Can anyone tell me it is possible to start the Dynatorch arc off the edge of the metal and move the cut into the piece?
I’d say no, but before I do, what are you trying to accomplish?
No, the arc has to form on the metal. The workpiece is the ground for the current flow. If we could make plasma in thin air that easily we’d have lightsabers.
The real question is why would you want to do this? Trying to save some material? If the pierce hole is critically affecting size then likely plasma processes in general won’t be sufficient.
I realized I stated this incorrectly. The pilot arc can be started off the metal. Can the torch then be moved into the metal, establishing an arc once it gets close to the metal. As best I remember the PlasmaCam machines can do this. Supposedly it lengthens the life time of consumables. The reason I wanted to know is because it would have solved a problem, I was having with a file I was cutting this morning. A cut out dropped out and the next pierce was unable to establish. If I could have picked up from that point, I could have saved the metal. But no luck. I have since fixed the file and will try to recut.
I am trying to learn this machine what it will and will not do.
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Not sure if I’ll understanding your problem, but there is a “next cut” button (I think that’s what it’s called, that will let your walk from one cut to the next. The highlight on the diagram will jump to the cut you’ve chosen, allowing you begin cutting there.
It is my understanding that this is correct, that “all plasma cutters can do this”, and that it IS the “recommended procedure to maximize consumable life”. I do NOT, however, know how to make the dynatorch do it. I’d bet (if I were a betting man) that it CAN…I have only found references to pierce starts in the manuals, though.
So if the machine malfunctions for some reason in the middle of a cut, you can pick up were you left off. Start over but leave the torch off. You then cycle though the G-code until you get to the cut that messed up. Hit the start without the torch on (like the trial run), once you get close to where it left off you can then pause it & turn the torch back on. Then hit resume.
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I tried that. My problem is I was cutting a script style font. The letters flow into one another. So once one letter cut it dropped out. The next letter tried to start in the open area. The pilot would start but since it was not over metal the arc never established and the torch would not move. What I had wondered was could the pilot start, the torch move and the arc establish when it approached the metal. That would have allowed me to complete the cut and save the metal. Like I said I have fixed it in AutoCad. Fixing mistakes is part of gaining expertise.
That’s a great idea and so simple.