It is important to understand how plasma can impart such tremendous cutting abilities

It is important to understand how plasma can impart such tremendous cutting abilities. Plasma is formed at elevated temperatures when the atoms attain high energy and ionize into phillips bugle head drywall screw their respective nuclei and electrons. The electrons move at tremendously high velocities and the collision that takes place results in the release of huge amounts of atomic energy. This high level of energy facilitates the plasma to achieve the cutting effect.Plasma cutters work by passing a gas through a narrow opening and bringing this in contact with an electric arc. The gas used can be nitrogen, oxygen, argon or compressed air. This causes the temperature of the gas to rise astronomically resulting in the production of plasma. This high energy released is passed to the metal under operation by the electrical conductivity property of the plasma.

Also the residue formed after the metal cutting is automatically removed from the metal surface due to the fluid property of the plasma.Traditional metal cutting devices such as saws and shears have a serious disadvantage associated with them. The rate of work was slow and the cost of replacements brought down the overall efficiency drastically. Special labor had to be employed to clean up the metal cutting leftovers.Conventional plasma cutters elicited a serious disadvantage because a human operator was required to operate the equipment manually. Highly skilled labor, a scarce commodity, would be required for complicated and high quality cutting works. The cutter generates heat of approximately 22000 degrees Celsius;  therefore special safety measures were required. But with the introduction of CNC plasma cutters, this disadvantage has been overcome.

Since the cutting operation is monitored by a computer, complicated works like multi-axis cutting could be carried out quite easily.There are various models available which are unique in design and performance. Well known brands include Miller 701, Samson and Torchmate. Based on reviews by experts, the Miller 701 plasma cutter was found to be a high performance plasma cutter.It is essential to have a basic idea about the metal thickness that will be cut with a plasma cutter. The metal thickness has a direct affect on the equipment size. For operations where cutting thin metals are involved, a smaller machine will be sufficient whereas for cutting thick metals heavier equipment is required.A CNC plasma cutter involves working with plasma at elevated temperatures; therefore all safety procedures should be strictly enforced and accepted.There are several types of casting furnaces which includeElectric Arc furnaces, Blast furnaces, Cornwall Iron Furnace, etc. Here’s aquick review of some of them.Electric Arc Furnace:This furnace can be described as a furnace heating charged materials by theway of an electric arc. These furnaces exist in all the sizes-right, from thesmallest one having a capacity of around 1 ton to the largest one having acapacity of 400 tons. The former one is used in foundries to produce cast ironproducts, whereas the latter one is used for secondary steel making. The onesused by dentists and in research laboratories might be having capacity of a fewgrams only. The electric arc furnace can have temperatures risen up to 1800Celsius. The first electric furnaces came into being in 1907, at the hands ofPaul Heroult of French origin. The commercial part of these furnaces wasestablished in the United States of America. In the beginning, the specialtyproduct used in the making of spring steel and machine tools was electricsteel. Calcium Carbide was also prepared in these arc furnaces. It (calciumcarbide) was used in carbide lamps.This furnace comprises of a refractory-lined vessel, normallywater-cooled in huge sizes, having a covering of a retractable roof, throughwhich the entry of graphite electrodes takes place. They might be one or manyin number.

The furnace is divided into 3 sections: the shell, consisting oflower steel bowl and sidewalls, the hearth, consisting of refractory lining thelower bowl, and the roof, that can be water-cooled or refractory-lined, and caneasily be shaped into a spherical section or conical section (frustum). Arefractory delta is also supported by the roof at its center, by the way ofwhich graphite electrodes make an entry. The process of operation starts with delivery of scrap metalto scrap bay which is located adjoining melt shop. After that, the loading ofscrap into huge buckets or baskets takes place. The next step is to carry thisbasket to the melt shop. The charging takes place here. After the completion ofcharging, let the electrodes be allowed to enter and placed onto scrap. Thiscauses the arc to be struck. Lower voltage is preferred for this part (ofoperation) to provide protection to the walls and roof against arc damage andexcessive heat. After having the electrodes reached the heavy melt, shieldingof arcs by scrap takes place. This enables a rapid formation of molten pool,thereby decreasing tap-to-tap times. Oxygen is also allowed to enter.Blast Furnace:It can be referred to as a kind of metallurgical furnace, through which theprocess of smelting takes place. This produces metals, normally iron. Thesefurnaces trace their origin to China (around 500 BC). They were also found inBelgium and England later.