SiMadre Tech Plasma Cutter

[waho6o9]

Has anyone heard good or not so good things about these 50 amp cutters. These are on e-bay and seem ok for the money. Thanks for your time.

[Zrexxer]

Same Chinese crap, different name.

Yes, Mother?

[buck55]

Research in the topic seems to suggest now is not the time to buy welding equipment made in China. It probably will not take them too long to make better products so I plan to keep checking the feedback those products get. The first Honda Civics imported here were not good either. After a few years cars made in Japan passed American cars, and they have never looked back. No one knows now if Chinese industry will progress like Japanese industry did, but in the long run, my money is on them.

[jimcolt]

And as the product gets better....the prices will reflect the performance....kind of like Japanese cars!

Jim

[buck55]

Jim, I agree with that on the prices. Also, now that so many are assembled outside Japan the quality is not what it was, but the prices remain high. My assembled in California Toyota Tacoma is nothing like all my previously assembled in Japan (J serial #s) vehicles. Chasing quality just seems to get harder and harder.

[junkweld]

I was curious about these china based - mostly unknown manufacturer origin plasma cutters. So, I took a chance on a new "not working" 50amp single function (plasma only) machine on ebay. It arrived at my door for a little under $150 and was marked "CE 50 amp". It came with all the accessores, but was missing the brass fittings for the air line. I didn't care because I use Milton "T" fittings and more than likely the OEM pieces were not that style.

First thing I do is pop the cover off it and look at the MOSFETS. The inside and outside is spotless clean - brand new. It has TOSHIBA MOSFETS in it. I look around at the circuit boards and see two inductors (toroids) about the size of a half dollar broken free at the front of the machine. I pull the heatsink block and PCBs to see how they should be re-soldered. Poke around at the lower PCB and figure out how to wire them up. Each inductor needs 4 wires soldered. I then put it all back togeter. Plug it in, and pull the trigger.......I can hear the HF sparking.......a good thing. I then test it out on a piece of mild steel and it works properly.

The toroids are in the electrical path from the switch on the handle/cutting torch. Since the inductors were disconnected, then the HF ckt was not started when the trigger was pressed. Therefore, it wouldn't cut.

I haven't used the machine much, but a relative has been using it for body work/restoration. I told him that it might not work that well because of no pilot arc. When I went back a few days later, he couldn't stop talking about how good it worked. Touch a piece of bare metal to get the arc going and it will cut through anything he says. It now has about 5 hours on it. I also just picked up 5 cups, and 10 complete tip setups for $1.40 each on ebay. This machine is very cheap to operate.

Overall, for $150 and probably under $100 (my bid was on the high end) you could pick up a new 50amp machine that probably can be fixed for free.

Do I think these china machines are great? No, I do not. But for a hobbyist like the guy doing restoration, fixing a lawn mower, building a go cart they seem like a decent buy.

[buck55]

Now that is a bargain! I am still watching the industry and trying to judge when it will be a good idea to jump on one of these machines. I am still cautious, but too many people are finding some good performance in these made in China cutters.