welding teacher

[Glands]

Installed a new whip. Worked great. Took cup off so that students would have to check the cup to use it.

Put cup on and it would not work. It would try but could not get it to stay lit.


Checked capacitors and have 400v on both at 0.

I tightened the cup and loosened it 1/4 turn and it worked great.

I came in this morning, never changed anything and now it works for a second and stops. Any help? I don't have a budget to send it in, I have to fix everything..:/

[just_a_girl]

okay, I'll be the one to ask. I think you need to give more info. Cup? The nozzle on the tig torch? But you said stinger? I think most would be confused and would need more info.

[jessehornberger]

Plasma cutter?

if so there are usualy contact points on the torch to make shure it is on all the way, one could be broken or tips migh not be seated all the way?

[cruizer]

Ok, WHAT machine are using that your checking capacitors. Very confused....

[H80N]

???

Greg
there are a lot of knowledgable qualified people on this board ready to expend their time and energy trying to help you.... but you have to formulate your question with enough info that people have a clue as to what in the blue blazes you are talking about??? otherwise it is just a total waste of everybody's time...
last I looked we do not have a resident psychic....
help us out here...

how would you handle it if one of your students asked you such an open ended nonspecific question???

[Glands]

Welding Teacher

Sorry guys. I have a Spectrum 2050 Plasma. It is 4 years old and the whip had been damaged, it worked but was a safety issue so I replace it. I plugged it in and started using it right away. I unscrewed the cup and took the tip and cup into my office so that it could not be used unless I gave the students the cup and tip. So the next day I put the tip back on and try to use it and it would not start. It would spark a bit, try to go but would not keep cutting. Ground is fine, air pressure is great. When I pull the trigger I can hear it click inside, but it didn't go. I read a blog that said to check the capacitors to see if they had proper voltage and they both did. Then I read further and someone said to unscrew the cup 1/4 turn and I did that and it worked. I used it all afternoon and everything was great. I go in this morning and turn it on and it was doing something similar. If I would tap the drag tip it would start and work for about 2 inches. It's almost like trying to scratch an arc for welding rod. When it starts I have to stay really close and not stop or it will be hard to start again. Sorry I didn't have much info this morning, I had just started class and was in a hurry. THank YOu for your help

[H80N]

Have you gone through the troubleshooting in the back of the manual??

here is a link to the man

http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o2228r_mil.pdf

loss of pilot arc due to worn out consumables??? maybe??

[H80N]

I have been told that the Spectrum 2050 is built for Miller by Hypertherm and is the same machine as a Powermax 1250

for a Powermax 1250 Service manual follow this link to the Hypertherm Doc Download site..

https://www.hypertherm.com/Xnet/library/library.jsp?locale=en

if this is wrong and I am mistaken about the linkage between the two cutters pls correct me..

[Country Metals]

As far as unscrewing the cup a 1/4 turn, it sounds like the safety is going to far and falling off its switch. Unscrewing it allows it to come back on. If you screw the cup on way to tight this can cause the problem. It happened to me when one of my guys did it on my miller 875.

[flukecej]

Similar Issue on Hypertherm PM1000G3

I had a similar issue as yours with my Hypertherm Powermax 1000 G3. I had the technician troubleshooting manual available to me and went through a series of checks. My problem wound up being a dirty RT60 handle. I had to disassemble the cutter handle, also referred to as a gun in the manual. I had to carefully clean the trigger switch assembly and cut safety switch. Once cleaned and reassembled, the plasma fired every time like it was supposed to.

The test I went through to determine this were not in the user/owners manual. I got my technician guide FREE from Hypertherm after a FACTORY RECALL and the noise I made about my failure issues with bad soldering on the circuit boards.

Taking the cutter gun apart is not that hard, just work on a clean surface and keep track of all your parts. A high quality Electrical/Electronic contact cleaner ($20.00+ per can) will clean any carbon buildup and not leave any residue behind to cause problems in the future. I use a high temp silicon in the threads of the cup (apply sparingly) so the cup and sheild don't bind. \

Backing the cup off a 1/4 turn will cause the safety switch on the cup to trip the safety circuits in the machine so the machine and the user are not damaged.

Hope this helps if this is the problem.

Charlie Johnson

[ccawgc]

Spectrum 2050 55 amp is an ITW built machine. Only the torch is built by hypertherm. Should have an ICE55 torch. Start at square one. Make sure the right consumable are in the torch. make sure you can turn the swirl ring around and it doesn't hang up. If these torches are dropped with out the cap you can deform the head. Threads get damaged and head goes out of round. If you jam the swirl ring in a bent head the electrode will not move right and the torch will not fire.
If the head looks right. Put all new consumables in it. turn the cap on until it stops then back off 1/8 turn or less. Put the plasma in gas test and make sure the pressure is set to 65 to 70 psi. Set back to run. find the tip saver switch and put it in the middle position. ( normal cut) Top is expanded metal and the bottom is tip saver. Now attempt to fire the torch and cut. If it fires but does not cut. double check the work lead and clamp. make sure clamp has good contact.
If still no cut, back the cap off some more, about a 1/16 turn at a time.
I will recommend that you always leave the cap on the torch. Just take the rest of the consumables out. If you want to keep it from being used. The ICE 55 torch needs the tip and electrode in place to activate the safety switch.