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Plasma Arc

1. Plasma machining uses a plasma arc generated between a tungsten cathode and copper anode to reach temperatures over 30,000°C and vaporize metal during machining. 2. There are several types of plasma machining systems including plasma arc, plasma jet, gas-shielded plasma, water-shielded plasma, and air plasma which differ in how the plasma is generated and protected. 3. Plasma machining can cut a variety of materials like stainless steel and aluminum at high speeds and is useful for machining difficult materials.

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153 views

Plasma Arc

1. Plasma machining uses a plasma arc generated between a tungsten cathode and copper anode to reach temperatures over 30,000°C and vaporize metal during machining. 2. There are several types of plasma machining systems including plasma arc, plasma jet, gas-shielded plasma, water-shielded plasma, and air plasma which differ in how the plasma is generated and protected. 3. Plasma machining can cut a variety of materials like stainless steel and aluminum at high speeds and is useful for machining difficult materials.

Uploaded by

Tanu Rd
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Plasma Beam Machining

Introduction
When the temperature of a gas is raised to about 2000C, the gas
molecules become dissociated into separate atoms. At higher
temperatures, 30,000C, these atoms become ionized. The gas in this
stage is termed plasma.
Machining systems
In plasma machining a continuous arc is generated between a hot
tungsten cathode and the water-cooled copper anode. A gas is introduced
around the cathode and flows through the anode. The temperature, in the
narrow orifice around the cathode, reaches 28,000C, which is enough to
produce a high-temperature plasma arc. Under these conditions, the
metal being machined is very rapidly melted and vaporized. The stream of
ionized gases flushes away the machining debris as a fine spray creating
flow lines on the machined surface. The general characteristics of PBM are
shown in Table.

The removal rates by this method are substantially higher than


those of conventional single-point turning operation.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Plasma machining systems are divided into


plasma arc,
plasma jet,
shielded plasma,
air plasma.

-1-

Plasma arc.

As shown in Fig. 5.49, the arc is struck from the rear electrode of the
plasma torch to the conductive workpiece causing temperatures as high
as 33,300C. The double arcing effect between the nozzle and the
workpiece damages the electrode and the workpiece. High heat transfer
rates are found to occur during plasma arc due to the transfer of all the
anode heat to the workpiece. Owing to the greater efficiency ofplasma arc
systems, they are often used for machining metals. Plasma arc
does not depend on a chemical reaction between the gas and the work
metal. Because the temperature is high, the process is suitable for any
electrically conductive material including those that are resistant to oxyfuel gas cutting.
Plasma jet.

In this system, shown in Fig. 5.50, the nontransferred arc is operated


within the torch itself. Only ionized gas (plasma) is emitted as a jet
causing temperature as high as 16,600C. Since the torch itself is the
anode, a large part of the anode heat is extracted by the cooling water
-2-

and is not effectively used in the material removal process. Nonconductive


materials that are difficult to machine, by conventional methods, are often
successfully tackled by the plasma jet system.
Gas-shielded plasma.
When machining different materials such as aluminum, stainless
steel, and mild steel, assisting gases may have to be used in order to
produce cuts of acceptable quality. In such a case an outer shield of gas, is
added, around the nozzle, to reduce the effect of the atmosphere on the
machining gas (nitrogen or argon). The shielding gas depends on the
metal being machined. For stainless steel, aluminum and other nonferrous
metals, hydrogen is often used as a shielding gas. Carbon dioxide is
popular for ferrous and nonferrous metals. For mild steels, air or oxygen
may be also used.
Water-shielded plasma.

As shown in Fig. 5.51, nitrogen is used for machining while the


shield gas is replaced by water. Water forms a radial jacket around the
plasma torch. The cooling effect of water is reported to reduce the width
of the cutting zone and improve the quality of cut.
Air plasma.

-3-

Compressed air is used as the machining gas instead of nitrogen or


argon (Fig. 5.52). When air is subjected to the high temperature of the
electric arc, it breaks down into its constituent gases. Since the oxygen, in
the resulting plasma, is very reactive especially with ferrous metals,
machining rates are raised by 25 percent. The main drawback of this
method is the heavily oxidized surface, which is frequently obtained in
case of stainless steel and aluminum. Because tungsten is reactive with
oxygen, hafnium copper (HfCu) or hafniumzirconium (HfZr) alloys also
replace tungsten electrodes. However, the life of these electrodes
becomes shorter. Electrically conductive materials such as stainless and
chrome nickel alloy steels, aluminum, and copper can be machined by air
plasma. Since air is used for machining and shielding purposes, the
machining cost is about half that of gas- or watershielded plasma. When a
gas mixture of 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen
is used, the machining rate of mild steel is increased by about 25 percent.
Applications
1. PAM is an attractive turning method for difficult-to-machine materials
by conventional methods. In this regard, cutting speeds of 2 m/min and a
feed rate of 5 mm per revolution produced a surface
finish of 0.5 mm Rt. The depth of cut can be controlled through the
machining power or surface speed.
2. Computer numerical controlled PBM is used for profile cutting of metals
that are difficult to tackle by oxyacetylene gas technique such as stainless
steel and aluminum. A large number of parts can also be produced from
one large sheet thus eliminating shearing operations.
3. A plasma arc can cut tubes of wall thickness of up to 50 mm. In this
case no deburring is required before tube welding.
Advantages:
Requires no complicated chemical analysis or maintenance
_ Uses no harmful chlorinated fluorocarbons, solvents, or acid cleaning
chemicals
_ Operates cleanly, often eliminating the need for vapor degreasing,
solvent wiping, ultrasonic cleaning, and grit blasting
-4-

_ Requires no worker exposure to harmful chemicals


_ Needs less energy to operate
Disadvantages
_ The large power supplies needed (220 kW) are required to cut through
12-mm-thick mild steel plate at 2.5 m/min.
_ The process also produces heat that could spoil the workpiece and
produce toxic fumes.

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