Counterfeit consumables

A lot more trouble than they are worth

According to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the value of global counterfeit goods is expected to exceed USD 1.7 trillion in 2015. And if you are thinking this is only a problem in the consumer marketplace, think again.

Counterfeiters are also targeting highly engineered, high-value industrial products, and our industry has not been immune to this growing threat. Plasma cutting consumables — nozzles, electrodes, swirl rings, etc. — are now being seen in all regions. Be alert, be smart, and don’t let counterfeit consumables compromise your work, or your safety.

Five reasons you should always buy genuine products through authorized distributors and avoid counterfeit products:

1. Quality
   Counterfeit suppliers have one thought in mind: a quick profit. They use the lowest cost materials and the cheapest, fastest production techniques; no stringent manufacturing processes, no quality control. Their products are inferior, inconsistent, and unreliable.
2. Performance
   Plasma torches are precision devices requiring precision consumables. Any deviation from specified tolerances will impact overall performance. Result: poor or inconsistent cuts, reduced cutting speed, and significantly shorter consumable life. Or even a ruined or damaged torch.
3. Safety
   The low quality metals used in counterfeit manufacturing may not be able to withstand the thermal demands of plasma cutting, putting equipment and, more importantly, operators at risk.
4. Aftersales support
   If unknown parts have been used in a damaged torch or plasma system, it will make troubleshooting difficult, if not impossible. The use of unauthorized parts may also affect your warranty coverage.
5. Overall operating costs
   Those “low cost” counterfeit consumables can be a lot more expensive than they look. For starters, they do not last as long as genuine parts — often only a fraction of the cutting life. Poor quality cuts may require costly rework, and valuable equipment could be irreparably damaged. There’s also downtime to consider, not to mention the risk to your business or your brand.

The only real bargain is real value

Counterfeits are usually very close copies of the genuine product, so it is easy enough to be misled, and think you are getting a good bargain. But this is one bargain that can be a major liability to your business.

The answer, of course, is to be alert for counterfeit scams, and to mistrust any consumable offer that sounds too good to be true. Be sure. Only purchase genuine Hypertherm consumables and only through an authorized distributor.

Genuine	Counterfeit

It’s not always easy to spot a counterfeit. Packaging is relatively easy to copy. Quality and performance are not.

How to make sure you are getting original consumables

To avoid being scammed by counterfeit consumables, here are a few things to watch out for:

• A claim of “genuine” consumables from an unauthorized distributor, an unknown agent, or off the internet
• Suspiciously low pricing for “genuine” consumables or software, or any offer that sounds too good to be true
• Discrepancies in the physical appearance of the label, packaging, or product, compared to that of the original consumable
• Poor or inconsistent consumable performance when compared to a genuine product — only 50% of usual service life, for example, or any abnormal signs of burning, metal deformation, etc.

Original article posted on Hypertherm Website

Plasma tips & tricks: Installing Hypertherm HyPerformance consumables correctly

Plasma tips & tricks: Installing Hypertherm HyPerformance consumables correctly: Our Technical Service Team sometimes gets calls from HyPerformance Plasma owners having trouble with their torch. In the vast majority of cases the problems are traced back to the way the consumables were installed.

Installing HyPerformance consumables

By Ann Thompson, Hypertherm

Posted on 01/14/2019 in  SPARK the blog,  Plasma cutting

Our Technical Service Team sometimes gets calls from HyPerformance Plasma owners having trouble with their torch. In the vast majority of cases the problems are traced back to the way the consumables were installed. Though building a consumable stack up is easy to do, it is critical that you fit the swirl ring and nozzle together before inserting these two parts into the torch. This step is critical as it helps to correctly align the consumables. The proper installation method then is this:

1. Insert the electrode into the torch.

2. Fit the nozzle and swirl ring together, then insert this new combined subassembly onto the electrode.

3. Add the nozzle retaining cap to the torch, followed by the shield and shield cap.

4. Gently tighten the entire assembly together, taking care not to over-tighten.

First fit your nozzle and swirl ring together (photo, top) then install this new combined subassembly (photo, bottom). 

If you experience any of the following issues, misaligned consumables are a possible culprit and you should probably start by reassembling your consumable stack-up.

• Torch will not fire at all
• Pilot arc will ignite and then quickly extinguish
• Retaining cap will not screw on all the way
• Swirl ring is cracked, crushed, or melted
• Poor cut quality

Posted in  SPARK the blog,  Plasma cutting 

Don’t tighten XPR QuickLock electrodes by hand; use the tightening tool (part number: 104119)

Last year we did a Tech Tip in Hypertherm’s SHAPING eMagazine on the importance of using a consumable tool when removing consumables in your XPR, HPRXD, HPR and MAXPRO plasma cutting systems. This tool is so critical, we include one with every single system that leaves our facility. In addition to removing consumables, the tool is also used to install the electrode on the above systems, including our XPR plasma systems.

Although the new QuickLock electrode used on those systems is quick and easy to install (and feels like it should be tool-less), you still need the consumable tightening tool to ensure that electrode is secure. When an XPR electrode is tightened by hand, it is too loose and can’t make proper electrical contact. An arcing current will damage your consumables and maybe even your torch body, the receptacle, and/or torch connect console.

You need to use the hexagonal-shaped socket in the middle of this tool to completely tighten the electrode. This center hollow fits perfectly over the electrode and it is used like a wrench, to tighten and properly seat the electrode in place. Please refer to this video and article for more information on consumable installation and removal using this tool:

• Video: Hypertherm how to: Hypertherm Technical Service Engineer Bob Chorney demonstrates proper use of our consumable removal tool.
• Article: Don’t get dinged: There is a right way to use the consumable removal tool that comes with your XPR, HPRXD, HPR and MAXPRO power supplies.

If you have misplaced your XPR tightening tool, you can order a new one from Plasma Systems, Inc. Ask for Hypertherm part number: 104119.

Original article posted in :  SPARK the blog,  Plasma cutting 

Our 2019 Brochure has arrived!

The new year is coming to a great start. We received our new brochures and our sales team has started to promote with them. Inside our new brochure you will find information regarding the technology which powers our system and puts us a cut above the rest. Feel free to visit and download the brochure via our website http://www.plasmasystemsinc.com/reference-library.html

January has come and gone and we are moving into February excited about the year still ahead. As a company, our aim is to keep innovating and growing our capabilities. InSight remains one of the most impressive controllers in the industry exceeding both ours and customer expectations. We remain open to industry feedback and would love to have you and your team visit us for a demonstration. If you're curios about our cut quality and beveling capabilities, don't hesitate to give us a call and drop by.

Plasma Systems, Inc.
Joseph Steinhauer / Sales Engineer
Phone: 832.243.9900


Our January Open House

We are happy to say our first open house of the year was a complete success! Plasma Systems Inc. would like to thank everyone who made the time to stop by and visit with us. If you were not able to make it to the open house, we would love to schedule a private demo for you and your team. For those who have already rescheduled, we look forward to seeing you soon!

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday!

We had the opportunity to go out and visit a few friends this past week. A big thank you for everyone who took the time to pose for our photos. On behalf of Plasma Systems, Inc family, we would like to thank you for your continued support and are grateful for your continued consideration and business. Please visit the link below and feel free to share with your team!

Wishing both you and your teams a Happy Holiday Season!

Plasma Systems, Inc.

PS: Look out for our Open House in January!

Entering the New Year with some Preventative Maintenance!

Hello friends!  We are down to the last couple weeks of the year. We would like to encourage everyone to take some time out of this busy season and treat your CNC plasma cutter to an end of year service check. Here we will go over just a few tips and tricks.

Let’s get started! Why are we recommending an end of year service check? Because we love our CNC machines and we want them to run smooth and efficiently in order to save and make you money. Sounds great right! As we transition into the New Year everyone is looking for ways to build better habits both at work and in their private lives at home. Whether it is a new diet, a new filing system or a new organizational productivity enhancing procedure at work……we want to start the new year with better habits. Let’s go over a few pointers.

We recommend you create your baseline for the New Year. If you start the New Year knowing your CNC machine is running at optimal performance, you can create and follow a maintenance protocol, which should keep your system service cost lower than last years. This is absolutely something your team can do without any additional service cost to you. (Technically we all should be running a daily, weekly and monthly check on our CNC machine already.) So each maintenance program should be geared specifically for your CNC machine. Each program should touch on the following key components:

 1)  Plasma – Each plasma will have a manufacturer recommended maintenance schedule, which we recommend you follow. A clean plasma cutter will provide cleaner cuts and should be given a daily maintenance review. Recommended daily coolant checks and a six-month coolant replacement are some of the important preventative maintenance actions your team should be taking.

 2)  The Machine – The Cutting Edge custom design CNC machine is a beast. Built with the highest quality parts, the machine will run for years on end with accurate and precise movement (we have machines in the field which have been running for over 20 years). Maintenance is key and we recommend always checking your carriage and lifter for debris and obstruction. Simple things like cleaning your rails once a month with a wire brush can help prevent future issues.

 3)  Drive Maintenance – Drive maintenance is also one of the most important pieces on the CNC to maintain. Checking and cleaning the exterior components of the drives goes a long way. Ensuring the wires are secure, clean, and unobstructed assists in keeping the gearboxes sealed, this will keep your CNC working at a high level of precision.

 4)  Insight Controller – The controller is engineered to function in a harsh environment. Recommended maintenance for the controller is as easy as routinely cleaning the touch screen and removing any layers of dust from the keyboard, wires and exterior components.

 5)  Cut Table – Whether you have a water table or downdraft table, keeping the slats, bins and interior of your table clean are highly recommended. Maintaining the table will provide for a safer work environment and will help prevent major accidents.

The best operators know their machine and can let you know the minute something goes awry. We offer or recommend these best practices because we believe knowing your machine is essential. If your operator is following a monthly, weekly or daily preventative maintenance program, they will become aware of any discrepancies that may appear before they escalate to bigger issues (<--- this saves you money). Of course there are some shops that act reactively to issues instead of taking pro-active actions. If you are one of these shops, don’t worry you are not alone!

In closing, thank you for taking the time read through the article. Feel free to give us a call, one of our sales engineers would be more than happy to answer any questions regarding a preventative maintenance check for your CNC flame cutter.

Happy Holidays from Plasma Systems Inc.

What plasma cutting can do with X-Definition Plasma

This is a great article I ran into regarding the X-Definition Plasma. This article highlights the pros of X-Definition Plasma Cutting technology. If you would like to visit with us to see the technology at work, contact Joseph Steinhauer, Sales Engineer, for an appointment. Phone: 832-243-9900


"Part 1 – If you don’t know what X-Definition plasma can do, you may be leaving money on the table."

"It’s been one year since the introduction of X-Definition™ class plasma and during that time the technology, exclusively found in Hypertherm’s XPR300, has been demonstrated at countless venues – from trade shows and open houses, to events hosted by cutting machine manufacturers and integrators. A characteristic response among many of those seeing the XPR300 in action is: “I didn’t know plasma could cut like that.” What is interesting about this comment is that often it comes from a seasoned fabricator with one or more laser systems in their shop, or someone about ready to purchase a new laser system.  And, what’s even more interesting, is that in more than a few instances, this realization saved that fabricator hundreds of thousands in initial capital costs and ongoing operating costs, when they ultimately decided to purchase a high-end cutting machine equipped with X-Definition, XPR300 plasma."

What plasma cutting can do with X-Definition Plasma: Modern X-Definition™ plasma cutting technology can deliver high edge quality and fine feature capability that is more than capable of producing the desired results—at a cost that is substantially less than laser cutting.

**The above article is an informational piece posted 07/07/18 by Hypertherm.


Visit our website:  

http://www.plasmasystemsinc.com/cutting-edge-design.html

Evolving and Growing

Welcome to the Plasma Systems Inc. newsletter. This year we are introducing our newsletter with the intention of sharing our knowledge and experience. We will do our best to bring to you pertinent, fun and exciting information regarding the industry and the evolving technology shaping it's future. We invite you to reach out to us with questions you may have regarding any of the technology or any of our post!

Check out our website!     www.plasmasystemsinc.com

Below is a link for an article published Nov 21, 2001. Nicely written it covers a brief history of Plasma Technology.

Plasma Cutting - The History of Plasma Cutting

Source: Hypertherm Inc. 

Published: AZO Network