise increases the cathode-to-nozzle distance and voltage, and counter-clockwise decreases them). The torch takes a minute or two to stabilize when starting cold (the temperature and pressure of the evaporating liquid need to reach equilibrium).
It was somewhat confusing at first as to the proper settings for starting each torch. The conditions are different for the cutting torch (water only) and the welding torch (water/ethanol mixture). Reading the manual a few times did the trick and, for those who care, the (cold) starting conditions are listed here.
To start the cutting torch:
Set the free movement of the “start” button on the torch to 2 mm to 3 mm
(this is the cathode-to-nozzle distance for the starting arc).
Set the Mode I current indicator to position 4 (6 A). (Mode II current indicator off.)
Press the “on” button.
Press and release the “start” button.
Once the plasma discharge is stable, adjust the voltage to approximately 190 V.
(this is the cathode-to-nozzle voltage of the arc).
Wait for the plasma jet to equilibrate. Readjust the voltage as necessary.
To start the welding torch:
Set the free movement of the “start” button on the torch to 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm
(this is the cathode-to-nozzle distance for the starting arc).
Set the Mode I current indicator to position 4 (6 A). (Mode II current indicator off.)
Press the “on” button.
Press and release the “start” button.
Once the plasma discharge is stable, adjust the voltage to approximately 165 V.
(this is the cathode-to-nozzle voltage of the arc).
Wait for the plasma jet to equilibrate. Readjust the voltage as necessary.
When started, there was a long yellow needle-like plume that extended about 3” out of the orifice. As the torch warmed up (equilibrated), the yellow plume shortened to about 1” and then to 0.75 “ (2 cm). A bright purple plasma developed at the orifice. The plasma was about 1 mm in diameter (the diameter of the orifice) and extended about 1 mm out of the orifice. The plasma discharge was very stable. The gas velocity was high and one could feel the heat of the gas stream 18” directly in front of the nozzle. One could not feel any heat 0.5” directly above the orifice opening.
We then let the torch run until it was out of water (to test the overheat shutoff function). As the torch ran out of water, the plasma jet changed shape and color noticeably. The yellow plume started to grow longer, the plasma grew shorter, and the voltage dropped. If one were actually cutting, one would realize that the water was running out and one could turn the power to the torch off before the torch started to overheat. Since we wanted to test the automatic shutdown feature, we let it completely run out of water. It shut down fine. The torch ran 21.5 minutes before it shut down. (Useful cutting time would be about 20 minutes.) The torch holder baseplate worked well and most of the torch body (plastic) did not get hot. (The part nearest the nozzle was too hot to hold.) The torch handle did not even get warm. We then cooled the torch nozzle by putting it in about 1.5” of water in a metal can (as shown in the Multiplaz videos.)
We then ran the same test using the welding torch, with just distilled water, the Mode I current indicator set to 4 (6 A), the cathode to nozzle distance set at ~1 mm, and the voltage set to 165 V. Upon starting, it was obvious that some of the water vapor (steam)was leaking out around the outside of the nozzle (between the nozzle and the torch cap). We turned off the torch power, loosened the cap. cleaned the nozzle back rim, and reseated the assembly. No further leakage was apparent. Upon restarting, the torch started up fine. As with the cutting torch, there was initially a long yellow plume, but, because of the larger orifice, the plume was shorter and wider (more “bushy”). The purple plasma was also larger in diameter (~2 mm, the diameter of the orifice) and shorter (~ 3 mm = 0.125”) than in the cutting torch. The gas velocity was noticeably less than for the cutting torch and one could feel the heat of the gas stream 18” in front of the nozzle, but now about 6” higher than the nozzle (due to convection). The torch ran for 21 minutes and then shut down fine. As with the cutting torch, the plume lengthened, the plasma shortened, and the voltage started to drop about 1.5 minutes before the shutdown. We cooled the torch nozzle by putting it in about 1.5” of water in a metal can and then removed the filling neck cap to prevent the vacuum from drawing distilled water back into the torch. After the torch was cool, we flushed air through the filling neck with the nozzle pointed down to be sure that all of the fluid was out of the torch.
We then added a premixed solution of 50% water and 50% ethanol to the welding torch and restarted the torch under the same conditions (the Mode I current indicator set to 4 (6 A), the cathode to nozzle distance set at ~1 mm, and the voltage set to 165 V). It took 5 restarts and about 2 minutes to get the arc to stay lit but it eventually did. (The plasma “stuttered” a lot, as if liquid was getting in the orifice. Overfilled?) Once the plasma was stable, there were some noticeable differences from the plasma with water only. The plume was a light pink color and the plasma itself was almost white. The plasma was ~4 mm (0.16”) in diameter and extended out from the orifice ~6 mm (0.25”). The gas velocity seemed somewhat less than with pure water and one could feel the heat of the gas stream 18” in front of the nozzle, but now about 12” higher than the nozzle (due to convection). As before, the plume lengthened, the plasma shortened, and the voltage dropped as the torch ran out of fluid. The torch ran for 14.5 minutes and then shut down fine. This shorter time is what one would expect, as 60 mL of a (50% water/50% ethanol) mixture vaporizes into only 2/3 of the gas volume that 60 mL of pure water does. We cooled the torch nozzle by putting it in about 1.5” of water in a metal can and then removed the filling neck cap to prevent the vacuum from drawing distilled water back into the torch. After the torch was cool, we flushed air through the filling neck with the nozzle pointed down to be sure that all of the fluid was out of the torch.
We then added a premixed solution of 50% water and 50% isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) to the welding torch and restarted the torch under the same conditions (the Mode I current indicator set to 4 (6 A), the cathode to nozzle distance set at ~1 mm, and the voltage set to 165 V). Again, it took several restarts and about 2 minutes to get the arc to stay lit but it eventually did. Once the plasma was stable, it looked about the same as with the ethanol mixture. The gas velocity also seemed about the same as with ethanol and one could feel the heat of the gas stream 18” in front of the nozzle, and about 12” higher than the nozzle (due to convection). As before, the plume lengthened, the plasma shortened, and the voltage dropped as the torch ran out of fluid. The torch ran for 14 minutes and then shut down fine. Again, this shorter time is just what one would expect, as 60 mL of a (50% water / 50% isopropanol) mixture vaporizes into slightly less than 2/3 of the gas volume that 60 mL of pure water does. We cooled the torch nozzle by putting it in about 1.5” of water in a metal can and then removed the fill cap to prevent the vacuum from drawing distilled water back into the torch. After the torch was cool, we flushed air through the filling neck with the nozzle pointed down to be sure that all of the fluid was out of the torch.
to be continued
larry lee
P.S. I have mentioned the Fronius TransCut 300 plasma cutting torch at times in this evaluation as it is the only unit that I know of that is comparable to the Multiplaz-3500 cutting torch. I checked with Fronius USA about the availability of the TransCut 300 and was told that it is not for sale in the USA. The reasons given for this are:
1. The performance of the TransCut 300 is limited and it could not compete successfully in the US market against the products offered by established companies like Thermal Dynamics and Miller.
2. Because of the cost of development and the limited sales, the price of the TransCut 300 is much more than that of other plasma cutters with higher performance.
3. The aqueous solution that is used to produce the plasma is classified as an oxidizer because it contains a small amount (<1%) of 2-oxobutane (methyl-ethyl-ketone or MEK), in addition to the 10% to 25% ethanol. It would have to be shipped as a Dangerous Good (Hazardous Material) from Austria to the USA and the cost would be too high.
According to a Fronius USA salesperson, Thermal Dynamics asked to license the technology from Fronius, but Mr. Fronius declined. Mr. Fronius felt that the technology needed more development and that Fronius should focus on their main market, which is automated production, rather than on a small manual cutting torch with a limited market.
(To me, that sounds like a good reason to license the technology to someone else. But then, I don’t run the company. It would be interesting to see what Thermal Dynamics could do with it.)
There is also a minor correction to my description of the TransCut 300 in Part 01 of this evaluation. The sentence that reads
“The Fronius Transcut 300 holds 1.5 L of proprietary liquid (a mixture of water and alcohol) in two cartridges inside the power unit and the liquid is pumped to the torch through a tube.”
should read
“The Fronius Transcut 300 holds 1.5 L of proprietary liquid (a mixture of water and alcohol) in a tank inside the power unit and the liquid flows to the torch through a tube. The 1.5 L tank is refilled using 0.7 L cartridges.”