Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] plasma vs laser vs browns gas for cnc router cutting

Doug Fortune wrote:

>Jon Elson wrote:
>
>
>>Brian wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>plasma cuts alum very well for the money.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>Yes, but you don't get .005" kerf width with plasma < vs laser>
>>
>>
>
>Does anyone have any experience with 'Browns Gas' cutting (dissociated
>H2 and 02 atomic mix, or something like that, I'm not sure),
>sometimes known as 'water torch'? (its NOT abrasive water jet cutting).
>
>For example
>http://www.eagle-research.com/browngas/machine/erseries/er1200/er12001.html
>and
>http://www.eagle-research.com/browngas/fabuses/fabuses.html
>
>
>

Yeesh! The first article sounded like a horror story. This is basically
a way to make an Oxygen-Hydrogen torch. You get a high temperature,
but not a great deal of heat, as compared to Oxygen/Acetylene, for instance.
They apparently make up for this with HUGE gas volumes, which has
to mean a huge flame! 1000 Liters/Hr! The thing must be like a blowtorch,
not like a fine cutting flame. 1000 L/H comes out to roughly 35 Cu Ft/Hr,
or emptying a medium-sized tank every hour.

I really don't think this will work for CNC pattern cutting, and it sounds
to me like the performance on aluminum would be vastly worse, due to
the heat output. (An atomic Hydrogen torch fixes one of the heat problems,
ie. it breaks the hydrogen bond electrically, giving you much higher heat
and temperatures for the same gas flow.)

Jon