CNC Plasma cutter overview

CNC Plasma Cutter Overview
The plasma arc cutter process has been in existence for over 50 years and was created during World War II. At that time the government needed a welding process that would weld together aircraft parts in a better way than what they were using. This process used inert gas that acted as a barrier to protect an electric arc that stopped oxidation from forming on the weld.

As this process was improved over time, people experimented with the openings in the arc to see how they could create the best way for the process to be done. It was also found that if the opening where the inert gas passed through was restricted it would make a hotter flame. On the other hand, if the opening was made smaller, they could also speed up the flow.

CNC Plasma Cutter

All of this experimentation led to the development of a plasma-arc cutting process and this process began to be used on a commercial basis in the early 1960s. However, it was a very expensive process for many businesses to take on.

Today, the process has improved dramatically and there are even plasma cutters that are portable; some models even have air compressors build in for a fuller portability. Many are smaller and are able to cut sheet metal as their primary work but others can output a lot more in voltage and in work. Also as the CNC plasma cutter was created the process could be totally automated; all an operator has to do is key in how they want the plasma cutter to cut and it does the cut perfectly every time.

CNC plasma cutters come in a variety of sizes but they all basically work the same way. The process sends a gas that is pressurized through a channel. The gas could be argon, oxygen or nitrogen that is sent through this channel. Inside the channel is an electrode that is negatively charged. When power is applied to the electrode and the tip of the plasma cutter is touch to the metal, it creates a full circuit.

At this point this circuit makes a high powered spark that goes through the channel; the gas is heated to a very high heat called the fourth state of matter. When this happens a direct stream of plasma turns the metal into molten slag. What this means is that you have a very high heat and a very fast moving beam of light that hits the metal.

The plasma is what makes the electrical current and this power supply keeps working until the circuit between the electrode and the power supply is broken. Also the cutter nozzle has channels in it so that it can continue to create a consistent flow of shielding gas. This also allows the plasma beam to stay consistent on the metal to be melted.

Some CNC plasma cutters have robotic arms that do the work. The point to having this in the CNC mode is that the process is totally automated and it will continue to work to cut with precision as long as the information is programmed correctly into the computer.