Jim Colt

[jim8014]

I am new to this forum, but the longer I am here the more impressed I am by Jim Colt. He is obviously a superb individual in his own right, but an incredible spokesperson for Hypertherm. He goes so far beyond in helping people of all plasma machines. All of you deserve a lot of credit for the help you give one another, I am honored to be amongst such an incredible group of people.
It's no wonder that Hypertherm is arguably the leader in the plasma cutting industry.

[jimcolt]

Dang....my Mom must be posting again!

Actually I post a lot for multiple reasons: 1. I have always had a passion for metal fabricating, 2. I was lucky to land a job with Hypertherm about 35 years ago, 3. Hypertherm is a great place to work, 4. I get to surf the web during working hours to answer plasma related questions and issues.

Best regards, Jim

[cstroke]

lol beats fantasy football huh Jim??

And I appreciate all you do as well Jim. You've helped me just by reading your posts..

Thanks

[BrianMick]

Hey jim, Make sure you show this post to your superiors....just before raise time
might just work
Brian

[Largemouthlou]

Yup, a big thanks to Jim!!

[fergy]

i got a TD 151 had no probs with it allways done me good (duty cycle could be better)
from what i seen on this and other forums with the way jim helps everyone i have decided to upgrade to a powermax 105 even though they had cutmasters in perth and the powermax is a 4 week wait
i dont bother sayin much on the forums but jim you do a great job helpin people and i dont think its just cause you get paid to from the way you help id say you enjoy it
anyhow cant wait to get the 105 here so i can pick your brain
fergy

[fergy]

Well the 105 rocked up last week but had to wait for a machine interface cable to come from sydney so only got to set up today and after a quick email to jim and him providing me with the info i needed i was doin some test cuts

throw some 10mm (3/8) plate on, 105 amp consumables in torch, check air, earth on and set the peirce delay and then set cut speed to 2260mm per min (up from 450mm that i had to run the 151 at) HA this is goin to be intresting i cant even cut 2mm plate at that. So hit the start button and tourch comes down and bom (yes bom not boom it wasnt that loud) so stop cut and have look around ah yellow light on on machine whats that mean, it means some wally put the consumables in wrong, fixed that and reset g code ready to go again

Hit the start button again, it peirces like its cuttin cheese and then fliesup the table at a rate of knots cuttin like a champion (all the while with me hiding behind the screen coz whenever it used to go that fast i would allways get showered in sparks) then finishes cut and stops, so i go around and have a look and the grin is gettin bigger the closer i get and pick up the plate and we have a dead set perfect cut still cant wipe the smile off me dial

dont know how the table is goin to go flyin around with this thing now the speed has increased 5x defenetly have to get finecut tips just to get the speed down

anyways thanks for your help Jim if it wasnt for the support you give everyone id still be using the 151 and wouldnt that just suck after seein this baby in action

fergy

[jimcolt]

Fergy,

Glad to see you are running! In my opinion the cut on 3/8" is a bit ugly at 105 amps compared to what you can do using the 45 amp (best, but some dross) and 65 amp processes on that thickness. Matching the power to the thickness improves edge smoothness, edge squareness....and keeps your cut speed down to reasonable levels for better accuracy as well. The nice thing about the Duramax torch on your 105 is that you only need to change the nozzle and the amperage setting when changing power levels....the air pressure is automatically compensated and all of the other torch consumables are the same.

Best regards, Jim

Well the 105 rocked up last week but had to wait for a machine interface cable to come from sydney so only got to set up today and after a quick email to jim and him providing me with the info i needed i was doin some test cuts

throw some 10mm (3/8) plate on, 105 amp consumables in torch, check air, earth on and set the peirce delay and then set cut speed to 2260mm per min (up from 450mm that i had to run the 151 at) HA this is goin to be intresting i cant even cut 2mm plate at that. So hit the start button and tourch comes down and bom (yes bom not boom it wasnt that loud) so stop cut and have look around ah yellow light on on machine whats that mean, it means some wally put the consumables in wrong, fixed that and reset g code ready to go again

Hit the start button again, it peirces like its cuttin cheese and then fliesup the table at a rate of knots cuttin like a champion (all the while with me hiding behind the screen coz whenever it used to go that fast i would allways get showered in sparks) then finishes cut and stops, so i go around and have a look and the grin is gettin bigger the closer i get and pick up the plate and we have a dead set perfect cut still cant wipe the smile off me dial

dont know how the table is goin to go flyin around with this thing now the speed has increased 5x defenetly have to get finecut tips just to get the speed down

anyways thanks for your help Jim if it wasnt for the support you give everyone id still be using the 151 and wouldnt that just suck after seein this baby in action

fergy

[ultramaxracing05]

I have to say if it was not for Jim Colt I would not be a happy hypertherm customer, now I'm making a purchase of my 2nd powermax. Hypertherm is truly a great company that goes above and beyond to help the customers.

[VEGOIL]

I have never spoke to Jim myself but seeing his active involvment in the forums helped me determine to pick a Hypertherm torch.

Thanks Jim!!!

Guy C.

[Craig]

I agree Jim's the man when it comes to all things plasma. I started with and old PM 380 I inherited and was thinking of switching to Miller but after being on this and other forums it became clear that Hypertherm is one of, if not the leader in plasma tech. and with Jim's custom cable I did not even have to take apart my PM 65 to connect to my Plasmacam table. Thanks again Jim for everything.

Craig Johnson

[beefy]

Jim goes even further when he does his fantastic detailed write ups on pricing a cutting job. I already have 2 of his posts saved on pricing, very good information.

Thanks Jim.

Keith

[D7UNK]

Hello to Jim & Everyone from Scotland.

I wonder if Jim or anyone else could give some hints & tips to a "Virgin CNC Plasma Guy" ?

I am awaiting delivery of my new system which is coming with a Hypertherm 85

I am looking to use the system for two main purposes, Artwork + Custom Metal work.

I wonder if Jim could give some guidelines as to when I should use the Fine Cut Consumables against the Standard Consumables.

Also, Is there a minimum/maximum thickness for each consumable?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks

Regards

Dunk

[Largemouthlou]

Jim's time has taught me ALOT!!!!!!!!
If I can't wait for Jim to find a question on the board he is always answering the emails I send..
Response from me on the last email to Jim:
Yes Jim the T80M plunger is pitted as well, and a new one will be ordered on Monday..

Saved me a bunch of time and hair pullin!! LOL

[HammerDownJustin]

I am sure I will be emailing Jim soon..I started with a Longevity cutter because I was being cheap..made a friend up north named Jake and he had TD machine were both running blade runner stuff...we were talking about getting Hypertherm units and I ordered my new Powermax 65 from Harris.."still waiting"..jake got his Hypertherm unit first and Jim has helped him with settings and it is cutting like a dream now..Cant wait for mine and will never by another brand again..I learned the hard way...for now on with me it wil be hypertherm for plasma...miller for wire..and Lincoln for stick...i dont own a tig yet..Thanks for sharing so much info Jim

[jimcolt]

Dunk,

When you get your Powermax85 it comes with an operators manual of over 100 pages. There are multiple pages with mechanized cut charts for all different materials....these charts detail the exact conumable parts that should be used for each thickness....with a brief description of expected cut quality.

The rule of thumb for best cut quality for a given thickness is simple.....look at the thickness of the material and choose the lowest powered cut process that lists that thickness. (I'll use 3mm or 1/8" as an example).....you can find that thickness on the cut charts for FineCut consumables, also for the 45 amp, 65 amp and 85 amp consumables. The best cut quality interms of edge squareness and cut part accuracy will be with th lowest power level consumables.....so I would choose either the FineCut or the 45 amp shielded process to cut 3 mm steel. If I wanted to cut 1/8" extremely fast....and did not care about edge angularity...then I would choose the 85 amp process.

If you want to start reading the manual before you get your system...it is free to download from the www.hypertherm.com site. Go to products, choose hand held cutting, then choose Powermax85, then choose downloads, and download the entire manual as a .pdf file.

Best regards, Jim

Hello to Jim & Everyone from Scotland.

I wonder if Jim or anyone else could give some hints & tips to a "Virgin CNC Plasma Guy" ?

I am awaiting delivery of my new system which is coming with a Hypertherm 85

I am looking to use the system for two main purposes, Artwork + Custom Metal work.

I wonder if Jim could give some guidelines as to when I should use the Fine Cut Consumables against the Standard Consumables.

Also, Is there a minimum/maximum thickness for each consumable?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks

Regards

Dunk

[D7UNK]

Thanks Jim

I will do just that.

Thanks for your advice, it is much appreciated

Cheers

Dunk
Scotland

[smutboy420]

"I have to say if it was not for Jim Colt I would not be a happy hypertherm customer,"

ME to. After I was having some major issues "trying" to get two different H start Chinese plasma cutters to work with my table without all sorts of interference and them waking my cnc controller on my plasma table NAD my milling machine just from even firing the cutter any were near my shop. When I posted on another forum for Candcnc products who my THC is from. (Tom over there was a big help to)

I was very impressed on Jim seeing my posts and actually trying to offer help on reducing the HF noise from my pos cutter i was trying to use (thinking i was saving money hahaha so much for that idea)

I thought it was awesome of jim to try and help me threw my mistake of not getting a hypertherm to begin with. Instead of just telling me I should just got a hypertherm. Tho he did suggest it and so I tried one. and It was in my plans to try and find a used on cause I blew my budget already on the china cutters. and was nervis to drop the loot on a brand new one without KNOWING FOR SURE it would solve my problem. Then by pure chance I met someone near by that had a tiny hypertherm I could try out just to see how it worked. It took me of 5 seconds to know I JUST HAD TO HAVE ONE OF MY OWN. It made all the difference in the world as far as my table even working or not.. I almost was close to just throwing in the towel and forgetting about the ideal of being able to have my own plasma table.

[MajorMetal]

Just an FYI Jim - I requested info two different times thru the Hypertherm website where you type in your contact info. Both times it said that someone would get back to me right away but I never did hear anything on either request. That was a couple months ago. One was a tech support question and one was a request for a free trial of the Hypertherm nesting software.

[jimcolt]

I have passed this note on to our team....we will determine what the problem is....thank you for the feedback!

Jim Colt

Just an FYI Jim - I requested info two different times thru the Hypertherm website where you type in your contact info. Both times it said that someone would get back to me right away but I never did hear anything on either request. That was a couple months ago. One was a tech support question and one was a request for a free trial of the Hypertherm nesting software.

[Sampson Jones]

Hypertherm is lucky to have him , great guy !

[CNCCAJUN]

First of the new year coming I will be buying a turnkey CNC Plasma Table 4X4 . . . .

It will have a Hypertherm regardless of the table manufacturer . . . .

Why, because of Jim Colt's involvement . . . you can never get better than a person who loves what he does and does what he loves. . .

Thank you Jim . . . .
Steve

[automate]

Hi Jim
Have a question
I run a powermax 45 with the hand torch and 45 consumables on a Plasmacam system
What should the maximum thickness that I should be able to pierce? I have not been able to pierce 1/2" mild steel
I have never cut aluminum but I would like to start
Thinking I may need a 65 or even an 85 to be able to pierce up to 3/8 ss or aluminum ?
Would changing to another torch help me?
Thanks in advance for your kind reply

Ed the Artsmith

[abmetal]

Jim's the reason I just bought my 3rd Hypertherm.

Allen

[jimcolt]

If you have the advanced height control using ohmic contact on a PlasmaCam machine...you can pierce 1/2" steel all day long with the Powermax45....using the machine shield and following the cut specs exactly as your Hypertherm operators manual lists. On aluminum and stainless the max pierce (with height control) is 3/8".

Let me know what PlasmaCam model, and what software and I will help you out.


Jim Colt

Hi Jim
Have a question
I run a powermax 45 with the hand torch and 45 consumables on a Plasmacam system
What should the maximum thickness that I should be able to pierce? I have not been able to pierce 1/2" mild steel
I have never cut aluminum but I would like to start
Thinking I may need a 65 or even an 85 to be able to pierce up to 3/8 ss or aluminum ?
Would changing to another torch help me?
Thanks in advance for your kind reply

Ed the Artsmith