Goodbye to the five-piece stack-up - hello cartridge consumable

Until now, plasma consumables have all worked the same way. You’d grab five consumables, put them in the right order, and screw them onto your torch. It sounds simple, but in real life, it wasn’t. You had to find the right consumables, double-check part numbers, assemble your stack, and then carefully install the stack onto the torch. You had to make sure it was not too loose, but also not too tight. Everything needed to be just right.

Fortunately, thanks to the introduction of Hypertherm’s cartridge consumables, those days are a thing of the past. Instead of five parts, you now have ONE color-coded part. Instead of spending several minutes changing out your consumables, you can now do it in seconds – less than 10 to be precise.

The consumable changeout challenge

Changing the stack-up is complicated. First, you need to identify the right parts, assemble them in the correct order and orientation, and install them onto a torch. For air plasma systems, you are dealing with five different parts — the shield, retaining cap, nozzle, electrode, and swirl ring. It is easy to make a mistake. You could put something in backwards or accidentally grab the wrong part, install everything in the torch, and not even realize anything is wrong until you have started cutting again.

If you have several plasma cutting systems or routinely switch processes, you can spend a lot of time hunting down parts and installing consumables. Many times, you are swapping out consumables that you will need to use again – if you are switching from gouging to cutting, for example – so you need to carefully store the partially used components to ensure they are not damaged. Managing this inventory of used consumables can be tricky.

Many operators do not consider changing the consumables to be the hardest part. They believe knowing when to change the consumables is the biggest challenge. The five pieces do not all wear at the same rate, so some will still be good when others are worn.

You do not want to stop and inspect all the parts too often, because each stop interrupts cutting time and decreases productivity. At the same time, you cannot wait too long, or cut quality will suffer and you risk damaging your entire stack-up or torch if your electrode fails. Damaging the stack-up or torch will increase costs and interrupt operations, decreasing productivity.

Hypertherm’s new cartridge consumable

Hypertherm’s new cartridge combines a traditional five-piece stack-up into a single-piece cartridge, making change-outs faster, ordering easier, and inventory tracking simpler. The single-piece cartridge replaces small part numbers with easy-to-see color-coded cartridges, so consumable mix-ups don’t occur.

The cartridge consumable lasts longer than standard handheld cutting consumables and, when paired with our new SmartSYNC^® torch, lets you know when a new cartridge is needed. There is no more guessing.

In addition, cartridges used with the SmartSYNC torch have RFID technology. The system will automatically choose the right amperage and process based on the cartridge type you just installed. If you installed a gouging cartridge, your system will automatically go into gouging mode.

The torches also have controls right on them. You can adjust the amperage without walking back to the power supply and turn everything off and change your cartridge on the spot. Finally, as you’re cutting or gouging, the torch is recording and sending information – starts and stops, arc-on time, etc. – back to your system.

Color-coded consumables

Each cartridge is manufactured as a single piece, so everything within it is perfectly aligned and optimized. All consumable components in the cartridge wear at the same rate. As a result, Hypertherm cartridges last up to twice as long and deliver cleaner cuts versus traditional consumables.

Yellow cartridges are designed for hand cutting, including drag cutting and FineCut^®.

• With drag cutting, the operator can drag the torch right on the metal using Hypertherm shielded consumables. The operator does not have to worry about having a steady hand and can simply drag the torch along a straight edge or template – in most cases, resulting in a more accurately cut piece.

• FineCut consumables are ideal for cutting intricate, fine-featured shapes out of thin sheet metal. They are specifically engineered to provide squarer edges, tighter tolerances, and a narrower kerf on thin metals, and are used by artists and job shops with intricate, custom jobs.

Green cartridges are used for gouging applications. Plasma gouging melts surface metal while a gas jet blows the molten metal away from the workpiece without piercing or severing it. Gouging is frequently used to remove unwanted metal in preparation for welding and casting.

• Maximum Control cartridges are designed for more precise metal removal, light material washing, and when a shallow gouge is desired.

• Maximum Removal cartridges are designed for aggressive metal removal applications, deep gouge profiles, and extreme metal washing.

Black cartridges are used for flush cutting and other specialty applications. Flush cutting is used to remove attachments, protrusions, or fixtures from the surface of a base material without cutting or damaging the base material. Typical applications include removing lifting lugs, pad eyes, and temporary welded supports used for material handling; end cap removal; bolt and rivet removal; and removing work platforms and ground attachments.

Gray cartridges are for mechanized applications or if you prefer to hold a manual stand-off when hand-cutting. Mechanized applications can increase the productivity of cutting operations because mechanized cutting equipment can operate at faster speeds than manual cutting tools. They can also improve cut quality and consistency since programmed machines can repeatedly make precise, consistent cuts.

Learn how Hypertherm’s revolutionary single-piece cartridge consumable enables simpler, more efficient, more profitable cutting operations. Click the button below, fill out the form, and a Hypertherm product expert will contact you.