Amperage
Match amperage to the installed consumables and material thickness. Too little power usually forces an excessively slow cut.
Plasma cutting reference
Plasma Cutting Settings Guide
Compare practical starting ranges for mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Switch the complete guide between metric and imperial units without leaving the page.
Confirm the consumable, amperage, pressure, and duty-cycle limits in your plasma cutter manual. Make one change at a time and record proven settings for your machine.
Display controls
Choose units and material
Quick-reference chart
Starting cutting settings
Five variables
What controls cut quality
Cutting speed
Speed strongly affects dross and bevel. Tune it in small steps after confirming the torch, air, and consumables are correct.
Air supply
Pressure must remain stable while cutting. Clean, dry air and adequate sustained flow matter more than tank pressure alone.
Standoff
Hold the torch at the correct cut height and use a higher pierce height when required to reduce blowback damage.
Consumables
A damaged nozzle or deeply pitted electrode can ruin a cut even when every numerical setting is correct.
Shop-floor diagnosis
Read the cut before changing settings
Usually points to a cut that is too slow. Increase speed gradually and retest.
Often means the torch is moving too fast, the amperage is too low, or the air supply is unstable.
Check torch squareness, standoff, consumable condition, cut direction, and machine motion before changing amperage.
Inspect the nozzle and electrode, then verify dry air, stable pressure, correct height, and smooth motion.
Air-system reference
Typical air demand by amperage
| Amperage range | Pressure | Flow | Shop starting point |
|---|
Use the pressure shown at the plasma cutter while air is flowing. Always verify the required flow and pressure in the manufacturer documentation for your exact machine.