Fortunately, today there are ways to nearly eliminate the taper, and the dings and divots, enabling the cutting of “bolt-ready” holes. If using plasma on a mechanized table, an operator can manually change the machine speeds and height control settings and modify the machine codes for a particular hole size, material thickness and power level.
Owners of Hypertherm HyPerformance® HPRXD or XPR® mechanized systems can take advantage of our True Hole® technology, which embeds process expertise and parameters to cut perfect, bolt-ready holes without operator intervention.
Cutting holes by hand using a handheld plasma torch is also possible using tools like a circle cutting guide.
Examples of where hole cutting is used:
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Cutting holes for bolting a cut piece to another plate or part
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Cutting multiple holes in a large plate, pipe, or drum for hoses and wire to pass through
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Fabricating holes for gauges on an instrument panel