Page 38 - MetalForming September 2015

Plasma Cutting
The plasma unit, using HyDefinition technology to align and focus the plasma
arc, delivers numerous ben- efits, according to Hyper- therm officials, including improved arc stability, narrow kerf width to enable fine feature cutting and minimize material waste, dross-free cutting to min- imize part cleanup, and repeat- able cut-edge quality.
Also at Loveman, a recently
retrofitted 600-A PAC water table,
156 in. wide by 552 in. long, cuts
stainless and carbon steel to 2
in. thick. This table boasts a
recently retrofitted Burny 10 con-
trol system from Lincoln Electric (Cleveland, OH), replacing outdated, unsupported controls. The retrofit also included a new Esab (Florence, SC) torch lifter and torch-lifter controls.
Speed, Quality Key in Fabrication Work
With its tables humming and backed by various other forming and joining equipment, Loveman churns out a diverse collection of fabrications. Its PAC capabilities have
brought the speed, flexibil- ity and accuracy necessary to turn these jobs at a profit while satisfying strict cus- tomer quality and precision
requirements.
“If we had to rely on oxyfuel
cutting instead of plasma, we couldn’t compete on many of these jobs,” explains Loveman’s Rob Campbell, maintenance supervisor.
Slicing through 0.375-in.-thick carbon steel at an average of 150- 200 in./min (about 90 in./min. for thicker material), the plasma-cut- ting tables work fast, whereas oxy- fuel often limits out at about 10
in./min. In addition, Loveman works plenty with stainless steel, and oxyfuel is no option there.
Convector plates used in the steel industry serve as one example of challenging work undertaken by Loveman made possible through the use of plasma-cutting technology.
Plasma-cutting tables cut the plates and ribs, and also cut plate holes and notches in a swirl pattern (the ribs are cut in a curved pattern to match the arc of the plate patterns).
36 MetalForming/September 2015
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Plasma-cutting capability allows Loveman to win work fab- ricating convector plates used in coil annealing. The plates shown here, fabricated from carbon steel, rest between coils as coil stacks sit in an annealing furnace. Each plate consists of two face plates with ribs sandwiched between. Plasma-cutting tables cut the plates and ribs, and also cut plate holes and notches in a swirl pattern (the ribs are cut in a curved pattern to match the arc of the plate patterns).