Among other indicators, the control panel offers an air pressure gauge. It also has an amperage control with a display. It has an “on” liight, an “over temp” indicator and an “over voltage” indicator. There is also a light that tells you when you have enough air pressure to run the machine.
On the back of the plasma cutter is an air pressure regulator with a water separator that you plug your air hose into; you adjust the pressure there. The display, though, is on that front control panel.
On the left of the control panel is the post flow adjustment for air flow when you’re done cutting that controls how much air pressure you want to flow to cool the torch off. There’s also a 4T and 2T trigger control, a pilot arc on / off setting, and an airflow test switch. That last switch helps you make sure the air pressure is correct – you flip the switch to “test” and air comes out of the gun. If you need to, you can adjust it in the back and monitor on the gauge in the front control panel until you get the pressure where you want it.
Your ground hookup and torch hookup are on the front of the machine. Then there’s the “business end” of the plasma cutter. Kevin says it’s a nice torch, with a good feel to it and a nice trigger safety guard so you don’t accidentially touch the trigger and turn on the machine. It also has a handy drag guard on the tip so you don’t have to freehand it. The circuit breaker style on / off switch is on the back of the plasma cutter.
If he recalls, the machine is rated to cut 1-1/2″ and sever up to 1-3/4″ metal. He’s clamped 1-1/2″ of solid steel plate to his workbench to give the plasma cutter a try.
Kevin has put on his safety equipment and points out that the plasma cutter has a pretty big fan in it, but you’re pulling 80 amps, so you need some cooling! It’s a little noisy, but you don’t run it for long.
He’s going to start cutting on the 1″ side, then jump across the additional 1/2″ steel plate. After he finishes cutting, he breaks loose the piece he cut with some pliers, and explains that it cut just fine through the 1″ but the cut quality went a little ragged when he got to the added 1-2″ section.
Kevin says it might have been better if he’d started on the thicker end and perhaps adjusted the machine. The machine did go over temp, but, as Kevin points out, it’s only about 110 degrees in his studio (that’s an actual temperature!). The fact that the 1/2″ addition was just clamped on top of the 1″ plate rather than welded solid to it was probably also a problem.
So he’ll take part of the blame for the problems with the thicker section, but this plasma cutter just smoked through the 1″ plate.
It’s a nice solid machine – “Lots of oomph,” he says. The basics: 220 volt only machine. It’s $1250 on the Everlast Web site.
Well, you might want to stick around for another moment to see the Voice’s intro fall flat ….