Hypertherm Powermax 45 issue

[shaeff]

Today I was working on my brother's truck, replacing the tow package that had rotted significantly. The bolts were so rusty that they wouldn't budge with a breaker bar, then rounded off with a 6pt impact socket/rattle gun.

Enter the Pmax45, I pulled it out, hooked up my air supply, (Craftsmen 80 gallon that's worked fantastically for years, running through several driers- desiccant and a Motorguard, the tank on the compressor was just drained before use)

I hit the tow package with the grinder to make a good clean ground, struck an arc with the Powermax, and zapped off three 1/2" bolts like nothing. Worked perfectly just like always. I went to get the other three, and nothing happened at all. The malfunction indicator illuminates and the AC light blinks. I re-checked my ground, checked the tip, cup, swirl ring, etc..., checked the power supply, air supply, dryness of air, all checked out perfectly fine.

Anyone had this happen before? I've got less than 20 uses on this. I had to finish off with the O/A torch, which really sucked because I love my HT machine. Lucky I still had gas, otherwise we'd have had to bolt it back up until later on!

Thanks for any insight.

Cliffnotes: used pmax45, malfunction indicator illuminated (orange LED with little zigzag, green AC light blinks) Nothing happens at all when trigger is pressed.

[mechanic416]

Check the electrode plunger to make sure it is not stuck.

[shaeff]

Is that inside the machine? When you say plunger, is that the "psshhhh" sound I usually hear when I first pull the trigger on the torch?

Thanks for the reply!

[ccawgc]

Plunger is in the torch head. Remove cap and nozzle, leave electrode and swirl ring in place. push on electrode with finger. should move down and pop back up with ease.
Go to your owners manual and find the trouble shooting page. Look up what you lights are doing. It will give hints on how to fix. You can also go to hypertherm.com and down load the service manual. It has a little more detail. If both lights are flashing You might want to get it to a warranty repair station. You can call Hypertherm and ask for the closest one to you.
According to the service manual there is another light inside the case that should be blinking a code number. This should tell the warranty shop which pcb needs replacing.

[gordon stephenson]

As far as I'm aware the Powermax 45 does not have a plunger type head, How old is your machine?

[jimcolt]

It most likely will be one of the following....

- Overtightened retaining cap. Cap should be slightly snug....if overtightened the electrode will not slide freely in the torch...torch will misfire...and the troubleshooting LEDs indicate "stuck consumables".

- Worn out electrode or nozzle. Refer to the operators manual to determine end of life. Often you can get a few more starts by cleaning the end of the electrode with scotchbrite pad....do the same to the inner bore of the nozzle.

- Could be a worn swirl ring (can cause electrode to stick.), or retaining cap (air leak or incorrect flow)

-If you are using aftermarket consumables it is common to have consumables stick in the torch due to stack up tolerance defects.

-Low inlet air pressure...or low flow (caused by a restriction) will cause the consumables to misfire.

Keep us posted on what you find. Also...the Powermax45 does have a spring loaded torch plunger. The newer Powermax65, 85 and 105 as well as all Duramax torch upgrades do not have a torch plunger.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

Originally Posted by shaeff

Today I was working on my brother's truck, replacing the tow package that had rotted significantly. The bolts were so rusty that they wouldn't budge with a breaker bar, then rounded off with a 6pt impact socket/rattle gun.

Enter the Pmax45, I pulled it out, hooked up my air supply, (Craftsmen 80 gallon that's worked fantastically for years, running through several driers- desiccant and a Motorguard, the tank on the compressor was just drained before use)

I hit the tow package with the grinder to make a good clean ground, struck an arc with the Powermax, and zapped off three 1/2" bolts like nothing. Worked perfectly just like always. I went to get the other three, and nothing happened at all. The malfunction indicator illuminates and the AC light blinks. I re-checked my ground, checked the tip, cup, swirl ring, etc..., checked the power supply, air supply, dryness of air, all checked out perfectly fine.

Anyone had this happen before? I've got less than 20 uses on this. I had to finish off with the O/A torch, which really sucked because I love my HT machine. Lucky I still had gas, otherwise we'd have had to bolt it back up until later on!

Thanks for any insight.

Cliffnotes: used pmax45, malfunction indicator illuminated (orange LED with little zigzag, green AC light blinks) Nothing happens at all when trigger is pressed.

[shaeff]

Originally Posted by ccawgc

Plunger is in the torch head. Remove cap and nozzle, leave electrode and swirl ring in place. push on electrode with finger. should move down and pop back up with ease.
Go to your owners manual and find the trouble shooting page. Look up what you lights are doing. It will give hints on how to fix. You can also go to hypertherm.com and down load the service manual. It has a little more detail. If both lights are flashing You might want to get it to a warranty repair station. You can call Hypertherm and ask for the closest one to you.
According to the service manual there is another light inside the case that should be blinking a code number. This should tell the warranty shop which pcb needs replacing.

Thanks, I checked it out and it moves freely with good spring pressure. I downloaded the service manual but did not get to look at it yet. I was hoping this was something that has been encountered before and a quick fix. I'll check into that. Thanks!

Originally Posted by gordon stephenson

As far as I'm aware the Powermax 45 does not have a plunger type head, How old is your machine?

Machine is only a few months old, it does have the plunger type head.

Originally Posted by jimcolt

It most likely will be one of the following....

- Overtightened retaining cap. Cap should be slightly snug....if overtightened the electrode will not slide freely in the torch...torch will misfire...and the troubleshooting LEDs indicate "stuck consumables".

- Worn out electrode or nozzle. Refer to the operators manual to determine end of life. Often you can get a few more starts by cleaning the end of the electrode with scotchbrite pad....do the same to the inner bore of the nozzle.

- Could be a worn swirl ring (can cause electrode to stick.), or retaining cap (air leak or incorrect flow)

-If you are using aftermarket consumables it is common to have consumables stick in the torch due to stack up tolerance defects.

-Low inlet air pressure...or low flow (caused by a restriction) will cause the consumables to misfire.

Keep us posted on what you find. Also...the Powermax45 does have a spring loaded torch plunger. The newer Powermax65, 85 and 105 as well as all Duramax torch upgrades do not have a torch plunger.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

Jim, I will check out all of that. I don't have much use on this set of consumables, but I was in a very tight location working with the torch head so it may be possible that something worked it's way into the nozzle or consumables.

Thank you all for the quick responses, I'll update this thread when I find out what's wrong.

[shaeff]

Originally Posted by jimcolt

It most likely will be one of the following....

- Overtightened retaining cap. Cap should be slightly snug....if overtightened the electrode will not slide freely in the torch...torch will misfire...and the troubleshooting LEDs indicate "stuck consumables".

Checked this, cap was just snug as it's supposed to be. Never had any issue other times I've used it. Always worked perfectly, and thus far nothing has changed as far as the consumables were installed.

Originally Posted by jimcolt

- Worn out electrode or nozzle. Refer to the operators manual to determine end of life. Often you can get a few more starts by cleaning the end of the electrode with scotchbrite pad....do the same to the inner bore of the nozzle.

- Could be a worn swirl ring (can cause electrode to stick.), or retaining cap (air leak or incorrect flow)

I tried to strike an arc today. First with the existing consumables/nozzle. It fired, held for about 5 seconds, then popped off and the zigzag orange LED malfunction indicator illuminated. And again, when the torch button is pressed, nothing happens, not a single sound.

I changed out the consumables for all new stuff still wrapped in original packaging. Exact same thing happened. Everything was clean on the new setup.

Originally Posted by jimcolt

-If you are using aftermarket consumables it is common to have consumables stick in the torch due to stack up tolerance defects.

Hypertherm consumables for me only.

-Low inlet air pressure...or low flow (caused by a restriction) will cause the consumables to misfire.

Wouldn't that just cause the low air pressure lights to come on? My lights stay dead even in the middle the entire course of operation.

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

EDIT: also- I forgot to mention that I checked the Motorguard filter and it's perfectly dry.

[jimcolt]

An inlet air restriction will only cause a momentary low pressure condition....which occurs when air starts flowing (beginning of cut) and usually does not show as low pressure because as soon as air stops flowing...the inlet pressure increases.

I suggest contacting Hypertherm's tech service department with your sysmptoms. Contact ino can be found at www.hypertherm.com , click on "contact us".

Jim Colt

Originally Posted by shaeff

Checked this, cap was just snug as it's supposed to be. Never had any issue other times I've used it. Always worked perfectly, and thus far nothing has changed as far as the consumables were installed.



I tried to strike an arc today. First with the existing consumables/nozzle. It fired, held for about 5 seconds, then popped off and the zigzag orange LED malfunction indicator illuminated. And again, when the torch button is pressed, nothing happens, not a single sound.

I changed out the consumables for all new stuff still wrapped in original packaging. Exact same thing happened. Everything was clean on the new setup.




Hypertherm consumables for me only.



Wouldn't that just cause the low air pressure lights to come on? My lights stay dead even in the middle the entire course of operation.

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

EDIT: also- I forgot to mention that I checked the Motorguard filter and it's perfectly dry.

[shaeff]

Ok, I'll doublecheck all my air hose for restrictions. That makes sense. I'll also contact HT customer service. Thanks, Jim!

[shaeff]

Just to continue the trend of updating, I spoke with a tech service rep via email (fast and friendly!) and he stated that the blinking AC led indicator light implies a power supply issue. Before I bring the unit in for service, I'll double check the breaker in my garage and the outlet for defects, loose connections, etc...

Air hose has no restrictions, weak/soft spots, and to test further it runs the impact gun perfectly under very high load.

[burnit2]

This can't be true....Another Hypertherm that don't work? I hope you have better luck getting your 45 going than I did. Mine fried a few months out of warranty.. Something is Changing at Hypertherm.

[killdozerd11]

We all read your story burnit2
and this is the second time i have read of a HyperTherm having issues

Your was the first and i still question your whole story
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=130531

[farmshop]

Heaven forbid a machine actually breaks down. Machines break if parts move they wear power surges fry electronics nobody likes breakdowns but they happen. The mark of a good company is if they are still around where you need them from what I have read hypertherm services all their machines

[shaeff]

I checked my power outlet and breakers, all test fine. HT tech service has been fantastic thus far, my 45 will be going to a local certified HT repair shop soon.

Things break, but as long as the company stands behind their product for a reasonable period of time, I'm satisfied. So far HT is standing tall behind their product.

Will keep updating as things progress.

[jimcolt]

Nothing has changed at Hypertherm. There are well over 50,000 Powermax45's in the field, they are a fairly complex system...and a few will have failures. There are some failures that can occur while in warranty...some that can occur as the unit gets older.

Hypertherm monitors all product failures as they are reported to our tech service department. From this mponitoring we can track statistics....and any abnormally high failure rates are investigated and reacted to if necessary. Since the employees are company owners...all of us have a special interest in ensuring product quality.

Jim Colt

Originally Posted by burnit2

This can't be true....Another Hypertherm that don't work? I hope you have better luck getting your 45 going than I did. Mine fried a few months out of warranty.. Something is Changing at Hypertherm.

[gordon stephenson]

Just about my earlier post,I was thinking the spring loaded head referred to compressing the spring loaded nozzle agains the work piece to start the arc as in some other plasma cutters,

[Drf255]

Any follow up?

[shaeff]

Been so busy the last few weeks, hopefully taking it in to service tomorrow!

[shaeff]

Figured I'd follow up-

I tried using it again shortly after this all happened, worked perfectly. No warning lights or anything. Been running like a champ since August. I brought it in for service anyway, they found no issues at all. Weird.

But I figured I'd update this. I can't believe I've been away from WW for this long!