Types of applications
Plasma arc cutting is used in both handheld and mechanized systems to cut a wide range of conductive materials, including mild steel, carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and other metals. With a variety of systems, accessories, and consumables available, plasma cutting is one of the most versatile and easy-to-use cutting technologies available for all kinds of metalworking and fabricating applications.
Want to discuss your needs and get more information on our solutions? Talk to one of our experts
Cutting solutions
Bevel cutting
Plasma bevel cutting for weld preparation, on CNC tables or robotic cells, produces consistent and accurate profiles, with high-quality cuts to avoid secondary steps.
Extended reach cutting
Hypertherm’s HyAccess® extended reach consumables give users extra reach when plasma cutting or gouging in hard to access or confined spaces, and are designed for use with Powermax air plasma systems.
Fine feature cutting
When cutting parts with very fine details or intricate shapes, you need processes capable of producing very thin kerfs.
Flush cutting
FlushCut® consumables for Powermax® systems allow easy removal of protrusions, welded attachments, bolts, and fixtures from metal surfaces without cutting into the base material.
Hole cutting
Many jobs require the addition of holes to bolt two or more pieces or parts together, so hole production is an important part of most cutting operations.
Robotic plasma cutting
Robotic cutting systems let you cut any workpiece, including structural steel shapes, pipes, tubes, and domes. Combined with advances in robot programming, automated cutting solutions dramatically increase productivity, increasing cut speeds, cut quality, and productivity in low-volume runs.
Scrap cutting
Plasma cutting can be instrumental in salvaging various thicknesses of scrap metal from old appliances, industrial equipment, cars, and other items as an important part of the lifecycle of raw materials. It minimizes waste, maximizes the value of manufactured goods, and significantly reduces environmental impact.
Skeleton cutting
Cutting up and removing the remnants of a metal plate ("skeleton") after mechanized cutting is typically slow and labor-intensive, with many safety risks. Skeleton cutting with plasma is faster, safer, and can be easily integrated into automated cutting operations.
Gouging & metal removal
Gouging
Plasma gouging – removing metal using a plasma arc – is similar to plasma cutting. A plasma arc between the torch and the workpiece melts the metal, and a gas jet blows away the molten material.
Temporary attachment removal
Flush cutting with Powermax® plasma systems lets you cut closer to base materials than ever before, reducing costly, time consuming secondary operations. Cleaner cuts with less damage to the base metal saves costs in reusable temporary attachments.
Marking
Marking
Marking metal to indicate bend or score lines, inventory numbers, or reference points for drilling or robotic processes is traditionally done with a hammer and punch, powder or ink, soapstone, or handheld engraving machines. Using plasma for marking during CNC processes offers many significant advantages.
Fabrication & automation
CAM programming
CAM software helps drive the manufacturing process. CAD/CAM nesting software is typically used for programming mechanized flat plate cutting, offering fabricators and manufacturers a single software solution for all of their profile cutting needs. This combination solution provides all of the necessary functionality to complete the job, from CAD concept, to part preparation, to nesting, to numeric code output.
CNC programming
With built in cutting expertise, Hypertherm’s Computer Numeric Control solutions provide consistent product performance with our easy to learn and use Phoenix® software so operators make the optimal cut, every time.
Robot programming
Offline programming solutions to maximize robot productivity on high-mix, low-volume production runs. Reduce programming time, easily program parts of varying complexities, and eliminate the robot downtime associated with manual or teach pendant programming.