Plasma provides high quality cuts and is cheaper than laser

Company overview

Steelweld Fabrications Limited is one of the UK and Ireland’s leading subcontract companies, offering laser and plasma cutting, folding, fabrication, and finishing. Established in 1983 in Cookstown, Northern Ireland, Steelweld has a 60,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that fabricates conveyors, hoppers, chassis for pressures, grid work, and more. Steelweld focuses on delivering quality products on time, every time, at competitive prices.

Challenge: New plasma system needed to replace 20-year-old system

Steelweld purchased a Messer Griesheim cutting system with a Hypertherm plasma cutter in 2000. They used that system for close to 20 years, and the Hypertherm unit caused no problems and delivered good results. Steelweld was looking for a new cutting system with a Hypertherm plasma cutter on it to replicate the cut speed, service, and reliability of the previous Hypertherm system.

Solution: ESAB plasma with Hypertherm XPR300 delivers required results

Steelweld chose an ESAB plasma system with the Hypertherm XPR300® because they wanted a modern plasma system with a Hypertherm unit on it. Based on their previous experience with Hypertherm, they knew a new plasma system with a Hypertherm plasma cutter would provide good cut quality and reliability, and good cut quality and reliability are essential for their business.

The XPR300

The XPR300 represents a significant advancement in mechanized plasma cutting technology, redefining what plasma can do by expanding its capabilities and opportunities in ways never before possible. It blends new technology with refined processes for next generation, X-Definition® cutting that delivers unmatched cut quality on mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.

The XPR300 also delivers increased cut speed, dramatically improved productivity, and a significant reduction in operating costs. In addition, new ease-of-use features and engineered system optimization make the system easier to run with minimal operator intervention, while also ensuring optimal performance and reliability.

Benefits of the system include:

• Improved cut quality on thin mild steel, with consistent ISO range 2 results

• Superior stainless steel cut quality across all thickness ranges

• Superior results on aluminum using Vented Water Injection™

• Increased cut speeds on thicker materials

• Thicker piercing capability than with competitive plasma systems

• Consumable life that is three times longer than consumable life in competitive plasma systems

• Lower energy costs with 62% higher power-to-weight ratio and 14% faster cuts

The XPR300’s advanced power supply technology delivers highly responsive, rapid system feedback and automatically intervenes to eliminate events that negatively impact system efficiency and consumable life. Arc response technology provides automatic torch and ramp-down error protection to increase the life of the torch and consumables.

Intuitive controls and automatic monitoring make the system easy to use, even for new operators. Training is faster, and seasoned operators deliver better cut quality more efficiently.

Both consumable and torch changes are easier as well. The XPR300’s EasyConnect™ torch lead and one hand torch-to-receptacle connection enable fast and easy change-outs, and the system’s QuickLock™ electrode makes consumable replacement easy.

The XPR300 also provides access to Hypertherm’s exclusive SureCut™ technologies. SureCut technologies are designed to maximize cutting performance by automatically applying optimized cutting process parameters to simplify cutting, improve cutting outcomes, and reduce operator intervention.

SureCut technologies include:

• True Hole® technologyapplies process expertise to automatically deliver bolt ready holes.

• True Bevel™ technologyautomatically applies the correct bevel angle and reduces operator trial and error.

• Rapid Part™ technologyincreases the number of parts produced per hour by automatically reducing cut-to-cut cycle time between parts.

• PlateSaver™ technologycombines XPR arc stability and specialized software parameters to dramatically increase material utilization.

Plasma in place of laser

When comparing plasma cutting against laser cutting, plasma excels across a wide range of material thicknesses. It’s especially advantageous when cutting metal more than 16 mm (5/8”) thick, where plasma cuts faster than fiber laser – resulting in increased productivity, fewer bottlenecks, better on-time delivery, and greater cash flow. Plasma is also more forgiving when working with imperfect or reflective metal.

Laser cutting systems are generally two to five times more expensive than plasma cutting systems, so a plasma cutting system requires a lower initial investment. Plasma cutting systems are also more robust and reliable, requiring less maintenance.

The difference in cut quality between the X-Definition plasma technology in the XPR300 and laser cutting is relatively small, and plasma cut quality exceeds most customer requirements. Therefore, the higher cut quality laser delivers may provide no real benefit to users or their customers.

Business impact: XPR300 delivers laser quality at a lower price

Steelweld was immediately impressed with the XPR300’s cut quality. They expected good quality from the Hypertherm plasma cutter, but the XPR300 delivers cut quality that is nearly as good as their laser, and that was a surprise.

They now operate four laser systems, and the XPR300 complements their laser cutting, offering Steelweld’s customers a lower cost alternative to laser cutting.

They are also very happy with the XPR300’s reliability. The system is very reliable, and parts are easy to get from Hypertherm.

“As an owner and operator, the machine is no good to me when it’s not working. I need the machine working all the time. And with this unit [XPR300] in particular, we are very happy with it. We are very happy with the purchase.” – Steelweld Fabrications Limited

Learn how the XPR300 can help your business strike the perfect balance between cut quality, cut speed, and cost. Click the button below, fill out the form, and a Hypertherm product expert will contact you.