How to operate CNC plasma cutting machine
1. Acceptance
1. Precautions for cutting machine installation
1)、 After unpacking, put the plasma power in the middle position on the left side, under the board, the control cabinet in the front position on the left side of the cutter, so that the operator can see the whole cutting machine and cutting process.
2)、Unwrap the left wire and place it parallel to the cutter.
3、Adjust the seat with 6 anchor bolts and level the machine with the level gauge.
4、Connect the power cord of the plasma power supply to the power of the workshop (three-phase 380V, 50HZ), and the power depends on the power supply size.
5、Connect the ground wire of the plasma power supply to the grid rack or steel plate of the workbench.
6、Connect the power cord of the control cabinet to the power supply of the workshop (2-phase 220V, 50HZ), power 1.5kw.
7、 Connect the plug on the side of the control cabinet.
8、Connect the power supply and signal line, plasma arc line with the CNC cutter (select the plasma arc line and arc starting line instructions).The following figure 1
If the plasma power supply is provided by the user, please connect the plasma arc line and arc starting line to the CNC cutter as shown in figure 2 below.
Lines marked V+, V- shall be connected with plasma power supply positive and negative arc line. (Positive and negative cannot be mistaken)
9、 Connect the water inlet and outlet pipes, and fill water until to 80mm.
10 、 Connect the compressed air pipe to the plasma supply inlet and adjust the air pressure to 5.0
11、Turn on the main power, control cabinet switch, host power, and plasma power in turns.
12、Operate according to the plasma power supply manual, system operation manual and operation manual. Do not modify the parameters set in the system when you are not proficient.
13、If it is found that the cutting quality is not good and cannot be solved, the electrode and nozzle of the plasma cutting torch should be checked and replaced if damaged.
2. It is suggested that the cable connecting the main part of the cutter and the electric control cabinet be laid by geosynclines, protecting cable and easy maintenance.
3. The effective working range should be marked on the cutting table. The workpiece should be placed within the marked range when cutting.
2. Power
The machine with two power supply cables: 1. Main power cable of control system: 1.5kw, voltage: 220V two-phase.
1. Main cable of plasma power supply: 8.4KW, voltage: three-phase 380V. (Optional) The length of the external cable from the side of the device is about 4.5m, the power supply cable of the control system is two-phase cable, the cable diameter is 1.5mm2, the plasma power supply cable is 4-core, (optional) the cable diameter is 6mm.
2. The two cables and the air pipe slide in a circular motion through the air guide frame, and move down the wall of the workshop to the main switchgear of the power supply, and connect them respectively to the lower end of different switches. The control system and plasma power supply shall be reliably grounded.
In order to avoid the influence of large power fluctuation range (> + / – 10%) and possible transient interference signals, the equipment should use special line power supply (such as separate from low-voltage power distribution room for use of NC equipment) or add voltage stabilizer, which can reduce the influence of power supply quality and electrical interference. If there are a large number of high-frequency interference sources such as electric welding machines, argon arc welding machines, plasma cutting machines, high-power frequency converters, etc., in the workplace of the equipment, please install filters on the cables supplying the NC controller to shield the interference.
Sudden power failure will lead to the loss of cutting files, resulting in waste; frequent power outages can damage the software and even the hardware of a NC system. Therefore, for frequent power outages situation, it is recommendable to prepare a 500W UPS power supply.
3. Air Source Use compressed air
Air compressor (compressor flow is 1m3/min). When plasma power supply is used for cutting, the compressor output pressure should be between 6.1-8.2Bar. When the pressure is lower than 5.5Bar, cutting quality will be seriously affected. When the air pressure is below 4Bar, the plasma supply will damage the electrode and prevent it from working. The air pipe is high-pressure EPDM pipe with inter diameter of 10mm and 2MPa pressure.
Cutting operation
1. Preparation
Strong ventilation should be installed in the workplace to remove smoke from the cutting process. Before the machine is powered on, it should be checked that all switches in the closed position and the rotary switch behind the plasma power source is in the horizontal position.
1. Turn one main power and two cables are charged.
2. Switch the circuit breaker in cabinet to the ON position.
3. Turn on the controller power, and the main interface shall appear in display.
4. then rotate the switch at the back of the plasma power 90 ° to the vertical position, at the moment, the power indicator on the front of the plasma power shall be on.
5. Open air compressor (compressor flow rate: 1m3/min), and adjust the pressure control switch till the output pressure to 6.1-8.2Bar; When the pressure is lower than
6.1Bar, the pressure will be reduced during cutting, thus making the cutting quality unstable. Air pressure above 8.3Bar will cause damage to the air filter. Adjust the pressure adjusting knob on the plasma power supply to keep the pressure at 5.5-6.0Bar. Rotate the plasma power supply current adjustment/gas test knob to gas test position and confirm that the air pressure will not be lowered to less than 5Bar. When the pressure is less than 5Bar, it will seriously affect the cutting quality and even make the plasma power supply stop working. If the air supply cannot be ensured in a clean working environment, a multistage combined filter system should be installed in front of the plasma power supply. Otherwise, the air containing oil, moisture and dust will cause arc failure and damage of cutting torch during cutting. For plasma cutting, the start-up preparation has been completed to now.
2. Setting of automatic height adjuster
1. Arc voltage regulator
Set the cutting mode in plasma cutting mode, and turn on the arc voltage regulator. The parameters in the arc voltage only need to set the arc voltage value, punch time, positioning time and other parameters set by the NC controller. Please refer to the arc pressure elevation specification for the specific setting.
2. Servo system
3. Compiling Cutting Graphics
1、Use professional drawing software (such as AUTOCAD) to draw cutting graphics, and then use programming software to edit programs.
2. Use the system’s own library editing. Refer to the NC controller manual.
4. Use self-contained steel nesting function. After the cutting program is loaded into memory, it will return to the main interface and observe whether the graph preview in the graphics display area meets the requirements.
3. setting cutting parameters
1、Modify cutting parameters
2、System Settings More details please refer to the NC system and arc voltage regulator instructions
3. If the cutting process is different, please refer to the latest NC system specification. When using plasma cutting, the operator should wear a helmet and safety goggles and button up during cutting Automatic alignment function: namely (measuring Angle) function. Generally, it is not easy to make the steel plate parallel to the machine Y-axis when hanging on the cutting table. This function can measure the rotation angle of the steel plate and automatically rotate the cutting figure to the same angle, so as to reduce the remaining material and improve the utilization rate. When the cutting graphics compilation is finished, manually move the cutter to the upper left corner of the steel plate. Under the main interface, press the “F2” button, then press the “F7” key of the part option, and then press the “F7” key of the measurement corner. With the direction key, move the cutter to the lower left corner of the steel plate, press the “F1” key to confirm and return to the “parts option” interface. In the figure preview area on the left, the cut program figure with added corner is displayed.
5. Press the RUN button to enter the cutting interface. Reconfirm the cutting pattern up to requirements. Press the RUN button again to start automatic cutting. Note: before cutting, manually lift the cutting torch to the upper center position.
6. In the cutting process, pay attention to the running state of the machine. In case of failure, you can manually turn the cutting torch high first, and then press the STOP button to enter the pause interface, troubleshooting by “point moving forward”, “electric backward”, “original road return”, “return starting point”, “processing cutting torch”, “breakpoint memory” and other functions. After troubleshooting, press RUN twice to start cutting again. (at the edge angle of the steel plate, the detection ring capacitance changes greatly, so it is easy to make the cutting torch rapidly drop and hit the steel plate, so the cutting position cannot be too close to the edge of the steel plate (50% of the detection ring should be on the steel plate); It can also turn off the automatic height adjustment function manually when running to the edge of the steel plate. At this time, it should pay close attention to the position of cutting torch and adjust the height of cutting torch manually. Note: “original return” functions: under the pause interface, press “original return” to enable the machine to return along the cutting path. When the machine returns to the stop point, press “stop” to stop the return. With the two keys of “inching forward” and “inching backward”, it can be accurately positioned to the appropriate position, re-fire, preheat and start cutting.
Function of “inching forward” and “inching backward”: press the button at each point to move the machine forward (backward) at a certain distance along the cutting path. The distance is determined by the value set in “point moving distance” “general parameter” interface. “Processing cutting torch” function: pause interface, press “processing cutting torch” to move the cutting torch to the outside of the steel plate, and replace or process the cutting nozzle. Press the “back” button to move the machine to the interrupted position and continue cutting. Note: the plasma power should be cut off before replacing the cutting nozzle and processing the cutting torch. The plasma power should be switched on after processing the cutting torch. Otherwise, the plasma power will give an error alarm. Be note that the cutting tip of the torch is very hot when it stops cutting. Beware of scalding. “Breakpoint memory” function: under the pause interface, press “F6” (breakpoint memory) key, the system will save part of the unexecuted cutting program. After returning to the main interface, you can do other operations, and then press “F2” to enter the “file” interface. Press memory file “F5”, and then press breakpoint memory “F2” to load the remaining cut graph into memory. Return to the main interface and continue cutting. The machine cannot be moved during this process. To give up cutting, press STOP again, press ok “F7” and return to the main interface.
7. After cutting, return to the main interface
8. Continue cutting other workpieces
VII. Cutting finished After cutting, close the air compressor. Enter the manual state, move the torch trolley to the left, move the machine to the parking position, and turn off the power of the controller. After five minutes, turn off the plasma power and turn off the power of the control system. Clean up the workplace.
Care and Maintenance section
1. Before the shift, the connection parts such as gas circuit system, plasma power supply and cutting torch must be checked for leakage. Once found, it must be eliminated.
2. Before cutting, it is necessary to check whether the cutting nozzle and electrode are consistent with the plasma power supply current setting and the thickness of cutting steel plate. The current intensity should be within 95% of the working current of the nozzle. For example: the current strength of the nozzle at 100A, the current intensity should be set at 95A.
3. Check if gas pressure is within allowable range and the air is clean; regularly check whether air compressor and air filter are in good condition and change accessories in time.
4. After replacing the parts of the cutting torch or leaving unused for a long time, rotate the current adjusting knob to test position or manually open each electromagnetic valve to remove moisture and impurities in gas pipe or cutting torch.
5. The guide surface of longitudinal and transverse guide must be cleaned and oil coated after use. 6. The operator should turn off the power and air source when taking a rest or leaving the machine for a long time. 7．After using, the machine must wait for a period of time, until the electrical cabinet and plasma power supply fully cooled before power off. 8．Regularly brush and lubricate the beam rack. 9 ． Regularly lubricate trolley lifting mechanism (ball bearing, lead screw, linear guide rail slide block) and the X – axis linear slider. 10．Periodically clean slag under cutting table and wipe dust on the surface of the machine.
Care and Maintenance section
1. Before the shift, the connection parts such as gas circuit system, plasma power supply and cutting torch must be checked for leakage. Once found, it must be eliminated.
2. Before cutting, it is necessary to check whether the cutting nozzle and electrode are consistent with the plasma power supply current setting and the thickness of cutting steel plate. The current intensity should be within 95% of the working current of the nozzle. For example: the current strength of the nozzle at 100A, the current intensity should be set at 95A.
3. Check if gas pressure is within allowable range and the air is clean; regularly check whether air compressor and air filter are in good condition and change accessories in time.
4. After replacing the parts of the cutting torch or leaving unused for a long time, rotate the current adjusting knob to test position or manually open each electromagnetic valve to remove moisture and impurities in gas pipe or cutting torch.
5. The guide surface of longitudinal and transverse guide must be cleaned and oil coated after use.
6. The operator should turn off the power and air source when taking a rest or leaving the machine for a long time.
7．After using, the machine must wait for a period of time, until the electrical cabinet and plasma power supply fully cooled before power off.
8．Regularly brush and lubricate the beam rack.
9 ． Regularly lubricate trolley lifting mechanism (ball bearing, lead screw, linear guide rail slide block) and the X – axis linear slider. 10．Periodically clean slag under cutting table and wipe dust on the surface of the machine.
11. Regularly check whether the upper and lower limit switches are in good condition, and replace the invalid switch in time.
12．Clean the filter on the side of cabinet with a dry brush once a month, and clean the dust in cabinet once every three months.
13．Check whether the servo motor elastic clamping mechanism is reliable every three months; adjust the spring pressing bolts to make the pressure appropriate. 14. Check the trolley and cables for wear every three months. 15. Check loose fastening bolts every year.
16. Check DC motor brush once a year. The excessive wear of DC motor brush will affect the motor performance and even cause motor damage. For this reason, motor brush should be inspected and replaced regularly.
17. When no processing task, NC machine tool also should be electrified regularly, had better be to electrify 1-2 times every week, every time shall idle run about 1 hour, in order to use machine itself heat to reduce the humidity inside machine keeping electronic component from damp.
18. In order to avoid the influence of large power fluctuation (> + / – 10%) and possible transient interference signal, the equipment adopts special line power supply (e.g., separate one line from low-voltage distribution room) or adds pressure stabilizer, which can reduce the influence of power supply quality and electrical interference.
19. Check each wiring terminal once a year for fastening. The terminals may be loose due to long operation and vibration, and the loose terminals may be damaged due to heat during operation.
