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Introducing “Hypertherm Technology”

Date: 22-03-2018

In this day and age where competition is fast and fierce, better productivity and cost savings are often the only differentiators that allow companies in the manufacturing sector to stand out amongst their business competitors.

Over the years, technology in manufacturing processes have progressed steadily and one of the key aspects of production lies in the machines where metalworking plays an important role. Technologies such as plasma systems are capable of producing high quality cut parts at high speeds that require now little or no post-production processes.

At Alphaweld we are so unashamedly passionate about Hypertherm’s range of cutting and gouging products ability to save on the “cost of cut” that we have coined up the word “Hypertherm Technology” for it.

Let us start today to tell you why…

Briefly if you don’t already know, but Hypertherm is the manufacturer of the world’s most advanced plasma cutting systems that are used in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, and automotive repairs. Its product line includes handheld and mechanised plasma systems and consumables. The company’s reputation for plasma innovation dates back to 50 years ago to 1968.

Machines…

The mainstay Powermax® family of products consists of seven highly portable, professional grade air plasma cutting and gouging systems. The systems are an ideal choice for hand or automated cutting and gouging of any electrically conductive metal and as a range they offer a severance cut capacity from 16mm (5/8") at 30A to 57mm (2-1/4") at 125A. Their speed and ease of use is unparalleled compared to other systems and processes.  There are no other systems available that can cut, gouge, flush cut and mark all in one.

Watch Hypertherm Success!

Consumables…

The performance of a plasma system is also dependent on the consumable parts used with the torch. We have seen many times when a company has an advanced high production cutting system that has been rendered to a mediocre throughput when inferior quality consumables are used.

Often times, instead of purchasing consumables directly from the cutting system provider or authorized retailers, companies may seek out cheaper alternatives from other suppliers in an attempt to reduce operating costs and in this day and age it does make sense to try and cut costs. In fact we like it when a company does as it means that they want to be there for the “long haul” not the “short scenic one-off route!”

Aftermarket products are usually close copies of the genuine product and look similar in appearance but are sold at relatively lower prices and despite cheaper often the usage of aftermarket consumables can be more counterproductive than beneficial.

Five reasons why not buy aftermarket consumables

Quality: Aftermarket suppliers have one thought in mind: fast profit. As long as a product looks like the original then it's ready to sell. They often use the low-cost materials and the cheapest, fastest production techniques; little quality checks or quality control. The result is an inferior, inconsistent and mostly an unreliable product.

Performance: Plasma torches are precision devices requiring such like consumables. Any deviation from the rigorous specified tolerances will impact your overall cutting outcome. You’ll probably still be able to cut metal, but you’ll get poor or inconsistent cuts, reduced cutting speed, and significantly shorter consumable life. You may also ruin or damage your torch through poor fitting consumables.

Safety: It takes a lot of energy to generate a plasma arc; torch temperatures at the end can reach 25,000°C The low quality metals used in aftermarket manufacturing may not be able to withstand the high demands of plasma cutting, putting equipment and, more importantly put the operator at risk.

After Sales Support: At Hypertherm, they back up their products and take great pride in the high level of support they provide for customers. However, if aftermarket parts have been used in a plasma cutting system, it may make troubleshooting difficult, if not impossible. The use of unauthorised parts will also affect your warranty coverage.

Overall Operating Costs: Those “low cost” aftermarket 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 life compared with genuine consumables. Poor quality cuts may require costly rework, and damaged equipment can be expensive to repair. There’s also downtime to consider, not to mention the risk to your business or your brand with supplying a mediocre job.

 “With Hypertherm’s consumables, our consumption level has gone down by 40% while the quality of our cutting has improved greatly and our customers have also started to notice the differences in our products."

Hypertherm Powermax 85 User

To find out more about genuine consumables click to contact the team at Alphaweld today.