Alvin Thacker, president of Laser Fabrication & Machine Co. of Wellington Alabama talks about personal experience in machine shops, resulting in his setting up his business focusing on metal cutting using laser and more recently water jet machines. Now with 4 laser machines and one water jet he has added a Twister TFP3051 plasma machine aimed at the 1/2 in. to 1 in. range where his other machines were having problems cutting efficiently. He chose the Twister because of the cut accuracy and cut quality.

Comparing the plasma system with his water jet he finds that the water jet cuts thick plate slower, and costs more to run.

Comparing the plasma with the laser he has found that that the laser will struggle to cut 1/2 in. plate at 60 IPM while the Twister will cut it at 120 IPM. Also cutting plate that is rusty, oily, or has mill scale will cause problems for laser, while it doesn't bother the plasma systems at all. Setup time on the laser is also an issue, as it could take 1/2 a day to get the parameters right for the plate to be cut, and then you need to do it all over again for the next plate.