What is plasma duty cycle?

What is plasma duty cycle?

it is the amount of time a plasma system can safely run in a given period without overheating or shutting down. This time is shown as a percentage. For example a plasma system with a duty cycle of 50% means in a 10 minute time period it could safely run for 5 minutes. 

Seems simple enough, so then why is there so much confusion around duty cycle?

How is duty cycle calculated 

There is no industry standard for the parameters when manufactures calculate the duty cycle of any given plasma system. Which can make comparisons difficult. So these are the important variables to consider;

1. What is it cutting? As expected a system cutting at maximum capacity would have a lower duty cycle than one cutting thin-gauge material.

2. What is the ambient temperature? Generally tests are carried out with an ambient temperature of 40 degrees C, however if a manufacturer drops the ambient temperature they could get a higher percentage duty cycle as the system doesn't have to work as hard.

Taking these factors into consideration when making comparisons will give you a much better idea of what you are getting. As some systems may boast a 70% duty cycle, but you may never see that in usual factory conditions.

Why is duty cycle important?

For the casual hobbyist doing general cutting or cutting for shorter periods of time the duty cycle needn't be the top criteria when looking for a new plasma system, a 30% duty cycle would generally cover your needs. However for those with a CNC automated set up, or cutting thicker gauge for longer periods of time downtime can be costly so getting a duty cycle of 50% or higher would be ideal in a production environment.

How does Hyperthem calculate its duty cycle?

Hypertherm’s duty cycle ratings are calculated by running a given system at full output power while cutting metal at the maximum recommended thickness in a controlled environment with an ambient temperature of 40 degrees.

Input voltage also affects duty cycle. A power supply that operates on a wide range of input voltages is always more efficient with higher input voltage. Hypertherm shows these different duty cycle ratings for all systems.

Lets see an example

Hyperthem prides its self on providing the highest quality plasma systems that will keep you cutting anywhere anytime. Below are the impressive statistics for the Powermax 45XP under the test parameters mentioned above. 

50% @ 45 A, 230 V, 1-PH
60% @ 41 A, 230 V, 1-PH
100% @ 32 A, 230 V, 1-PH
50% @ 45 A, 400 V, 3-PH
60% @ 41 A, 400 V, 3-PH
100% @ 32 A, 400 V, 3-PH

Trucut has a Powermax 45XP waiting in stock just for you, along with the rest of the full range of Powermax units. Head over to our online store and start cutting with confidence.