[Oddjob83]

Ok so I haven't been on for a while, but now i have some uncertainty about a Job i got. I need to cut some 200 small circles out of a 3/8 x 4x8 sheet and was wondering if there were some inherent health risks when cutting large amounts of stainless above and beyond the normal hazards of cutting mild steel.

I have been told in the past when cutting any kind of stainless whether it be a cut off wheel or saw or plasma that if there is any kind of heat certain amounts of cadmium are released, but has since been unconfirmed.

if there are additional hazards what should i do about them other than a Breathing mask and fume extractor?

[weldin mike 27]

Don't think it cadmium, chromium and nickel are the main constituents of SS. Maybe some Molybdenum. So, yes can be dangerous, and the plasma makes a heap more nasty smoke than anything else. Industrial tables have the plate set under water to cut down on gasses. Don't know if you can safely do this at home.
So fume extractor, good 3m mask. Maybe some overalls/ coveralls that you can take off and wash asap afterwards.

Mick

[Jared]

Stainless is probably one of the most hazardous materials to plasma as it will release chromium and nickel . Your choice of mask should not be dictated by price . I have an air fed welding helmet with a grinding mode on it that is ideal for this type of work.

[Oddjob83]

Its on my water table, although not a Hi-def unit so not submerged, but it does help cut down on fumes. I have a 3m mask with 2097 pancake filter, and 2297 particulate filters. I do this in a Barn so i can open my 12x12 doors as well if i have to. I am not familiar with the short-term/long-term health effects of chromium/nickle Molybdenum, any tell tale signs that I should look out for? getting dizzy/light headed is a given.

[Otto Nobedder]

Oddjob,

The recommended filter for SS cutting operations is a (NIOSH)P-100 particulate. I'm told by a very anal-retentive safety man that this is adequate for plasma-cutting, and limits the hex-chrome exposure (the primary health risk with SS). Your 3m with the 2297 should meet the requirements. of the HUGE company that is now setting our safety standards.

Steve S

[Owr]

Definitely use some kind of filter for breathing when plasma cutting ss. Best thing is to blow the contaminated air away with some kind of a blower because there is a LOT of fumes and particles with plasma cutting.

I remember when I was stick welding ss and left the part rest on the open through the night. In the morning I noticed sort of a yellow greenish moisture on the part. It`s chromium and there is a lot of it being released through welding ans plasma cutting.

Please forgive my wall of text but I hope someone starting with welding reads this and educates himself about the ss hazards.
I did not use any kind of protection when stick welding ss even indoors when I started welding simply because I did not know it was dangerous.

Anyway... back to the topic:

I built myself a plasma cutting table like Jody with the only difference being that I used a radial blower instead of fume extractor. It works great - thanks Jody!

[Jason_alex]

Sorry for joining the party late, and I am sure that you have already done this job.... but it is not recomened to cut underwater with HD plasma if edge quality is what you are worried about.... it can do it because it uses HF starting but cutting underwater is not something that is practiced by many plasma tables. Even if you call Hypertherm the recommendation is to leave the water 1" below the back of the plate. We have a older Thermal dynamics "conventional" unit and it can cut under water but it takes a special consumable set up. Edge quality suffers.... so I personal leave the water down about 1" and put on your mask.

[jwright650]

The big concern with cutting/welding Stainless Steel is the "Hexavalent Chromium", have a look at this link on the OSHA site:

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hexavalentchromium/


edit* I should read better, Otto has already mentioned the hex-chrome issue

[GreinTime]

ERIN BROCKOVICH!!!!!!!!!!

[jwright650]

ERIN BROCKOVICH!!!!!!!!!!

LOL

[Otto Nobedder]

I'll add this...

I commented on the P-100 respirator, but omitted that OSHA considers a NIOSH N-95 dust mask adequate for hex-chrome fumes, for those members not wanting to buy and use a half-face respirator.

And, in Erin Brockovitch, these folks were drinking and swimming in hex-chrome, more than breathing it, so the hazard was GREATLY magnified versus breathing some welding fumes, so if this is a hazard you weren't aware of before, you've not likely committed welding suicide (or I'd be dead from all the stainless SMAW and confined-space plasma cutting I've done without protection).

Steve S

[jwright650]

I'll add this...

I commented on the P-100 respirator, but omitted that OSHA considers a NIOSH N-95 dust mask adequate for hex-chrome fumes, for those members not wanting to buy and use a half-face respirator.

And, in Erin Brockovitch, these folks were drinking and swimming in hex-chrome, more than breathing it, so the hazard was GREATLY magnified versus breathing some welding fumes, so if this is a hazard you weren't aware of before, you've not likely committed welding suicide (or I'd be dead from all the stainless SMAW and confined-space plasma cutting I've done without protection).

Steve S

To add another note....keeping your head out of the plume and have some fresh air ventilation also helps with how many PPM that you actually intake due to the dilution of incoming fresh air.
edit*
I actually tested this at my previous employment in a real world scenario. I contracted an outside source to monitor our welding employees during an 8 hr shift. They clipped filter collectors onto their collars under their shield where it would represent the actual air that the employee is breathing. They took the filters back to their lab and weighed out the contents and found that the slight ventilation and the openness of the vast shop bays reduced the PPM to levels where it was acceptable by the OSHA auditors who audited me when a few guys were complaining about the welding smoke. I believe these guys just had an axe to grind, but actually had more problems due to the hand grinding of the steel vs welding. The auditor gave our company a gold star and said that we should join their volunteer program where all we had to do was perform self-audits of our safety program and submit the results on a regular basis. By joining they promised to never audit the shop again unless a serious accident or something of that serious nature happened.

[Otto Nobedder]

John Wright,

Our company just went through a similar audit (precautionary, not due to a complaint), and I've not yet seen the results. I'm hoping our exposures are low enough to allow us to go to "voluntary" on the respirators. We are, after all, a repair facility. We don't have people welding constantly for an eight-hour shift like our manufacturing facility in Tx.

We'll see...

Steve S

[Coldman]

Hey sampeeter.
Thanks for the info. What model plasma cutter do you use?
Any pics for us?

[jwright650]

John Wright,

Our company just went through a similar audit (precautionary, not due to a complaint), and I've not yet seen the results. I'm hoping our exposures are low enough to allow us to go to "voluntary" on the respirators. We are, after all, a repair facility. We don't have people welding constantly for an eight-hour shift like our manufacturing facility in Tx.

We'll see...

Steve S

Hoping your fact finding will keep you on a volunteer basis....that is better for everyone. Having to run all employees through a annual repsirator training, fit-testing, and pulminary monitoring, and doctor oversight gets to be alot of work when you had as many welders and I had in my shop. Optimizing welding procedures helped too....less spatter and smoke is good for everyone, financially and physically.

Another thing is to keep the noise down below 8hr average 85 dBs and peak dBs to a minimum, so you can remain volunteer on hearing protection too. Some guys just like to make noise, I realize that fitting and welding isn't always quiet, but....

[Coldman]

Apologies if I'm wrong but shouldn't there be apostrophes around your posts with maybe a reference to where they came from?

[Coldman]

Allow me to do it for you.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/ar ... ting-tips/

Looks kinda similar huh?

[Coldman]

Selecting a plasma cutter
It's kind of a bewildering prospect to select a piece of equipment that is new to you with so many manufacturers and models to choose from.
How many hours a day do you plan to use your plasma cutter? In other words, what kind of duty cycle must it have?
What kind of electrical service do you have where you intend to use the machine? Is it 50 amp 220 volt single phase, or perhaps 30 amp 110 volt single phase? What other equipment will be running simultaneously on the same circuit?
What kind of portability must your plasma cutter have? Will you be using it exclusively in your shop, or will you need to take it to the job? Do you have a means of supplying the machine with compressed air in remote locations? How will you do that, with a portable compressor or an air bottle? How will you supply electric current at the site?
What kind of material do you plan to cut, and how thick is it likely to be?
Will you be doing manual cutting exclusively, or is there a possibility that you may want to use your plasma cutter with a CNC cutting machine?
What are your budget limitations?
Generally speaking, the higher the amperage output of the plasma cutter, the greater the duty cycle is at lesser amperages. In other words, if you plan to use the machine around the clock, you should consider a larger unit than you would need to cut the material you will be working.

Here is another link you should have referenced:
http://torchmate.com/news/175/121/Selec ... sma-cutter

Sampeeter, let me hypothesize on what's going on here:

You want to use this forum to sell outboard motors because your business can't stand on its own. In order to do this you want to develop some street cred with us so you make some seemingly pseudo-intelligent posts to get you on your way. But you are too lazy to write your own words and you have no subject knowledge of welding anyway so you decide to plagiarize other people's good work with a simpleton's effort but still hoping you won't be caught out.

How am I doing so far?

How are your outboard sales doing?

[weldin mike 27]

Or is a computer generated bot.....

[GreinTime]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn.

[newschoppafowah]

Looks like one got past the goalies.

Nothing to add, just love it when a spammer gets nailed.

[weldin mike 27]

The jury is still out on this guy. Not sure what the go is yet.