Steel Cutting Blog

Plasma cutting is a game-changer in industries like automotive manufacturing, metal fabrication, and construction, where precision is everything. Whether you're creating parts for the next big car model or putting together pieces for a new building, getting those clean cuts and avoiding warping is key. 

But here's the thing: when you decide to go for plasma cutting, you're putting your money on the line. You want to make sure you're getting top-notch work. No one wants to see their materials go to waste because the edges aren't clean enough or the metal is twisted out of shape.  

That's where we come in. We're all about providing plasma cutting services that hit the mark every time — clean edges, no distortion, just the way you need it. 

Now, the nuts-and-bolts cutting of the matter is out of your hands. You’re hiring someone else to do it for you, meaning the techniques and technologies don’t apply directly to you.  

In other words, you need someone you trust to complete the job correctly. You also require the criteria for finding such a service provider. 

So today, we want to discuss how you can ensure the plasma-cutting service provider you partner with achieves clean cuts and minimal distortion in steel. 

We can tell you with the utmost confidence how Amber Steel works with clients like you (e.g., in automotive manufacturing, metal fabrication, and construction) to deliver the results you seek. Our plasma-cutting services cater to your project’s needs, applying our solutions to your specifications. 

The team at Amber is highly skilled and expertly trained to deliver precise cuts with minimal distortion and clean edges.  

Contact us today to learn more about our plasma-cutting services and how we can optimize your project. Or, read below as we discuss how you can ensure you hire a plasma-cutting service provider who can deliver the precise final product you demand (and deserve).  

Choosing the Right Plasma Cutting Tools 

No tool in the world can make up for a lack of skill. The plasma-cutting service provider most suited to your project should have undeniable technical expertise that you can count on.  

However, there’s no denying that the tools play a part as well. Those with the higher tier of equipment will be able to execute superior cuts. 

Here’s a list of topics to discuss with a plasma-cutting service provider to ensure they’re working with machinery and technology that can give you the results your project demands: 

• Discuss output power with your potential service provider. The optimal amount depends on the type and thickness of the material being cut. A plasma-cutting service professional you can trust will have machines able to handle the maximum thickness levels involved in your project. 
  • Broach the topic of rated and severe cuts — these are what experts use. Rated cuts involve mild metals’ thicknesses. These can be cut at 15 inches per minute (IPM). Severe cuts are the highest thickness levels a plasma cutter can successfully manage. 
• Time is money. Yes — clean edges and minimal distortion are paramount, but the labour cost increases the longer a job takes. Thus, cutting speed is a crucial component of your project and a topic you should discuss with all potential plasma-cutting service providers. Inches per minute (IPM) are vital for production time since the project gets done quicker with higher rates.  
• Ask potential plasma-cutting service providers about their duty cycle, which measures how long a plasma cutter can continuously cut over ten minutes before overheating. Hot environments, high productivity applications, and long cuts all demand a higher duty cycle.  
  • Higher duty cycles ensure machines can operate efficiently for longer times without requiring cooling breaks, optimizing efficiency. This will reduce the time your project takes. 
• Determine a potential plasma-cutting service provider’s relationship with technology. Today’s plasma cutters are designed for the utmost precision. While your budget might have constraints, seeking service providers using the most cutting-edge tools will yield the most precise cuts that reduce distortion and achieve clean edges. Moreover, the best technology can often streamline costs, fitting into tighter budgets. 

Using the Correct Technique 

As you’re not a plasma-cutting technician, it can be hard to know whether an industry pro is following best practices. 

Still, you can discuss the techniques below with potential service providers to ensure their cuts are precise, minimize distortion, and have clean edges. Their methods might differ from what’s laid out below, but they’ll offer insights into their process, further building trust: 

• A technician should use their non-cutting hand to support their other hand to ensure steadiness while ensuring free movement and maintaining a constant 1/16th to 1/8th inch standoff space. You’ll find that most technicians don’t push the torch away but pull it toward their body. 
• The service provider performing the plasma cutting will preferably hold a consistent standoff distance. Doing so will increase a smaller machine’s cutting capacity while extending the consumables’ lifespan. 
• Does your service provider/technician have a machine with a drag shield? If so, they should use it. A drag shield allows technicians to keep the optimal standoff with the torch on the workpiece while not touching the metal tip. The cut quality and consumable life will be hampered if the metal is touched. 
• The technician you hire should place the torch as close to the base metal edge as possible. They should then press the trigger to activate the pre-flow air, initiating the pilot and cutting arcs. Best practices then dictate the technician to slowly move the torch across the metal. From there, they’ll ensure cutting sparks are generated from the bottom by adjusting speed. 
• Plasma-cutting technicians should either pause briefly to finish the cut or angle the torch slightly toward the end of the cut. Doing so will garner a smooth, clean edge. 
• In the immediate aftermath of the technician releasing the trigger, post-flow air will continue as the consumable parts and torch begin the cool-down process. 
• Ensure the technician you hire has steady hand movements. This way, they’ll make controlled and precise cuts. 
• A trusted technician will base their travel pace on amperage settings, desired results, and material thickness. They won’t rush a job because it would risk poor-quality cuts. However, they won’t go too slow because they won’t want to create dross buildup. 
• Your plasma-cutting service provider should check consumables for wear or damage, including worn-out electrodes/nozzles, spatter accumulation, or consumed hafnium inserts (when applicable). 

The Importance of Consumables 

Swirling rings, nozzles, retaining caps, shield caps, and electrodes are all plasma-cutting torch consumables. 

Discuss with prospective plasma-cutting service providers whether they regularly inspect these consumables, as it’s a vital element of making quality cuts. 

Industry experts will prioritize the condition of their consumables, replacing their tip holes if they’re covered in spatter or irregular in any way. They’ll also discard the electrode if it develops a pit.  

Excessive moisture, high thickness levels, and lackadaisical technique can all adversely impact consumables, lessening cut quality.  

Balancing Speed and Quality 

A plasma-cutting service provider understands the delicate balance of speed and quality. 

With thicker materials, they’ll rigorously monitor their travel pace with clean, precise cuts in mind. They’ll also adjust the amperage to lower for thinner material and higher for thicker material.  

Plasma-cutting experts will find the correct speed and ensure a 15–20-degree plasma arc exit angle opposite the travel direction.  

When moving too slowly, it will go straight down. If the technician moves too fast, it will spray back.  

Heat and speed must also be balanced by your plasma-cutting service provider during the cutting process.  

Doing so will prevent metal surface distortion and reduce rubbish on the bottom of the cut. When the heat-speed combination is optimized, distortion won’t be a factor. Also, there will be a minimal need for post-cut rework or grinding. 

The best in the business will prioritize control as they determine how much speed should be applied. 

Working with Industry-Best Service Providers 

Plasma cutting steel with clean edges and minimal distortion is a complex notion for many prospective clients — like you — for one reason: Much of the process is out of your hands. 

You aren’t cutting the steel yourself because it doesn’t fall within your area of expertise. You’re relying on someone else to get the job done right. Thus, you can only do so much to impact the cut quality. 

The information in this article has provided you with a set of criteria to watch for—this will be crucial in deciphering whether the company you’ve hired is up to the challenge. 

We’ll never doubt the value of learning about your investments. Knowing what yields clean, precise plasma cuts will give you a leg up. Nonetheless, the fact remains: You can’t complete those clean cuts yourself. 

When you partner with a service provider like Amber Steel, you’ll have someone handling your plasma-cutting needs with an industry-leading track record for optimal results and satisfied clients.  

We work within the framework of your project, aligning our solutions to your needs, budget, and project scope.  

Our plasma-cutting equipment and technology are cutting-edge, highly scalable, portable, and cost-efficient, and we utilize automation to streamline our processes. 

Amber Steel’s passion for steel-cutting is unparalleled, and our commitment to our clients can’t be rivalled. Contact us today to discuss a plasma-cutting project or to investigate our other top-tier services. 

There’s a difference between getting the job done and getting the job done right. No more is this reality clearer than with metal fabrication or steel cutting. 

Plasma cutting is widely used for metal fabrication or steel-cutting needs across many sectors.  

As a metal-cutting method, plasma is inherently efficient and cost-effective, providing quick cuts through thick metals and prepping them for further refinement and processing. 

However, integrating technology can double — if not triple or quadruple — down on speed and efficiency.  

The goal in our world, of course, is to cut quickly and accurately. That rings true, no matter the kind of cutting. 

You must meet specifications and tolerances rapidly to guarantee the most value per job. Undoubtedly, it begins with high-quality machinery and equipment to perform the best possible plasma cuts. Once you know the equipment is up to the challenge, implementing the right software further improves efficiency, reducing the potential flab from your processes and optimizing productivity. 

In this post, we’ll explore the nature and benefits of plasma cutting software, delving into leveraging specific tools to fine-tune your cutting processes and techniques.  

Amber Steel has three specialties: Plasma, laser, and flame cutting. Regardless of the metal you need cut, we’ll have a solution, and our state-of-the-art technology ensures we’ll always have alternatives to meet your specifications and tolerances.  

No matter your needs, we’ll apply the most beneficial solution based on scale, scope, materials, budget, and all other factors to weigh before moving forward.  

Reach out to Amber Steel today if you have any questions about steel cutting. We’d also love to provide helpful insights if you have a project in mind, and we look forward to hearing from you! 

What Is Plasma Cutting? 

Plasma cutting utilizes an accelerated hot plasma stream to cleave its way through material conducive to electricity. 

With efficiency and versatility as its primary benefits, plasma cutting is suitable for cutting stainless steel, steel, aluminum, and other electricity-conducting metals.  

Plasma cutting has a straightforward mechanism, initiating a gas-carrying electrical arc that travels through a slim opening. The gas in question might be oxygen, nitrogen, compressed air, argon, etc.  

Once the gas rises to an extreme temperature, it ionizes, forming into plasma, a carrier of free-flowing electrons and ions generated when energy is added to a gas. From there, a few electrons are squeezed from their atoms.  

Eventually, the plasma temperature reaches (up to) thousands of degrees Fahrenheit, melting the metal when it touches the stream. The pressurized force of the gas stream releases molten metal, yielding precise cuts.  

Speed and adaptability are two primary benefits of plasma cutting, specifically when applied to more robust materials. Thus, it’s often utilized in industrial applications.  

It’s crucial to point out plasma cutting’s primary weakness — although calling it a weakness is a bit of an overstatement.  

Plasma cutting busts through the big stuff. It’s a bulldozer. Yes, for what it’s set to do — apply blunt-force power — plasma cutting has impressive precision.  

However, something like laser cutting (which we also provide at Amber) is better for more delicate materials due to its more refined precision and soft touch.  

Use Cases For Plasma Cutting 

Software is one component of making things more efficient. It promises to help reduce human error, increase productivity, and get the most out of your plasma cutting processes. 

What software can’t do is cover up knowledge gaps when you lack a sound grasp of how and when to utilize plasma cutting as a steel-cutting technique. 

Expertise in plasma cutting is a must. Understanding where the application guarantees the most value is your first and foremost priority. Once you have that knowledge, you can apply the technology and hone and refine it to previously inconceivable levels. 

With the above preamble in mind, here are some use cases for plasma cutting: 

Construction Component Manufacturing 

Often, construction companies require materials like steel beams to be cut into precise lengths. Various notches and holes are also typically included.  

Steel beams possess a density that jives well with plasma cutting.  

This then begs the question—does plasma cutting provide enough precision for construction components like beams? Or would something like laser cutting be more effective? 

Construction components have comparatively less stringent tolerances, so plasma cutting can be performed without its lesser precision being a problem.  

The product’s finish isn’t a top priority in construction, making the cost-effectiveness of plasma cutting an even more favourable option than laser cutting. 

Heavy Equipment Part Fabrication 

Suppose your company manufactures aerospace parts or automotive parts. Your equipment must be highly durable, holding firm against demanding wear and stress. 

The thick metals synonymous with heavy equipment will require plasma cutting.  

While plasma has a significantly high heat-affected zone, it’s not a concern since its focus isn’t precision. It’s durability.  

Compared to — let’s say — laser cutting, plasma cutting is far more cost-effective, offering optimal value and savings for high-volume projects. 

While the cuts won’t be refined, follow-up machining can quickly fine-tune plasma-cut heavy equipment to the chosen specifications.  

When Should You NOT Apply Plasma Cutting? 

Plasma cutting isn’t suitable for all steel-cutting or metal fabrication purposes.  

You could have top, cutting-edge plasma cutting software. It won’t help or streamline anything if plasma cutting isn’t the right choice for the work. 

One such instance is during automotive part production. Often, companies in the sector require detailed flat metal parts for bodywork. Here, exactness and uniformity are all non-negotiable musts.  

These are thinner pieces of metal calling for the utmost precision. Plasma cutting doesn’t have a place here. Another technique, like laser cutting, is far more suited to this task because it can adhere to the intensive tolerances of automotive components.  

Another example is energy sector companies building solar panel frames that require precisely cut metal plates. These must have clean appearances and exact cuts to be aesthetically pleasing and optimally functional.  

Now, plasma cutting might seem like a good fit because you’d be dealing with aluminum with mid-range thickness. Unfortunately, the high precision demanded from such a project moves plasma cutting out of contention, calling for something more refined like laser cutting.  

Implementing the Best Software 

Knowing what projects benefit the most from plasma cutting means you can start thinking of the type of technology that’ll help enhance efficiency, accuracy, and precision. 

CNC Plasma Cutter 

Understanding software’s relationship with plasma cutting begins with knowledge of the CNC (Computer Numerical Control) plasma system. With this technology, technicians use computers to direct the machine's motion, which follows numerical codes. 

The following types of software integrate with CNC plasma cutting machines: 

• CAD (ART). 

• CAM. 

• CNC machine control.  

We’ll explore these software types below: 

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) Software 

With CAD software, you can draw an approximation of the artwork you’re having cut, such as a product image or a sketch of a manufacturing part. CAM software refines instructions from the CAD software.  

Users put the .dxf file developed in the CAD into the CAM software program, providing directions on thickness, length, material type, and where to stop/start the cuts.  

This software incorporates all material and cutting parameters, including cut speed and height, piercing height, and more.  

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machine Software 

After you’ve exported the part to the CAM and created the tool path, it’s exported as G-code, a machine language converting job info into data for the machine to digest. From there, it begins to make cuts. 

The G-code instructs the steppers on how fast and where to go, driving the cutting machine’s performance. Directions are also given on when to fire and when to pierce and cut, the number of amps used, and how long it will keep operating before being shut off.  

The entire process, which occurs almost simultaneously, relies on the G-code.  

It’s important to note how your CNC machine must be compatible with the G-code.  

Investing in an Industry-Leading Plasma Cutting Service 

All the meticulous strategizing in the world can be undone by working with inferior equipment and dated technology.  

Amber Steel’s plasma cutting machine is industry-leading, leveraging top-tier software. It’s an intricate, highly sophisticated piece of equipment that makes precise, efficient cuts through material conducive to electricity.  

Our machine, powered by our investment in technology, meets exacting customer specifications with impressively prompt turnaround times.  

Final Thoughts 

Success with plasma cutting rests on knowing when and how to implement the technique and combining it with state-of-the-art technological features to streamline your processes.  

When you need this type of work done, Amber is your number-one metal fabrication partner.  

Amber Steel’s expertise and specialization in plasma, laser, and flame cutting make us a “total source” service in producing high-quality steel products. We combine the correct production technique with the product that makes sense based on factors like materials, tolerances, and specifications. We also add game-changing technology to ensure the work is completed in the most optimized fashion. 

Send us a message or call us today if you have further inquiries about metal fabrication or are about to embark on a project and want an expert’s insights.