USER MANUAL
System Requirements
Power Requirements
The Neuron.THC system has a terminal block power plug. 12V DC 0.8A required.
Do not use 12V power from CNC PC! Use separated power supply.
The performance of the Neuron.THC is tightly coupled to the lifter and motor characteristics. The
Neuron.THC was designed as a conventional plasma height control and the lifter does not include
any position feedback.
The lifter screw pitch affects the lifter linear speed and the control loop gain when operating with
arc voltage. The lifter friction and maximum torch weight affect the point at which the lifter will
require a brake to maintain position. For these reasons, the motor and lifter characteristics are
critical and must be tightly controlled.
The following is a partial list of lifter and motor characteristics that are compatible with this
controller.
• Lifter Ball screw/Rack pitch = 4 – 20 mm/rev
• Lifter with UP limit (homing sensor)
• Lifter capable of 200 in/min.
• Lifter should have low backlash and little mechanical play
WARNING:
The performance of the Neuron.THC is tightly coupled to the lifter and motor
characteristics. To ensure proper operation, a customer designed lifter should be fully
tested with this controller under all anticipated operating conditions.
What Is Plasma
Plasma is a fourth state of matter, an ionized gas which has been heated to an extremely high
temperature and ionized so that it becomes electrically conductive. The plasma arc cutting and
gouging processes use this plasma to transfer an electrical arc to the workpiece. The metal to be
cut or removed is melted by the heat of the arc and then blown away. While the goal of plasma
arc cutting is the separation of the material, plasma arc gouging is used to remove metals to a
controlled depth and width.
Plasma torches are similar in design to the automotive spark plug. They consist of negative
and positive sections separated by a center insulator. Inside the torch, the pilot arc starts in the
gap between the negatively charged electrode and the positively charged tip. Once the pilot arc
has ionized the plasma gas, the superheated column of gas flows through the small orifice in the
torch tip, which is focused on the metal to be cut.
In a Plasma Cutting Torch a cool gas enters Zone B, where a pilot arc between the electrode
and the torch tip heats and ionizes the gas. The main cutting arc then transfers to the workpiece
through the column of plasma gas in Zone C. By forcing the plasma gas and electric arc through a
small orifice, the torch delivers a high concentration of heat to a small area. The stiff, constricted
plasma arc is shown in Zone C. Direct current (DC) straight polarity is used for plasma cutting, as
shown in the illustration. Zone A channels a secondary gas that cools the torch. This gas also
assists the high velocity plasma gas in blowing the molten metal out of the cut allowing for a fast,
slag - free cut.
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