HOW TO STOP PLASMA CUT EDGES FROM WEARING OUT YOUR EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS

01/20/21

An illustration of plasma cut edge features

THE PROBLEM

Plasma cutting has increased productivity in sheet metal fabrication a great deal. Plasma tables can now be found in almost all shops that manufacture for HVAC. Over the last 10 years, the price has gone down to the point where hobbyists can afford tables if they have the space. Compared to other CNC cutting options for sheet metal, plasma is the most affordable but this comes at a cost; Plasma cutting sheet metal can cause significant warping and the slag (spatter/dross) left on the edge of the metal is very hard and rough.

This edge can pose two big issues:

Unnecessary wear on machinery and tools
Cosmetic and dimensional problem where applicable

SOLUTIONS

There are two ways to deal with the slag: eliminate it or modify your equipment to handle it. The ways that I have used to get rid of slag are running a flap disk on a grinder very quickly along the edge or by using a scrap metal as a scraper to chip the slag off. This not ideal as these processes can be time consuming. For large volumes, water cutting or die cutting should be considered. Water cutting creates a smaller kerf and there is no warping or slag because the metal is not heated. Die cutting may create a very small bur on one side of the material and slight warping if the dies are not great.

To prepare machinery to handle plasma edges, wear plates should be fixed along points where the edge slides. This improves the life of machinery and makes the sliding action easier. Wear plates should be made from a somewhat hard material. Stainless steel will work but a hardened steel would be ideal. A good source of very hard steel other than a metal supplier is a sawmill; It is not hard to obtain used planer blades from the right contact. To fix your wear plates, blind rivets or bolts would both work great.

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