14.4 Chapter Conclusion
Karl Fulton
Summary
PAC is an amazing process that harnesses the ability of electricity and air (or other gasses) to cut almost anything that conducts electricity. This is a very fast and easy-to-use process that makes it extremely advantageous to production and very versatile for CNC tables and other mechanized operations. The process’ drawbacks are its portability and startup cost, but from then on a PAC system is extremely easy to maintain and low-cost to run. This chapter also covered safety concerns inherent to working with PAC. Welders will want to have a firm understanding of PAC, as they are likely to see it often throughout their careers.
Review Questions
- What does PAC stand for?
- What are two benefits of PAC?
- What are two drawbacks of PAC?
- What is plasma?
- How hot is plasma?
- 18,000–40,000 degrees Fahrenheit
- 4,000–6,500 degrees Fahrenheit
- 60,000–100,000 degrees Fahrenheit
- 500–2,000 degrees Fahrenheit
- Using oxygen will increase cut speeds on carbon steel.
- True
- False
- Using oxygen on stainless steels is the cheapest method.
- False
- True
- What shade should you use when cutting with 30 amps?
- Why would you mechanize a plasma torch?
- What is a benefit of having a handheld torch?