F033: Smarter, Safer, More Profitable: The New Economics of Plasma Cutting

Automated Plasma Arc Gouging (PAG) offers many benefits to fabricators, including improved workplace safety, more consistent, cleaner, and faster weld preparation, a safer option for heavy material removal, and increased shop productivity. We will share data on gouging rates and profiles, reductions in noise and fume emissions, and time studies versus alternative technologies. Attendees will learn how tractors, manipulators, and robotics are used with PAG to enhance common industrial applications such as backgouging, hardface removal, weld repair, and casting material removal. This session is ideal for manufacturing and fabrication professionals, engineers, and business leaders seeking to reduce overall welding and material removal time, minimize grinding, and create a safer workplace.

Labor availability, training time, and operating costs continue to challenge fabricators, forcing them to look for innovative solutions. Findings like starting the arc in a few thousandths of a second to improve cutting performance or creating steady cutting power and improving consumable life is high on their list for putting money back in their pockets.

Understanding how consumable stack-ups: 1-piece, 3-piece, and 5-piece configurations—impacts plasma cutting and gouging performance, particularly in out-of-position work. Attendees will gain a practical understanding of how stackup complexity influences arc starting reliability, consumable life, ease of maintenance, and operator consistency.

Attendees will see how reducing consumable complexity lowers the risk of mis-assembly, speeds changeovers, and improves arc-starts, allowing operators to spend more time cutting and less time troubleshooting. The session also explores how modular wear-part replacement, articulating torch designs, and large multilingual digital displays reduce training requirements, shortens onboarding and supports a diverse workforce.