Miller 375 X-Treme plasma cutter, tip question

[nporst]

A question for all the plasma cutting experts. I brought the Miller 375 E-Treme plasma cutter, read the manual, then did some test cuts. I wanted to make as clean as cut as possible so I also brought the staight edge guide with the two wheels. This allows the user to maintain a constant stand off. It worked fine but was bulky and hard to use near a narrow edge. Miller offers a three part accessory that allows you to hold the torch , ICE-27T, right on the work. Part #'s 225671 Tip, 225672 Retaining Cup, and 225616 Drag Shield. My question? When assembled the tip is flush with the drag shield, which means there is no stand off. Logic tells me this is a worthless setup. The manager at WestAir agreed and advised against spending the money. He did show me a drag shield for a different Miller torch and the shield had notchs in it which seemed to form a smalll amount of stand off. Has anyone used these parts for the ICE-27T with any success or is Miller just selling worthless accessories. Thanks for the input.

[cruizer]

That drag shield holds the nozzel about 1/32 to 1/16 of an inch away from the work piece. This is good as most other drag cups hold the nozzle much farther away, which leads you to buy a great quantity of nozzles as you burn them up.....

They ain't cheap by the way.

Besides once you start your cut, you can drag the nozze on the work piece anyways without damage to the nozzle, however if you have the nozzle backed far away say 1/4" with a stand off, your nozzle life will be cut in half or more at great $$$ to you.

[fun4now]

i thought the 375 was a drag tip as is?? but the 3 part one sounds similer to the drag tip on the spec 125-C which works verry well for me. i have to agree about the wheel strait edge, i dont care for it much myself. i think i used it one time befor putting it away and never taking it out again.... ..about 5 years ago.
cruizer makes an excelent point about the consumables getting burned up fast at higher stand offs. its a fast burn up with too much stand off no question about that. when i was cutting 3/16" i used a larger stand off to get a better cut and it eats up the tip fast. i dont think i am suposed to be cutting that thick but if its the best option you got ya go for it and buy the needed tips due to the cuts.i only had a few feet to cut and didnt want to use the O/A in that spot so i went with my plasma and made it cut.

[hankj]

A question for all the plasma cutting experts.

I brought the Miller 375 E-Treme plasma cutter, read the manual, then did some test cuts. I wanted to make as clean as cut as possible so I also brought the staight edge guide with the two wheels.

This allows the user to maintain a constant stand off. It worked fine but was bulky and hard to use near a narrow edge.

Miller offers a three part accessory that allows you to hold the torch , ICE-27T, right on the work. Part #'s 225671 Tip, 225672 Retaining Cup, and 225616 Drag Shield.

My question? When assembled the tip is flush with the drag shield, which means there is no stand off. Logic tells me this is a worthless setup.

The manager at WestAir agreed and advised against spending the money. He did show me a drag shield for a different Miller torch and the shield had notchs in it which seemed to form a smalll amount of stand off.

Has anyone used these parts for the ICE-27T with any success or is Miller just selling worthless accessories. Thanks for the input.

Just tried to make your question easier to read!

Welcome aboard.

Hank

[fun4now]

do a serch on plasma torches, i know we coverd this befor and iyt seems like the 375 was a dragable tip as is?? although they may well have changed the tip . might give a call direct to tec. suport at miller if the serch is of no help.

[Miller RicJames]

That drag shield holds the nozzel about 1/32 to 1/16 of an inch away from the work piece. This is good as most other drag cups hold the nozzle much farther away, which leads you to buy a great quantity of nozzles as you burn them up.....

They ain't cheap by the way.

Besides once you start your cut, you can drag the nozze on the work piece anyways without damage to the nozzle, however if you have the nozzle backed far away say 1/4" with a stand off, your nozzle life will be cut in half or more at great $$$ to you.

That is actually the opposite of correct. With the 375 Xtreme you can drag the standard tip on material due to the low amount of cutting amperage. Anytime the tip makes contact with the work piece though the arc cannot distinguish between the workpiece and the tip so there is a "double arc" that occurs. This will shorten the life of the tip considerably. The "drag" tip is actually neutral and prevents this double arcing. If you keep about 1/8 of an inch from the work piece you will have the best consumable life and the cleanest cut. The longer the arc (stand-off), the more voltage you have. Because of this I would not recommend draging the standard tip on anything thicher than 1/8 inch thick material. Dragging will usually cause more dross to form on the underside of the workpiece also, due to the arc voltage being at its minimum.

If you have any more questions about this, by all means, feel free to call me.
Ric (920) 831-4854

[cruizer]

I was under the impression that the extreme drag tips had an inverted cone to allow the unit to maintain a proper cutting arc while being dragged after starting . Many do it and they don't go through as many tips as those with the stand offs. See customers with a pile of blown tips and those with only a few. Gotta match the stand off with the torch though.