FLORENCE, S.C. - So what’s the main difference between a plasma cutter and a welder, other than the obvious one – the purpose of each tool? Speaking to ABRN on April 24 at a company media event, Bob Fernicola, Business Manger of Plasma Cutting for welding equipment manufacturer ESAB, says operating a welder takes plenty of training and experience while most techs can use a plasma cutter with just a modest introduction to the tool.
But that doesn’t mean shops should take the purchasing of a plasma cutter lightly. The market offers plenty of options in terms of size, convenience of cutting ability. Shops can save themselves some money by investing in a unit large enough to handle the steel they see most often. Fernicola, who has 38 years in plasma cutting equipment (half of it spent in design, the other half in marketing), says most often shops see sheet metal about 1/4 in. thick.
“The size of the machine should be on the order of a 30 - 40 AMP machine which would give them good control for the type of cutting that they’re doing and still be small and inexpensive enough for that particular use,” says Fernicola.
Before shops decide to skimp a bit on price and buy a machine with less amperage, Fernicola says they need a cutter with sufficient power sufficiently quickly. You want minimal heat input, says Fernicola. Less heat input means less metallurgical change to the material and less “burn back” on the nearby paint.
