Wildcard | Week 16

Individual Assignment

Basics of Plasma cutting:

Plasma cutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma. Typical materials cut with a plasma torch include steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass and copper, although other conductive metals may be cut as well. Plasma cutting is often used in fabrication shops, automotive repair and restoration, industrial construction, and salvage and scrapping operations. Due to the high speed and precision cuts combined with low cost, plasma cutting sees widespread use from large-scale industrial CNC applications down to small hobbyist shops.

The basic plasma cutting process involves creating an electrical channel of superheated, electrically ionized gas i.e. plasma from the plasma cutter itself, through the workpiece to be cut, thus forming a completed electric circuit back to the plasma cutter through a grounding clamp. This is accomplished by a compressed gas (oxygen, air, inert and others depending on material being cut) which is blown through a focused nozzle at high speed toward the workpiece. An electrical arc is then formed within the gas, between an electrode near or integrated into the gas nozzle and the workpiece itself. The electrical arc ionizes some of the gas, thereby creating an electrically conductive channel of plasma. As electricity from the cutter torch travels down this plasma it delivers sufficient heat to melt through the workpiece. At the same time, much of the high-velocity plasma and compressed gas blow the hot molten metal away, thereby separating, i.e. cutting through, the workpiece.

Reference Link.

What is Plasma?

The three most commonly cited states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. Plasma, however, is often referred to as the fourth state of matter, and is technically the most commonly occurring state-by volume and mass-as it is found throughout and outside the galaxy (e.g., in the centers of stars and the form of lightning).

Plasma occurs when additional energy is added to a gas, which allows the gas molecules to move faster and collide with greater force. The collisions between molecules enable the molecules to separate into their constituent atoms and these individual atoms to separate from their outer shell electrons, forming ions. As more atoms lose their electrons, the gas reaches a critical point where the number of atoms losing electrons and the number of atoms taking in free electrons achieve balance. At this point, the ionized gas becomes plasma.

Reference Link.

CNC Plasma Machine:

Laptop Stand 3D design

Step1:create sketch.

Step2:Then Extrude Box.

Make a round curve in my laptop Stand.

Make laptop support base in 100mm.

Make circle and rectangle in middle.

Then Make curve.

Make Folding Line.

Genereating Toolpath for Plasma-cutting machine:

I created the toolpath using FastCAM software, as seen in the images below.

Setting-up Origin and Sheet

First, we must turn on the power and the air compressor, as well as the control panel. The main control panel display is seen below, from which we can issue orders to the system.