Welding Cart - Open Concept part 3, Ahp plasma cutter, and PlasmaCam first run

click here to see the part 1 article of the open concept welding cart project

This is part 3 of this open cart welder cart project.

in this video you will see:

• a quick review of the previous 2 videos on building this cart
  
• AHP Alpha Cut 60 plasma cutter trial
  
• Plasma cutting aluminum tread plate for decking
• a preview of the PlasmaCam
  

part 2 welding cart video is below

in case you missed it see part 1 below

learn more about the MagTab at weldmonger.com

Part 3 and final segment of the open concept welding cart project

This is part 3 ...the final segment of the open concept welding cart project.

The only thing left to do on this welding cart project is to cut some aluminum tread plate for the decking.

But...I have a brand new AHP Alpha cut 60 (60 amp) plasma cutter that was sent to me for review and so in addition to cutting the 1/8” aluminum tread plate, I cut some thicker steel plates as well.

Sometimes, on aluminum, a plasma cutter can leave a rough edge on the back side...and I have seen some aluminum tread plate that was cut from the smooth side that required extensive cleanup on the tread side...so I decided to cut from the shiny side with the tread bumps...even though dragging the torch was not as smooth. 

Using a straight edge clamped to the tread plate, and about 45 amps and 90 psi air pressure, The AHP did a very good job cutting the aluminum the tread plate.

So then I bumped up amperage to max and cut a 3/8” A36 steel test plate along with another plate that had a 1/4” backer along with some weld reinforcement…making for a total thickness of about 3/4” .
I decided to remove the drag tip for that cut and although cut speed was much slower than on the 3/8” plate, it cut it very well.

side note for all plasma cutters….clean dry air, adequate pressure, and adequate volume are very important for getting the most out of a plasma cutter, and for getting the longest life out of the consumables.

So now the welding cart is complete.  I painted it red because the Lincoln powermig 210 mp is going on it.

And maybe even another Lincoln Tig welder that should be arriving any day now.

PlasmaCam trial run.

One of the first things everyone does with a plasma cam is to create a logo or sign.

So that was the very first project for my plasmacam.

using some 18 ga cold rolled steel leftover from making the down chute for the plasmacam, it cut out my logo in no time.

I have a lot to learn in order to become a proficient plasmacam user but I am looking forward to all the projects I will be able to do when I get better at it.

AHP Alpha cut 60 first impressions

I think for the money, this is a pretty darn good plasma cutter. The torch feels good, the torch cable is nice, and it fired up and cut like it was supposed to.

In my opinion, 3/4" thick steel is what you can expect to cut realistically. 

In other words, it will make a good quality cut on 3/4" and it will probably sever one inch thick steel in a pinch... but air would have to be good and  dry , with plenty of air pressure and a really good ground connection in order to cut one inch thick steel.