Question to Jim Holt

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Hi Jim, as you see I just bought a new 45xp, I have owned a few plasma cutters in the past and as we all know the consumables can be pricey depending on where we go to find the best price. My question is After Market consumables. I’m sure we might hear factory parts are the best but wanted to hear what you and others have to say about them as far as life span and cut quality. Thanks in advance.
Reply:Opps sorry for the miss spell on your name Mr Colt. My fingers dont hit the keys right all the time.
Reply:I have some aftermarket tips right now for my TD cutter. They work, they cost less but they don't seem to hold up like the oem consumables do.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:

Originally Posted by snoeproe

I have some aftermarket tips right now for my TD cutter. They work, they cost less but they don't seem to hold up like the oem consumables do.
Reply:Good advice.

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Last edited by storeman; 03-16-2018 at 10:02 PM.30+ yrs Army Infantry & Field Artillery, 25 yrs agoMiller 350LX Tig Runner TA 210, spool gunLincoln 250/250 IdealArcESAB PCM 500i PlasmaKazoo 30"  vert BSKazoo 9x16 horiz BSClausing 12x24 lathe20T Air Press
Reply:You bought the best manufacturer of plasma cutters out there. Why would you think on trying to save on generic parts ? If you use it that much I'm sure you can find a bulk supplier that will supply OEM parts for pretty close to the cheap stuff. The cheap stuff is what you will get. We need to shop smart these days.When I bought my MILLER mig machines I bought MILLER consumables at the same time. They gave me the real stuff for same price as the cheap junk.
Reply:Well, Hypertherm owns an aftermarket company Centricut. So how do you know if your OEM parts are Hypertherm or Centricut in Hyp packaging? There are a few very good aftermarket companies out there ( Non China ) that have to be as good or better than OEM at a better cost or they wouldn't have a company. I agree with the above, Try and compare. I think you will like what you find.
Reply:I want to Thank all who gave there opinions on OEM to Aftermarket , I agree yes there is Junk aftermarket and then there’s some decent aftermarket. The thing I look at is like do you use OEM oil filters on your equipment of after market?Sometimes not always there’s something that’s as good or no its best to use OEM. i can do my own test and compare, But was asking if anyone else has tried and what was there results . Thanks again.
Reply:First, the real cost of consumable parts is what they cost per part or per foot of cut. What you pay for them at the welding supply store...or on line is only the purchase price. Second, plasma torches, in order to produce a 25,000 degree F plasma arc need to utilize properly designed components that use the laws of high temperature physics. The nozzle in every plasma torch is made of copper, which melts at just over 1000 F, yet the plasma arc passes through a tiny orifice on this nozzle......why does the nozzle not melt immediately?  The electrode in an air plasma torch is produced of a special copper blend (necessary for heat transfer), that is bonded to a small diameter hafnium rod using a proprietary process that assures good heat transfer as well as electrical connection between copper and hafnium. The swirl ring acts as an electrical insulator, a slide bearing as well as a gas (air) flow device that swirls the gas flow in a way that it acts as a centrifuge to sling the heavier, un-ionized gas particles to the outside of the plasma jet (to assist with nozzle bore cooling. I could go on about the technology and the precision manufacturing that is necessary to produce consumable parts that are designed to maintain good cut quality throughout their life (some consumable parts deteriorate on a linear scale starting with the first pierce, Hypertherm works hard to maintain cut quality until near the end of consumable life). Hypertherm's machine shops in Hanover and Lebanon NH USA are state of the art.....with equipment that is designed to produce high volume precision components at a reasonable price.  Most aftermarket suppliers choose to offshore their consumables to locations where labor rates are low....instead of investing in high technology manufacturing processes. These companies often just dimensionally copy Hypertherm consumables, though without access to our engineering drawings they cannot control critical stack up tolerances. Further, they do not use the same hafnium / copper bonding techniques, and the majority of them do not use the same blends of copper we do.....rather they choose copper that is easier to machine (to lower their manufacturing costs).Bottom line: Aftermarket consumables often will provide similar cut quality right out of the box, as compared to genuine Hypertherm parts. Cut quality over time will diminish much more quickly with the aftermarket parts......so tolerances, dross, angularity will get worse with each start, as opposed to the designed in cut quality that with Hypertherm parts holds up until near the end of life. We call it "Quality over Time". Further, as consumables wear, there is more heat produced inside the torch body (energy that is supposed to be added to the cutting arc!). We do see a higher incidence of torch damaged caused by internal arcing and heat buildup with aftermarket parts.Lastly, Hypertherm designs all of their torches and consumables with a team of process engineers that include many advanced engineering and physics degrees. Whenever there is a new invention, such as conical flow technology or spring electrode technology (and close to two hundred more), we get international patents in order to protect our intellectual property (we spend millions in engineering research and development, others copy). Often, the aftermarket consumables leave out the things (conical flow on all Hypertherm Duramax shielded nozzles is one example) that help Hypertherm systems cut faster, with squarer edges, less dross and longer life......so they do not infringe on our patents. Others will blatently copy our patented technology.....and that keeps our patent attorneys employed and busy!So  Cheaper to Buy is not the same as Cheaper to Operate. when cutting 10 gauge steel it cost about 1/4 cent per foot (consumable cost using genuine Hypertherm parts). So....saving a small fraction of that 1/4 cent is not going to even be noticeable in the overall cost of cutting. I suggest not risking damage, downtime, etc. Use genuine parts.  Jim Colt   Hypertherm   

Originally Posted by welder99

Hi Jim, as you see I just bought a new 45xp, I have owned a few plasma cutters in the past and as we all know the consumables can be pricey depending on where we go to find the best price. My question is After Market consumables. I’m sure we might hear factory parts are the best but wanted to hear what you and others have to say about them as far as life span and cut quality. Thanks in advance.
Reply:Centricut is owned by Hypertherm. They produce laser and plasma parts for non-Hypertherm equipment. Every part that comes from Centricut is engineered, and often patented with our technology....to outperform the original OEM parts. Again, produced here in the USA, and engineered using our technology resources.....not copied parts as most aftermarket suppliers do.    Jim Colt   Hypertherm

Originally Posted by Rondo

Well, Hypertherm owns an aftermarket company Centricut. So how do you know if your OEM parts are Hypertherm or Centricut in Hyp packaging? There are a few very good aftermarket companies out there ( Non China ) that have to be as good or better than OEM at a better cost or they wouldn't have a company. I agree with the above, Try and compare. I think you will like what you find.
Reply:A couple grand in air and a couple grand in a cutter and PSE...this aint worth wetting the bed overhttp://www.hypermaxonline.com/Hypert...Kit_p_779.html
Reply:Hi Jim, THANK YOU very much for the very in-depth details of plasma cutter consumables. I figured this was the place to come to get the straight up answers I was looking for. As I mentioned I have seen some aftermarket parts not just cutting consumables that are some what up or as good as OEM. I dont mind spending the money on the best parts .I do ask a lot of questions from time to time to get as much information that I can. Again that’s for the information. And the input from others here on the forum.