How Does Plasma Cutting Work?
A Small Box Plasma cutters have come a long way in the development of cutting metal with an electrical arc, the plasma, and compressed air. When first introduced onto the market, the plasma cutter unit was the size of a small refrigerator. Now these modern electrical packages are as small as a piece of carry-on luggage or four, full sized loaves of bread stacked in a 2-by-2 fashion. Some units even have an onboard air compressor that makes the accurate metal cutter extremely portable, as it can be plugged into any typical home wall outlet. Low Voltage, High Current The plasma cutter utilizes an electrical transformer and internal circuitry to transform the outlets power of 120 volts alternating current (VAC) with a current draw of 15 amperes, into a low voltage high current cutting stream. The typical voltage range of the plasma cutter can be in the area of 20 to 50 volts. The current on the other hand can have a high output of up to 100 amperes. It is this high current that creates th
