Plasma cutting tables use high pressure inert gas and an electric arc to cut metal and sheet materials. There are three types of plasma cutting: HF contact, pilot arc, and CNC. HF contact is for conductive materials, pilot arc can cut non-conductive materials, and CNC is computer-controlled.
A plasma cutting table is used in industrial processes to cut metal and other sheet materials of various thicknesses. Typically, plasma cutting uses a high pressure inert gas stream to which an electric arc is applied. The electrified gas becomes a plasma hot enough to cut the material while having enough force to blow the molten material away from the cut site. There are three different types of plasma cutting processes: the high frequency (HF) contact process, the pilot arc process and the computer numerical control (CNC) process. Older plasma cutting tables use the HF contact process to cut sheet metal, while pilot arc and CNC machines are newer and can cut thicker non-conductive materials such as glass.
The HF contact process of plasma cutting is named for its use of a high frequency spark to start the electric arc. In this process, the electric arc must be in contact with the material to be cut. The user of an HF contact plasma cutting table must therefore keep the nozzle that produces the plasma in contact with the material. A plasma cutting table using the HF contact process can only be used to cut conductive materials such as sheet steel or other metals.
The pilot arc type of plasma cutting table creates the electric arc needed to produce plasma in a two-step process. Similar to a pilot flame on a stove, a pilot arc plasma cutting table creates a pilot arc, or small pocket of plasma, which is held inside the nozzle until it contacts the material being cut . This pilot arc then becomes a full plasma arc, which becomes hot enough to cut the material. The fact that the plasma arc is contained within the nozzle allows pilot arc plasma cutting machines to cut non-conductive materials such as heavy plastics or glass. Like HF contact process machines, the plasma torch on most pilot arc plasma cutting tables is controlled by hand.
One of the newer forms of plasma cutting is the computer numerically controlled process, or CNC. A plasma cutting table using the CNC process has a stationary plasma torch controlled by a computer, which moves the plasma torch over the material in a pre-programmed pattern. There are many different types of CNC industrial machines and cutters, such as lasers, that use other cutting methods than plasma.
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