[plasmamatt]

I have had my PM85 for about 1.5 years and it has been an excellent plasma cutter. I have it mounted to a ShopSabre 4896. As of lately I am having an issue where the error code 30 is coming on far too often. I am cutting 10 ga at 65 amps. Everything is set to Hypertherm specs. I can get about 500 torch starts without any issues. After that the error code 30 happens about every 50-75 torch starts. I am able to start cutting again immediately afterwards about 90% of the time. Sometimes it is necessary to remove the consumables and then reassemble. I only see this issue happen when cutting holes. If I am cutting out the part it does not happen. I called tech support today and they said if I was getting 500 torch starts on consumables that it is time to change them. I told them that I usually get at least 1000 to 1500 without issues. When the code 30 starts the electrode doesn't even look half worn and the tip looks fine. The cut is also very nice the entire time. Any ideas?? Thanks.

[jimcolt]

Error code 30 indicates "stuck consumables" in the Hypertherm Powermax65, 85 and 105 plasma systems. The electrodes in these torches are spring loaded, and air pressure in the torch pushes the electrode back against its spring, this causes the electrode to create a short circuit spark (by pulling away from the nozzle), which ionizes the air, starting the plasma arc. If the electrode does not return fully (spring pressure) back to the inside bore of the nozzle after a previous cut, then the error code 30 will indicate. This simply means that the short circuit spark did not occur....and there are a few things that can make this happen:

1. Aftermarket electrodes and nozzles are available at a few online sellers. Often they are packaged in nearly identical packages as the original Hypertherm consumables. They infringe on multiple patents and copyrights, but worse, are manufactured to very poor quality standards. Incorrect spring pressures, stack up tolerance issues and poor thermal binding of the elctrode hafnium/copper can affect performance and damage your torch. If you bought your parts from a non Hypertherm distributor online, and the price was very good....explore this possibility!

2. Because the electrode has to make electrical contact (copper to copper) with the inside of the nozzle in order to start the plasma process.....this area of contact must stay relatively clean. If there is a lot of discoloration on the end of the electrode or the inside of the nozzle...this can prevent starting and will indicate the error code. While a certain level of discoloration is normal, excess buildup is usually caused by poor air quality in the form of moisture, oil or particulates that are coming in through your shop air line. The high temperature in the plasma torch imediately incinerates any contamination, and over time this creates a non conductive layer on the electrode and nozzle, causing the error. You can clean the inside of the nozzle and end of the electrode with scotchbrite and put them back in the torch. The better solution is to determine the issues with your air and solve it with filters or moisture traps, etc.

3. Make sure your inlet air pressure is always higher than 90 psi (when air is flowing at the torch, this can only be measured with a gauge within 6 inches of the plasma , not back at the compressor) and lower than 135 psi, and that your cut air is in the automatic setting.

You should be able to achieve between 500 and 1000 starts (depending on the length of cut....if your parts are large you will get less starts, small you will get more starts) if everything is working as designed.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

I have had my PM85 for about 1.5 years and it has been an excellent plasma cutter. I have it mounted to a ShopSabre 4896. As of lately I am having an issue where the error code 30 is coming on far too often. I am cutting 10 ga at 65 amps. Everything is set to Hypertherm specs. I can get about 500 torch starts without any issues. After that the error code 30 happens about every 50-75 torch starts. I am able to start cutting again immediately afterwards about 90% of the time. Sometimes it is necessary to remove the consumables and then reassemble. I only see this issue happen when cutting holes. If I am cutting out the part it does not happen. I called tech support today and they said if I was getting 500 torch starts on consumables that it is time to change them. I told them that I usually get at least 1000 to 1500 without issues. When the code 30 starts the electrode doesn't even look half worn and the tip looks fine. The cut is also very nice the entire time. Any ideas?? Thanks.

[plasmamatt]

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your help.

I buy all of my Hypertherm parts from either our local Airgas dealer or online at weldingsupply.com. The parts are always in packaging that is labeled Hypertherm and all of the parts have Hypertherm and the part number engraved in them. I'm pretty sure I have genuine parts.

I do notice that the problem appears to start when the inside of the nozzle and the electrode start to have build up on them. I have tried cleaning both the inside of the nozzle and electrode tip but have been unsuccessful. The problem will still persist. In the past I have had nozzles and electrodes look this way without any issues. The other issue that I don't understand is that this only happens when I am cutting holes. The smaller the hole the more likely it will be to happen. If I am cutting the outside of a part it won't happen. Is it possible that the small holes are not allowing the torch to fire long enough and possibly adding to the problem??

I don't think we have an issue with air and oil. We have a regulator with a water/oil separator about 12" in front of the cutter. We do have quite a bit of oily water that gets caught by the separator. The other day I checked the stock filter that is on the back of the cutter to see if any moisture was making it past the water/oil separator. It was bone dry and extremely clean.

Maybe it is just the part we are cutting. It is the first time we have cut this part. It is a part with 11 holes of various sizes and we are cutting all of the holes for 8 parts before finally cutting the part shape out. Possibly too many holes in a row??

Any other ideas??

[jimcolt]

Sounds like genuine consumables to me. I always mention this as the Chinese knockoffs copy our logo, our packaging and our patented consumables. They are much better at copying the packaging than they are at copying the parts. Their packages are nearly impossible to tell from ours.

The contamination you see on the end of the electrode and inside the nozzle comes from somewhere, the only place I have ever seen it come from is the air system! You did not respond about monitoring pressure at the inlet to the plasma....so I cannot comment on that.

The plasma does not have any clue in regards to whether you are cutting holes or outside perimeter cuts, unless your height control or part program is doing something different for holes as compared to outside cuts. Could it be trying to fire the torch at a different height?

Any chance you could send some good closeup pictures of the front end of an electrode that is erroring after 500 starts or so? Mine look slightly heat discolored after 1000 or more starts.....but do not missfire...and I have never seen the 0-30 code.

Jim Colt

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your help.

I buy all of my Hypertherm parts from either our local Airgas dealer or online at weldingsupply.com. The parts are always in packaging that is labeled Hypertherm and all of the parts have Hypertherm and the part number engraved in them. I'm pretty sure I have genuine parts.

I do notice that the problem appears to start when the inside of the nozzle and the electrode start to have build up on them. I have tried cleaning both the inside of the nozzle and electrode tip but have been unsuccessful. The problem will still persist. In the past I have had nozzles and electrodes look this way without any issues. The other issue that I don't understand is that this only happens when I am cutting holes. The smaller the hole the more likely it will be to happen. If I am cutting the outside of a part it won't happen. Is it possible that the small holes are not allowing the torch to fire long enough and possibly adding to the problem??

I don't think we have an issue with air and oil. We have a regulator with a water/oil separator about 12" in front of the cutter. We do have quite a bit of oily water that gets caught by the separator. The other day I checked the stock filter that is on the back of the cutter to see if any moisture was making it past the water/oil separator. It was bone dry and extremely clean.

Maybe it is just the part we are cutting. It is the first time we have cut this part. It is a part with 11 holes of various sizes and we are cutting all of the holes for 8 parts before finally cutting the part shape out. Possibly too many holes in a row??

Any other ideas??

[plasmamatt]

Hi Jim,

Thanks again for your reply. You are a great asset for Hypertherm.

That is a bad deal with the knock off parts from China. Are there any particular details I can look for to verify that they are genuine?

My air pressure is set at 125 psi and the gauge is about 12" from the cutter. We have a large air compressor with a high cfm.

I don't think there are any differences on how the torch is cutting on holes or parts. The pierce height looks the same either place. On small holes the THC does tend to let the torch height drop a bit lower than if it was cutting a straight line. Does the duration that the torch is on play any part in burning off contaminants?

I will see if I can post a couple pictures for you.

[plasmamatt]

I should mention one more thing. We are cutting on a water table and the water touches the bottom of the steel. The water is fairly dirty too. Any chance we are getting contaminants from the water?

[plasmamatt]

Hi Jim,

I finally had a chance to get some pictures for you. This set of consumables ran fine for 318 starts before finally erroring with a code 30. I also added up the inches of total cut and it was roughly 4000". The picture makes the electrode look more worn that it really was. The center was just starting to show signs of wear. I continued to run this set of consumables and encountered the code 30 error roughly 5 more times. When I retired the consumables they had 720 starts and roughly 10500" of total cut. I also included a picture of one of the many parts we are cutting.

Thanks.

Attachment 221886
Attachment 221888

[plasmamatt]

Hi Jim,

Any ideas on this after reviewing the pictures? The problem still continues.

Thanks.

[plasmamatt]

Hi Jim,

I thought I would revisit this again. We are still encountering the same error code 30. It still only happens when cutting a number of holes in a row. Any thoughts after looking at the above pictures. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.