Metal cutting - oxyfuel cutting, plasma cutting, machining, grinding, and other preparatory work.
Post Reply
Oddjob83
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sun Aug 25, 2013 4:41 pm
  • Location:
    Ontario Canada

I was curious, does it work if i want to plasma cut two identical pieces to clamp them together and adjust the settings accordingly for thicker material? or would its pretty much seam weld them together.
Follow da blue light
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sat May 11, 2013 3:44 am
  • Location:
    Melbourne Australia

I dont think it would work, the cutting would stop at the second sheet and just make a mess of it.
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:40 pm
  • Location:
    Near New Orleans

It can be done, but you need to leave a large "grind" margin.

All in all, it's a bad idea.

Steve S
welder4956
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:01 pm
  • Location:
    Birmingham, Alabama

Bad idea? Why would you say that? :o Plasma cutting works great for cutting multiple layers and is not affected by the separation between the pieces like oxy-fuel cutting would be. Give it a try!
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:40 pm
  • Location:
    Near New Orleans

Yep.

Give it a try.

Any opening between the layers, as may be induced by heat, causes the layers farther from the torch to suffer inaccuracies not seen in the top piece.

The variation may be minor, but a grind allowance must be provided for, in all layers, including the first.

Steve S
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:30 pm
  • Location:
    Palmer AK

give it a try on scrap metal

What have you got to lose :?:

Good Luck

John
Just a couple welders and a couple of big hammers and torches.

Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it.
Trump/Carson 2016-2024
scottranderson
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Dec 20, 2013 5:42 am
  • Location:
    Australia

Yes it works great, did it many times making shims.
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:30 pm
  • Location:
    Palmer AK

I have stacked 3/16 flat bar and stainless, not sure how good aluminum would work :roll:

Give er a try

John :)
Just a couple welders and a couple of big hammers and torches.

Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it.
Trump/Carson 2016-2024
deadbodyman
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sun Dec 22, 2013 8:00 am

welder4956 wrote:Bad idea? Why would you say that? :o Plasma cutting works great for cutting multiple layers and is not affected by the separation between the pieces like oxy-fuel cutting would be. Give it a try!
I gotta agree I bought my p cutter mainly to blow out spot welds it zips right through 3-4 layers of the inner structure (sheet metal ) once I got the hang of it I could dial it in to blow out 1 layer at a time,saving the second layer ...pretty cool...I bought it because this particular cars steel was so so hard it burned up all the drill bits and I couldnt seperate the layers the normal way ...so now I have a P cutter and I come here to learn more tricks from you guys and learned a bunch in just a couple days...Oh, the P cutter will fuse the edges together where it cuts but it snaps right apart with screwdriver...
Oddjob83
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sun Aug 25, 2013 4:41 pm
  • Location:
    Ontario Canada

Yea, i had seen a video of it being done after a few responses and they called it stack cutting. I gave it a shot on stainless and they did fuse together something fierce. i used a screwdriver and near deformed the pieces to an unusable state. My main problem was i was going too slow, the tip on my PM30 was tacking itself to the parts a lot. Havent tried it yet with the 375 X.
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:40 pm
  • Location:
    Near New Orleans

The more powerful the plasma cutter (and the higher velocity of airflow, meaning a compressor that can keep up), the fewer issues with stack cutting.

I'm still not a fan. I far prefer to make a template for the cut, and make individual repeats. Far less grinding, less distortion, and actually less work overall, especially of you need to make 50, as opposed to three.

With a good quality template, you can make repeat cuts assembly-line style and have very little dressing to do to each part.

Steve S
Post Reply