This month, almost four decades after founder Dick Couch invented water injection cutting and unveiled the company’s very first plasma cutter, Hypertherm’s bench is as solid as ever. The Hypertherm systems on the market today are gaining a new generation of fans thanks to technologies that boost overall performance, productivity and profitability. In fact, one of the company’s products, the Powermax 600, is making company history with the sale of its 50,000th unit. Since its entrance into the plasma playing field, Hypertherm has continued to advance just as consistently as the world around it. It has proven to be a reliable provider for differing levels of need.
"At Hypertherm, it’s always been our goal to provide technological value to customers in whatever area they require," says Aaron Brandt, engineering manager for Hypertherm’s mechanized systems team. "There’s a large number of PhDs on staff that are directly working on plasma processes and improvements. Our current president is the original design engineer for the company, which really transcends our culture of being engineering and technology focused."
The Powermax 600, which for a limited time will be sold as a special Gold Edition to mark its milestone in sales, is Hypertherm’s best-selling, most reliable air plasma system. The HT2000, in the middle of the spectrum, further displays Hypertherm’s strides in technology. With the introduction of a new coaxial-flow shield technology, the cutting speed has increased on 1/2-in. material, for example, from 80 in. per min. to 120 in. per min.
"Most torches have what’s called floating shield technology, which protects the nozzle and also provides shielding gas, which further constricts the arc and further changes the chemistry in the cut region depending on the gas combinations that are used and the material you’re cutting," says Brandt. "In this case, the key change was that we went from a design where the shield gas was directly hinged on the arc itself to one that was flowing in a coaxial alignment with the nozzle. So now they’re flowing on the same axis."
The overall goal, no matter the system, is to provide customers with the best possible plasma machine. And Hypertherm customers can be found throughout the world. "There are a few key drivers that we’ve found that consistently come up when we’re constantly doing our Voice of the Customer activities, where we go out and talk to both our channel partners and end users to determine what are the critical things that we need to provide with new technology," Brandt explains. "The answers are very consistent, even globally. The North American manufacturers answer very similarly to European and Asian end users. They all seem to resonate with these things: productivity is always key, cut quality is very high on the list, keeping operating costs at the lowest level possible is important, as well as reliability. Depending on the needs of the particular customer, they may order those things in a different way. But they will all talk about those four things to some degree."
Evolution at every opportunity
These days, when someone hears the word technology, they think of the extremes: the manipulation of human DNA, harnessing nuclear power and deep-space exploration. At the very least, faster computers and alternative-fuel vehicles come to mind. But in reality, technology is found in a broad number of applications. In the simplest of terms, it includes any advancement intended to benefit humanity.
Defining technology in such a manner may seem a little altruistic, but the point is that engineers at Hypertherm, and in any R&D environment for that matter, work toward the same greater good--improving efficiency. Another example of delivering productivity and quality at Hypertherm comes in at the hand-held level. The company’s engineers discovered a way to reduce the physical size of its Powermax 30, delivered to market in North America last December, by almost two thirds.
"We cut the weight from 54 lbs. to about 20 lbs.," says Bruce Altobelli, the team leader for Hypertherm’s manual systems. "We went from an older power-supply technology called choppers to inverter technology. We found the weight reduction through a technology very similar to what is done with computer chips. The inverters take the AC current and convert it into DC current at very high speeds. The higher you can switch that incoming voltage and current, the smaller the transformers and a lot of the power devices become. Fifty pounds was certainly luggable, but at 20 lbs., with a strap, you can swing it across your shoulder, carry it up ladders or into relatively tight spaces."
The dramatic reduction in weight isn’t the only benefit. The introduction of the new power-supply technology increases the efficiency of the machine by using electricity in a much more economical manner.
"It’s interesting when you think about all of the different systems that we offer," says Brandt. "You would think that all of the technology advancements happen on the high-end, and it’s true that a lot happens there, but there’s very advanced technology that happens across the product lines from our handheld systems to our HPR systems. Really, it’s just the focus that differs. It requires a lot of technology to reduce a system’s weight by half."
Intrinsic enrichment
The machine advancements that are developed in Hypertherm laboratories can be measured in terms of cuts per min., number of parts produced and overall weight. The impact that technology can have on an entire industry, however, isn’t as obvious.
"The real issue facing the welding and cutting industry in both North America and Europe today is a lack of trained welders," says Altobelli. "So we’re geared toward making it easier for the end user to use. The ultimate goal is for the end user to turn the switch on and pull the trigger so that the handset is cutting and getting a cut every time with minimal training. Now, that’s a long-term directional goal that no one has really achieved yet, but it’s a type of thing that we’re investigating all the time--how to get closer to that goal."
Hypertherm aims to be ahead of the game in terms of technologically advanced products. The Powermax 600 milestone exhibits that achievement.
"We always recommend the Powermax 600 to customers who need to cut ½-in.-thick metal, because it does what it says it’s going to do," says Rod Spargur, manager of Central Welding Supply in Bellingham, Wash. "It’s reliable, consistent and easily outperforms anything else in its class. We’ve sold acres of them and the fact that it’s made by a plasma leader like Hypertherm, whose main focus has always been to make better plasma cutting equipment, only makes the decision to sell and promote them that much easier." FFJ
