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Plasma metal cutting

Plasma cutting of metal is one of the ways of thermal cutting of steel sheets to produce blanks of the right size. This type of metal cutting is the most effective from the point of view of energy consumption and the cut quality of the obtained blanks. In addition, the plasma cutting machine has many other advantages:

• the ability to machine any sheet metal - ferrous and non-ferrous metals, stainless steel, refractory steels, carbon and structural steels, low-alloy steels, copper, aluminum, titanium alloys
• cutting speed - up to 9800 mm per minute
• high purity and quality of cut, without slag
• deformation of the workpieces due to small local heating is excluded
• automation of the workflow

Currently, plasma cutters combine gas and plasma metal cutting. Due to this, the manufacturing plants are able to process metal with a thickness of up to 200 mm.

Principle of plasma metal cutting

The technology of plasma metal cutting is to use plasma jet as a tool. Plasma jet is, in fact, an ionized gas that conducts current electricity up to 260 A. A plasma jet is formed in the plasma torches, when the ionization and heating of the gas occur under the influence of an electric arc. At the point of contact between the flow of plasma and metal, a high temperature is created, due to which the metal is melted and blown at the cutting site and forms a cavity of the cut. The shape of the required metalwork and the path of the plasma movement is set automatically by the program.

In this way, metal sheets up to 40 mm thick can be cut.

For cutting metal with a thickness of 40-200 mm, a gas-oxygen mixture is used. Its advantages are the possibility of sheet metal cutting of great thickness, but the cutting speed and the quality of the cut are lower (compared to plasma cutting).

The Saratov Reservoir Plant uses a plasma cutting machine and a gas-oxygen cutting machine AJAN (Turkey).

Technical capabilities of the portal plasma cutting machine used at the Saratov Reservoir Plant

• the size of the section table is 2300х6200 mm and 2000х8000 mm
• the maximum plasma power 260 A
• the maximum thickness of the rolled steel to be treated with plasma cutting is 40 mm
• the maximum thickness of the processed rolled steel in case of oxy-fuel cutting is 200 mm
• automatic control of air and gas pressure
• automatic selection of cutting parameters for given values of current intensity and thickness of metal

 

Plasma cutters used at the Saratov Reservoir Plant correspond to GOST “Plasma-arc cutting devices. Types and dimensions”.

Thus, gas-plasma cutting of metal is a qualitative, fast and safe means for metal cutting. The resulting blanks are further used for the production and assembling of various tanks, vessels and other metal structures (the frame of buildings, supports, etc.).

The cost of plasma cutting services depends on the thickness of the metal, steel grade and the total length of the cut.