A firm is not only responsible for its employees and capital equipment, but also the work environment in which both are performing under. This is not the sole reason to maintain clean shop air as it provides a performance benefit in regards to plasma cutting consumables. With proper care, torches can last for extended periods of time.
This concern should especially be extended to manufacturing companies, whose shop air can be polluted with great amounts of particulate that are caused by thermal cutting activities. It is estimated that almost over 90% of shop compressed air systems have moisture within the air lines.
Putting it into perspective: Imagine a 260-amp power supply that is dispensing a ¾ inch, 4 by 8 foot sheet with no appropriate filtration equipment. In this case, a 200,000 square feet facility would be full of particulate prior to the completion of the cutting on that one plate. The indoor environment of this particular example would be worse than a welding shop with no fume ventilation.
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