S T A R T E R G U I D E
WATER TABLE
CHECKPOINT 05
Below Water table information and maintenance instructions.
Anti-rust Solution
If you have purchased our STVCNC® Plasma Guard, an Anti-Rust Solution, you will find Dilution Ratios, SDS Sheets and instructions available on the link below. The 5-Gallon Plasma Guard STV® is the ideal product to protect your STVCNC® Plasma Table’s water pans, slats and the materials you cut. When concentration levels are maintained correctly, the anti-rust solution prevents rust and debris while offering a cooling process that lessens warping of materials and the presence of fumes in your workshop.
▶ Shop Anti-Rust Solution Additive
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Water Tables
Water Levels:
The recommended water level for your STVCNC® Plasma table should be right below the slats as shown in the picture. Adding STVCNC® Plasma Guard will help extend the life of your water pans and prevent rust, debris and excess fumes. Knowing evaporation will occur, maintaining an acceptable level of water or submerging your material in water during a cut will help keep the material cool, minimize warping of your metal sheet, reduce the amount of excess fumes and decrease the noise emitted by the Hypertherm® torch.
( Click on image to enlarge. )
Water Pan Volume
Know your Water pan Volume:
2 × 4 – 21.84 Gallons
4 x 4 – 43.68 Gallons
5 × 5 – 68.18 Gallons
4 × 8 – 87.36 Gallons
5 x 10 – 136.36 Gallons
6 × 12 – 167.24 Gallons
Flat bar Slats
Your Table comes with a complete set of flatbar slats (1.5″ inch tall x 1/8″ in. thick) Below are Flatbar slat lengths and a step-by-step slat installation guide.
Flatbar Slats Lengths:
4 x 4: 51″ inches in length
5 × 5: 60″ inches in length
4 × 8: 51″ inches in length
5 x 10: 60″ inches in length
6 × 12: 72″ inches in length
( Click on image to enlarge. )
Attention: You will have to bend the flatbar slats at an angle to have then fit tight and avoid slat tip-ups when loading heavy material. Lock in the center slot first, then bend back to insert the ends into slat holder. Both the hump bend of the slat and the torch must be facing in the same direction as shown in picture above.
Water Agitation
Cutting Various Metals:
We highly recommend “Water Agitation” if one cuts a wide variety of materials in their plasma table, to install a water filtration system that agitates the water. Install an Aerator, Bubble Muffler or Water Filtration System for Surface Agitation, Oxygenation & Water bed Gas Dissipation. Clean any submerged, cumulative surface areas or Hydrogen gas trapped pockets of Aluminum particles in your water bed. (especially prevention against the mixing of aluminum particles with mild steel particles in your water bed.)
Maintain pH Balance
Maintaining a Stable pH Balance in your Table:
The Anti-Rust Solution is designed to be used for cutting steel in stagnant or agitated water tables to eliminate steel corrosion, rancid odors and insect infestation. STVCNC® Plasma Guard is formulated to be used in large open tanks commonly for plasma torch, oxy–acetylene and M.A.P.P. gas metal cutting operations where water is employed as a coolant and sound suppressant. A built in blue indicator aids in the proper control of the solution concentration. One can also monitor concentration levels with Test Strips that check the pH Level.
WATER: For best results, we recommend using Reverse Osmosis (RO) water, but STVCNC® Plasma Guard can be used in all water types if RO water is not available.
MATERIAL: STVCNC® Plasma Guard exhibits comprehensive surface coverage to improve cutting, appearance, quality, and protection when used in recommended concentrations and practices.
IMPORTANT: Different materials will corrode at different pH Levels. The variables that exist can be carbon-content, iron-content, density, etc. The Ideal pH level of your Water Tank should be above 7.5, generally the higher the number the better. After adding RO Water (demineralized water) Check the pH Balance.
We recommend sourcing a standard or automatic “pH Balancer Kit” for your table.
Cleaning Time
Cleaning:
Cleaning time is usually between 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on what water pan coating you have chosen to apply. It may take longer if water pans are bare.
- How do Table Owners prep their water pans for easy cleaning? Many of our Table Owners have chosen to coat their water pans in different ways with: POR 15, & high temp (high aluminum) silver paint, Marine Grade Epoxy, Duralux Marine Primer & Paint, Powder Coating, Powder Coating with Anode rods, Ospho & copper-infused boat bottom paint, Water District 3M Powder Coat product, 1/8″ thick layer of Flex Seal.
- WD-40 & Scouring pads & Microfiber Towels: Assists in table maintenance and cleaning.
- Lithium Grease Blend (EP00 or EP000) & an Ares Grease Gun Kit: Assists in table maintenance for Carriage bearings.
- Water Pump: Assists in table maintenance and water removal.
- Other tools for Cleaning: Tools many Table Owners have used: Needle Scaler, Scraper, Wire Wheel, Weed burner, Wet Sand Blasting, Shop Vacuum, evaporative cooler pump, Red Tip Pressure Washer.
Need Additional Support? We can help.
Our STVCNC® Technical Support Team is recognized for offering solutions & customer support methods (as listed below) well before any escalation occurs where you take advantage of enjoying the ease of having us delegate replacement parts and resolutions to prevent any extended amounts of down-time.
- Software Improvements
- Table Operation
- Community Support & Network
- Table Maintenance
- Production Advice
- Replacement Part & Diagnosis
- Consumable Awareness
- Live Support via Remote Assistance
- Hypertherm® Troubleshooting
Tap now & Schedule your TechTalk with STVCNC®, Automation Solutions.
A Support ticket will place you in queue for a direct one-on-one call with one of our Team Members.