While the use of stainless steel accounts for a relatively small percentage of global steel consumption, it remains crucial for some industries, such as the energy market and food processing. The International Black Steel Forum does not report that use is growing globally, and as the need to cut stainless steel grows, so does the need to cut stainless steel.
Recent technological advances have significantly improved the cutting quality achieved by stainless steel plasma. This progression spans a range of thicknesses from thin to 6.25 inches.
Early plasma systems use very high fluxes and offer slow cutting speeds. One of these older systems used nitrogen such as plasma to inject gas and water into the shield to cut 3-inch material at 15 centimeters per second. Minute (IPM) with 750 amps of power. If the manufacturer wants to cut 5-inch stainless steel, he must use a plasma H35 gas (35% hydrogen, 65% argon) with a water jacket with a coaxial current of 1000 amps. The cutting speed was relatively slow at 6 IPM. Low-current cutting is also not supported, so additional machines are needed to cut thin elements into thinner material.
Fortunately, the capacity of the current cars has improved considerably. With a wide range of gas and electric options, plasma system operators offer a wide variety of options for cutting different thicknesses. Thus, manufacturers can choose the best power for a defined thickness and find the ideal balance between productivity and cutting quality.
While it is much easier to cut stainless steel today, however, there are challenges, especially for manufacturers accustomed to cutting mild steel and carbon steel.
Type of gas
Plasma gas with an air shield offers excellent cutting quality in various thicknesses of mild steel and carbon steel. However successful stainless steel cutting requires different gases and consumables for different thicknesses and quality ranges.
Choosing the right gas is the first step to successfully using a top-rated plasma cutter to cut stainless steel. Air used as a cutting and shielding gas is a common choice for high cutting speeds and low costs, but the completion of a highly oxidized black surface often requires long secondary steps to remove it. Depending on the requirements of the finished part, there are many other options:
Plasma nitrogen and nitrogen shielding (N2 / N2) give a faster cutting speed with a smoother cutting surface and less oxide but create a black cutting surface that resembles an air/air combination. They can also lead to a rounded top edge and a good angle.
Producers looking for a more delicate, well-painted sharp surface and a sharp upper edge with limited flavor and slag require special gases to achieve the best results. The modern N2 / H2O process is effective for cutting medium and mild steel, but before choosing this option, consider the effect of water on dry blunt designs.
Hydrogen-containing plasma gases give a better foil in a color similar to that of the base material. The two most common hydrogen gases are H35 (35% hydrogen and 65% argon) and F5 (5% hydrogen and 95% nitrogen).
kind of material
Another aspect of successful plasma cutting of stainless steel is the type of material. 304L, austenitic stainless steel, is the most widely used in the world. When a plasma process takes place to cut 304L to another similar austenitic alloy such as 316L, a slag, and a strong front edge can be produced.
Handling and drilling of screws
The viscosity of the molten material is another challenge in stainless steel plasma cutting. When mild steel is cut with oxygen/air, the viscosity of the molten material is much lower than when stainless steel is cut; the resulting impurities cured at the bottom of the plate are very easily removed and often do not require secondary processes such as grinding. Stainless steel slags have a much higher viscosity, difficult to remove.
Correct design of equipment, gas type, gas location, cutting speed, etc.
Drilling stainless steel is difficult due to the properties of the molten material. The effect - the slag accumulated on the surface of the plate around the well - builds up and creates problems with the separation arrangement and movement of the burner. When drilling stainless steel over 2 inches thick, the operator should adjust the movement of the torch in the drill piles or drill, stop and score the drill before tightening and knotting, simply by cutting the room.
The best possible plasma quality in fine stainless steel is achieved by high-resolution plasma cutting and air support. Although the process was first developed to improve the cut quality of mild steel, it is now used for fine stainless steel. A larger amount of gas with the help of air increases the pressure and creates a firmer constriction in the plasma. This narrower narrowing allows the use of a smaller hole and higher energy density. Melting improves the life of the atomizing head by narrowing the arc and higher currents cool the atomizer.
This approach to plasma cutting thin-walled rust resistors is designed to give a crisp structure, glossy finish, and excellent sharpness with reduced angular change. Advanced combustion and wear technologies ensure a more consistent cut quality throughout the life of the consumable.
The advancements in cutting stainless steel in the mid-series are emerging as a thematic gas. Using the H35 offers the advantage of a non-oxygenated cut with good cut quality and good edge color, but in terms of productivity, the cutting speed is slow. The advantage of nitrogen is a very high cutting speed for higher productivity, but the blade is oxidized. Technologically available machine control technology that can mix H35 and N2 as a plasma gas to dramatically improve cutting speed, while maintaining the required silver or gray leading edge.
It may be necessary to adjust the gas mixture for various materials. Too much N2 will lead to a gray to the black surface with the possibility of helical formation. Too much H35 will result in golden color on the surface of the incision and the helical balls.
Thanks to modern drilling technology, drilling in stainless steel and plasma cutting edges for thicker materials was much wider than before. The liquid-cooled shield separates dissolved material, which may adhere to the burner shield while drilling.
Advances in plasma drilling have also led to different approaches to surgery. For example, production drilling turned out to be an assessment that exercises the system's ability to drill 300 times (up and down) a certain thickness with a group of consumers. At maximum penetration, the plasma torch moves along the plate instead of just moving up and down. This classification uses a strictly controlled drilling technique to extend the system's value for drilling efficiency to an unprecedented 4 inches. Try this technology at a new 400A maximum drill equipped with 50 drills and 25 800A drills.
Although so-called mobile or flying drills have been in use for many years, this new process offers the advantage of minimal drilling length - usually only with thick material. This is moving the table with the height of the torch and creating a bowl that the shot can leave the drilled hole and descend from the front of the torch. Drilling begins as high as the plate allows without losing the arc, then relatively high (gold) to form a bowl. The torch begins to drop as soon as the table is lowered at the same time until the pierce is reached and the normal cutting speed continues.
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