Hypertherm powermax 600 consumables

[2rods]

Thinking of getting this machine and was wondering what the consumables from China are like? Lots on Ebay for a decent price but are they as good as OEM? Thanks.

[LarryO]

Dont know personally, but i doubt it.

[jimcolt]

They cost less to buy, but since they don't last as long....they are more expensive to use. The one part that I am concerned with is the electrode....if you look at the genuine Hypertherm electrode it is manufactured with a spiral groove on the end that inserts first into the torch. The spiral groove is a patented heat exchanger....which is difficult to manuafcture. I have never seen an aftermarket supplier that makes this electrode the way Hypertherm does. Without the spiral groove...there is a tremendous amount of heat that transfers back into the plunger assembly inside the torch...this heat can damage the insulator that the plunger has to slide freely in....if the insulator gets damaged or carbonized..the torch will fail.

Another part that I have seen issues with is the shield....Hypertherm machines in vent holes in the front of the shield that are engineered to equalize pressure in the shield....which creates a more square cut edge. Most aftermarket suppliers leave these vent holes out of the shield....as it works ok without them...and the shield is less costly to manufacture.

Buying Hypertherm consumables is kind of like buying a more expensive set of tires with a longer tread life rating....and better traction!

Jim Colt

[2rods]

Thanks for the info Jim. Very well explained. If I buy this machine I'll use the oem parts. How old would this machine be and what is it worth? Apparently is has hardly been used. Thanks again.

[jimcolt]

We stopped manufacturing the Powermax600 soon after we introduced the Powermax45....maybe 18 months or so ago. To find the date that the system was built, I would need the serial number....actually if you have the serial number you can go on the Hypertherm web site (www.hypertherm.com) and sign in to the x-net (tab at the top of the home page).....which may let you look up that info yourself....I'm not 100% sure though!

It will be supported for many years...we sold well over 50,000 of the Powermax600's!

As far as consumables on Ebay....many of the vendors sell genuine Hypertherm parts.....if they are from Hypertherm they are all made in our shops in Hanover, NH, USA.

Jim

[pandinus]

And the Hypertherm consumables are (I believe laser) etched with part numbers on them so you know for sure you are putting in the cutting nozzle and not the gouge nozzle...

[jimcolt]

They are laser etched....but if you are over 50.....you will need a magnifier to read the part numbers! There is an H, a date/batch code, and a 6 digit part number on every consumable from Hypertherm!