Hypertherm posted an educational blog called “consumable bargains? Not so much” in which they dive into the differences between quality hypertherm consumables and bargain consumables, we have summarized the blog below but you can read the full article here: https://www.hypertherm.com/en-US/learn/spark-the-blog/consumable-bargains-not-so-much/
With today’s technology, plasma systems can produce extremely accurate parts with little or no post production processes. Yet, a plasma system is only as good as its consumables, and the purchase of knock-off consumables can make your systems performance suffer. People often don’t think about the engineering and precision that comes into the manufacturing of plasma consumables. They are more than just a piece of copper machined in a certain shape, as hypertherm consumables contain a lot of hidden technologies and are machined to extremely high tolerances to deliver the cut quality and life expectancy people have come to expect.
Sometimes however, the lure of cheaper aftermarket consumables is too hard to resist. Persistent sales people of their aftermarket consumables will tell you how their consumables perform just as well and cost half as much, but what they neglect to mention is that their consumables last for a fraction of the time. And then there is cut quality. Hypertherm doesn’t just look at how long their consumables last, they also look at the quality of cut that they deliver.
To measure cut quality, we look at ISO:9013 ranges, which is a standard that defines the cut quality of thermally cut parts. They are rated on a range from 1 to 5, where 1 is best with minimal angle and range 5 is the worst. As the chart below indicates, cut quality among consumable brands is not equal. In this particular example, hypertherm consumables deliver range 3 cut quality for 900 starts, and then a range 4 for 700 more starts. The two competing consumables never deliver range 3 cut quality, and in the case of competitor B, don’t even deliver range 4 quality.
The results shown are based on laboratory testing, and as we all know, there are a number of factors that can impact the final result. However, hopefully the point is clear. Not all consumables are equal. For all your plasma consumable needs, head to http://cncplasmastore.ca for the best high quality hypertherm consumables.
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