Cutting 24 ga. painted metal

[dharms]

Hello All.... Am relatively new to plasma cutting and thought I would stop by and ask a few questions.

I have a Torchmate 2 with a Thermal Dynamics A 120 5' x 10' table.

1. I have been learning to cut on 24 ga. painted metal as I had a bunch of 4' x 10' sheets left over from a roofing job. Got it to cut OK (best settings I have found so far running at 225 ipm and down at 30 amps. Would like to try fewer amps but my cutter won't go down any further, kerf is at 0.060). One of the issues is, I would like to improve the quality of the cut. It seems a little ragged.

2. Have also been using my plate marker and cutting out items. Run the plate marker at 35 ipm and 15 psi and about 3 to 3.5 on the down force. In Torchmate CAD when I make tool path I use the engraver tool. I would like to see just a little more depth in the engraving and more speed if possible.

Any and all suggestions and comments are appreciated.

I have seen many good jobs done and it seems like you guys know what you are doing.

Thanks In Advance.

[RogerB]

I cut on painted metal from time to time, it seems the type of metal or coating (paint) makes some difference. I tend to slow down the torch speed when cutting painted metal and i get good clean cuts. I have a different system so can't comment on your settings, however it seems a little fast for 30 amp. One thing i have learned from reading all the great posts on this site is to not rely totaly on the book recomended settings use them as a general guide then experiment to see what works for the particular application.

Thanks,
Rog

[dharms]

Thanks Roger!

[srp]

Be sure you are using a 30 A tip.