Hypertherm Plasma Cutter Price?

[BobInMN]

I've been thinking of buying a Plasma cutter. Went and talked to a salesman today. He asked me on what I planned on cutting. I told him I have some projects that I want to build that will require cutting 3/8" and sometimes 1/2". He recommended the Hypertherm 1000 G3 Series. List price was $2870.00 and it was on sale for $2365.00. Does this sound reasonable?

I agree with what others have posted about buying from a local dealer. The guy seemed very knowledgable and anwsered all my questions. I didn't feel like he was pressuring me into buying or trying to blow smoke up my butt.

He said that consumables would run about $11.00 per set. He told me that a set of consumables were rated for 2.5 hours if used on a CNC machine (which I will not be doing).

He also gave me a price on a Powermax 45, list $2019.00, on sale for $1665.00. I am thinking that these prices might be a little high. What do you think?

 

[alltoys]

I think since you are cutting 3/8 and heavier material it is better to use a torch (oxy/acetylene). Plasma works very well on lite gage material up to 10ga or less. It takes a lot of air pressure and patience to cut 1/2 inch material with a plasma cutter that is rated for 1 and 1/2 inch thick material.

Plasma on lite gage is great as it stops warpage and is fast. A Plasma rated for 1 and 1/2 inch material works good up to 3/8 material in an industrial setting.

This is my experience with the units.

 

[oldhippy]

I am thinking about buying a Hypertherm Powermax 45 Plasma cutter. This machine is rated for 1/2" cut. These machines are light weight and do a super job. The local salesman will sell me one for 1600 about the same price as ebay. If it don't work when I get in then he can get me another one without the hassle of phone calls and return shipping. Except for portabley I will take a plasma cutter over a torch anyday. Hope you enjoy your new cutter. big dan

 

[J_J]

That seems like a reasonable price. I have a Lincoln Pro-Cut-55, and it will cut 3/4 in, and sever 1 and 1/4 in.. The air source must be clean and dry. In thicker metals, you will not have a perpendicular cut, as there is a small cone shape to the plasma, even with CNC. If you want precision holes, use a circle cutter adapter, and finish the hole with a reamer. For straight cuts, use a straight guide, and a drag tip. For piercing cuts, hold the plasma cutter higher so the molted metal will blow out and not up maybe clogging the tip. The below website has some good tools you can use with the plasma cutter.

The best thing about plasma cutting is that it will cut any metal. steel. stainless steel. aluminum. copper, etc

alltoys is correct about oxy/acetylene cutting, it will give a more vertical cut.


http://www.flangewizard.com/plasma_cutting_guide.html

http://www.usweldingsupply.com/filecabinet/pdf/Flangewi.pdf

 

[kenstrac]

I worked as facilities manger. in several metal shops we had 4 tables at one were 5x9 and the other one was 5x12 we cut a lot on these tables 18 ga to 1/2 inch we also had 6 hyperthem 900 in shop use ,we used the 900s for custom as built weldments never had a problem black iron ,ss,galv.etc even insulation.
we also had 3 smaller units we would send out on jobs in the field had a problem with one service guy left it in back of P/U truck(abuse) called Hypertherm very nice people to deal with got it up and running.
I also had to order and keep track of all the welding gasses for the welders and 1 oxy act. torch we had in Maint with the price of gases and the hazardous handling surcharges it not worth using a torch, the Finish product after cutting is much cleaner with less grinding and chipping.
My recommendation is Hypertherm made in USA and customer service tech.USA

 

[tlbuser]

List price was $2870.00 and it was on sale for $2365.00. Does this sound reasonable?

yea, it's reasonable but still higher than my local dealer. I have an older powermax 1000 that we use handheld and on a plasmacam table. No complaints yet. Kerf can be adjusted and offset for cleaner cuts.

 

[jimcolt]

Bob,

I work for the Hypertherm Factory in NH....and I personally own 3 Hypertherm units for my home/farm shop. I have a Powermax30, Powermax45 and a Powermax1000. For your applications...the 45 would be a perfect systems. It will actually sever over 1"....and will cut 1/2" material exceptionally well. It is a great portable plasma system! The prices you have from your LWS are well below Hypertherm's suggested list prices....I would suggest buying there....maybe youcould get them to throw in a pair of weding gloves or shade 6 glasses or something! Good luck.....and I'd be happy to answer any plasma related questions you may have!

Jim Colt Hypertherm

I've been thinking of buying a Plasma cutter. Went and talked to a salesman today. He asked me on what I planned on cutting. I told him I have some projects that I want to build that will require cutting 3/8" and sometimes 1/2". He recommended the Hypertherm 1000 G3 Series. List price was $2870.00 and it was on sale for $2365.00. Does this sound reasonable?

I agree with what others have posted about buying from a local dealer. The guy seemed very knowledgable and anwsered all my questions. I didn't feel like he was pressuring me into buying or trying to blow smoke up my butt.

He said that consumables would run about $11.00 per set. He told me that a set of consumables were rated for 2.5 hours if used on a CNC machine (which I will not be doing).

He also gave me a price on a Powermax 45, list $2019.00, on sale for $1665.00. I am thinking that these prices might be a little high. What do you think?

 

[Trails2004]

Hi Jim

Thanks for visiting- I think the original post was nearly a year old?? It is great to hear about Hypertherm--- Some day I will have to buy one!!

 

[Dargo]

I think since you are cutting 3/8 and heavier material it is better to use a torch (oxy/acetylene). Plasma works very well on lite gage material up to 10ga or less. It takes a lot of air pressure and patience to cut 1/2 inch material with a plasma cutter that is rated for 1 and 1/2 inch thick material.

Plasma on lite gage is great as it stops warpage and is fast. A Plasma rated for 1 and 1/2 inch material works good up to 3/8 material in an industrial setting.

This is my experience with the units.

I cut train tracks with my plasma cutter with no problem. To cut 3/8" or 1/2" is nothing for a mid sized plasma cutter. I certainly don't cut any slower than with a torch, that's for sure. A plasma cutter rated for 1 1/2" material would walk through 3/8" at several inches per second. I don't know what you're talking about. For outdoor and large volume cutting of steel I don't know any shop around that uses O/A. Every one I've ever seen uses propane/oxygen for heavy stuff and for large volume. My tanks apparently don't leak because I still have some fuel in my O/A tanks and I haven't touched them in 15 years or so.

 

[joes_427_vette]

I checked out a hypertherm 45 and found it to be fine for thin metals. We had problems on the 1/2" with poping and starting a cut in the center of the piece. I believe the price was in the 1600 range. I went with O/A for less than 1/3 the price. This included the largest tanks, ( lifetime lease with 60% buy back ) free first fill, and a new torch from Northern Hydraulics. I find alot of usage for heating metals to get them apart or straightening... something a plasma can't do.
If I do get a plasma it will be a hypertherm. I believe they are the best on the market for smaller private usage.