PLASMA ARC

CUTTING1 . MOHAMMAD ZULHAFIZZAN2. MUHAMMAD RAIMI3. MOHAMAD KADAPPI4. MUHAMMAD NUR IQMAR5. HJH SITI NORZAKIAH6. NOR HASMIRA

WORKSHOP THEORY AND ENGINEERING

MATERIALS

PLASMA ARC CUTTING

• Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC) is defined as "an arc cutting process that severs metal by melting a localized area with a constricted electric arc which removes the molten material with a high velocity jet of hot, ionized gas issuing from the constricting orifice." Plasma arcs operate typically at temperature of 18.000˚ - 25.000˚F (10.000˚ - 14.000˚C)

APPLICATION

The first commercial application of plasma arc cutting was the mechanized cutting of manway holes on aluminum railroad tank cars. The process has since been used on a wide variety of aluminum applications.

Manual plasma arc cutting is widely used in automobile body repair for cutting high-strength low alloy steel. Instant starting and high travel speeds reduce heat input to the HSLA steel and help maintain its strength.

The chief application of mechanized plasma arc cutting to carbon steel is for thicknesses up to 1/2 in. (13 mm).

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The higher cost of plasma arc equipment compared to OFC equipment can be justified by its higher cutting speeds.

The plasma process has been used for stack cutting of carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.

The plates to be stack cut should preferably be clamped together, but PAC can tolerate wider gaps between plates than OFC.

GASES USED

Nitrogen

Oxygen

Argon-Hydrogen Mixtures

Acetylene

Propane

Methylacetylene-propadiene (MAPP)

Propylene

Natural Gas (Methane CH4)

GASES USED

Nitrogen

Oxygen

Argon-Hydrogen Mixtures

Acetylene

Propane

Methylacetylene-propadiene (MAPP)

Propylene

Natural Gas (Methane CH4)