Posted by Caleb in Manhattan KS [70.184.232.53] on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 18:20:34 :
In Reply to: To answer Mark's question posted by Franz [24.149.37.138] on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 23:39:27 :
I purchased a new Thermal Dynamics TD40 about 4 years ago or so through CyberWeld. They were priced about $400 under what I could find local and answered all of my questions every time I called (which was about 5 different times speaking with 2 people there). Between this forum and my discussions with the locals (the guy at AirGas actually told me about Cyberweld) I decided to go with the TD machine. There were quite a few complaints about the boards but those discussions yielded a supposed change in the design which was supposed to take care of the issue...mostly. I have been buying all of my consumables through Cyberweld since I have owned the machine. Here are my insights:
-I very much prefer to use the plasma over O-A or abrasive cutting, it is cleaner, faster, and quicker to handle after the cut. I still have my O-A torch for heavy cutting and general heating.
-I go through 8-10 tips, 5-7 electrodes, and 1 igniter a year. I could do much better, but I have not been able to spend the money on a good filter to remove moisture from the air. I have a general moisture filter and 2 "toilet paper" type filters before. Moisture is a killer on the consumables.
-The igniter in the TD torch is a poor design in my case. I burned the first one up in just about 20' worth of cutting. I took it apart and found that there is a small steel spring inside that overheats and shrinks...stretched it out a bit and it was working again.
-All of my breakdowns can be attributed to either operator error (loosening the cup while handling the torch--just retighten) or failure of the igniter, otherwise, I have yet to have a major problem with my machine.
-The sever capacity listed was more than accurate. I think it is advertised at 3/8" but I regularly cut 1/2" and have cut 5/8" with it...very slowly...in a single pass. The one thing I can say is that over 1/4" thick, the kerf gets a major bend in it that might require a pass from the other side.
-I have had much better life out of the 40A standoff tips than from the drag tips, I usually get a cleaner cut as well.
-I use a nice clean wooden straight edge when I cut sheet metal and it gives me a nice clean cut with minimal slag to knock off (a chisel does the job by hand versus using a grinder to get torch slag off) and it barely "toasts" my straight edge.
-The plasma produces minimal if No warping in sheet metal down to around 18 gauge. If there is any, I have been able to manage with it.
-Cuts any conductive material with ease...try cutting aluminum with a torch or cutting wheel. I cut down about 10 6"x6" brass plates for one of my dads projects in less than 10 minutes.
-I have not had to refill my O-A bottles in nearly 2 years. I have probably spent about 50-60 bucks on plasma consumables in 2015 and I have done ALOT of cutting between torching up 2 old trucks, the old ambulance body (removing the scabbed in scrap metal parts), and all of the work I have done on my Jeep. When I used O-A or abrasives, and gas was "cheap", it was an $80 or more expense 2-3 times a year just in gas (I think it's about $140 now days). If I am cutting with abrasives, it is $2.99 each for the cutting wheels which do not last long and $8.00 for the 14" chop saw wheels.
Long story short, I am sold on the plasma. If I were doing alot of production work it would likely be a different story. I just found recently that my local shop stocks Victor brand consumables for my TD in packs of 10 for just slightly more than I can get them from Cyberweld so I am going to start getting them local.