Oxy-Fuel Gas Cutting

Correct Conditions
The very light dragline should be almost vertical for profile cutting. For straight cutting a drag of up to 10% would be permissible. Sharp top edges, smooth surface, draglines barely visible. A very light scale of oxide easily removed. Square face. Sharp bottom removed.

Common Faults
Speed too slow
Bad gouging in the lower half of the cut is caused by molten steel scouring the cut surface, and the hot metal and slag that congeals on the underside is always difficult to remove. Secondary cause of this condition is too low oxygen pressure.

Melted and rounded top edge. Lower part of cut face fluted or gouged very irregularly. Bottom edge rough. Heavy scale on cut face that is difficult to remove.

ACETyLENE and HANDIGAS (LPG) are the most commonly used fuel gases for the cutting of mild steel. Prior to attempting to cut, the material should be cleaned with a stiff wire brush to remove dirt and scale. With correct gas pressures, nozzle size, cutting torch angle and speed, the quality of freehand cutting depends upon the steadiness of the operator.

Nozzle too low

Having the nozzle too low does not usually spoil the cut surface badly, but it does of course badly burn the top corner. Very often it retards the oxidation reaction and makes it appear that the cut has been done too slowly.

Top edge slightly rounded and heavily beaded. Cut face usually square with fairly sharp bottom corner.

Preheat Flame too large

This is the easiest and most obvious condition to correct, which provided other conditions are correct usually gives a fairly clean, although excessively oxidised cut face, but with a heavy rounding at the top edge.

Cutting Nozzles
Cutting Nozzle Data
The nozzle is the Business End of Gas Cutting: Using low quality, or damaged nozzles can be compared to cutting cloth with blunt scissors. Magnificent, expensive cutting machines cannot perform if poor quality cutting nozzles are used. BOC strives continually to improve nozzle design to increase efficiency, to lengthen working life, to affect gas cost savings and increase cutting speed etc. These nozzles are designed for use with the BOC cutting attachment, the UNIVERSAL cutting torch and the LT torch.

BOC 3 Seat Oxy-Acetylene Cutting Nozzles for use with Universal Cutter
Part No. 105560 105561 105562 105562 105562 105563 105564 105565 105565 Description ANM 8 ANM 12 ANM 16 ANM 16 ANM 16 ANM 20 ANM 24 ANM 32 ANM 32 Plate (mm) 46 612 1225 2550 5075 75100 100150 150250 250300 DA (kPa) 15 15 15 20 20 30 30 35 45 Oxy (kPa) 150 200 250 300 350 300 300 450 550 DA (L/min) 8 9 10 11 11 13 16 20 23 Oxy (L/min) 8 10 13 13 14 20 25 26 28

Rounded top edge with metal falling into kerf. Cut face generally smooth, but tapered from top to bottom. Excessive tightly adhering slag.

Nozzle too high above work

The melting of the top edge is due to heat spread each side of the cut and the undercutting is caused by the oxygen stream being above the work, so that it spreads and tends to bell-out as it transverses down the kerf.

BOC 2 Seat Acetylene Cutting Nozzles

Part No.
Excessive melting and rounding of the top edge. Undercut at top of cut face with lower part square and sharp bottom corner.

Single 105520

Descrip20 Pack tion 105420 105421 105422 105423 105423 105424 105425 105426 6C-A 8C-A 12C-A 15C-A 15C-A 20C-A 24C-A 32C-A

Plate (mm) 15 610 1220 2540 5080 100125 150200 200300

DA (kPa) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Oxy (kPa) 180 200 220 250 350 400 500 600

Speed (mm/ min) 450 400 350 300 220 150 120 100

DA (L/min) 2 3 4 6 7 10 13 45*

Oxy (L/min) 11 20 40 60 80 150 260 420

BOC 3 Seat Oxy-LPG Cutting Nozzles for use with Universal Cutter
Part No. 105566 105567 105568 105568 105568 105569 105570 Description PNM 8 PNM 12 PNM 16 PNM 16 PNM 16 PNM 20 PNM 24 PNM 32 PNM 32 Plate (mm) 46 612 1225 2550 5075 75100 100150 150250 250300 DA (kPa) 20 20 20 30 35 40 40 50 60 Oxy (kPa) 150 200 300 300 350 350 400 560 560 DA (L/min) 5 5 10 12 15 17 17 18 19 Oxy (L/min) 22 24 41 43 50 59 60 66 72

Pressure of cutting oxygen too high

This is probably the most common fault in cutting that causes the rounding of the top part of the cut face it is caused by the turbulence of the oxygen stream due to the high pressure at which it leaves the nozzle. On thinner material it may cause a taper cut that sometimes leads to the incorrect supposition that the cutter is incorrectly mounted in relation to the plate.

105521 105522 105523 105523 105524 105525 105526

Regular bead along the top edge. Kerf wider at top edge with undercutting of face just below.

BOC 2 Seat LPG Cutting Nozzles

Part No. 106626 106627 106628 106629 106629 106630 Description 6C-P 8C-P 12C-P 15C-P 15C-P 20C-P 24C-P 32C-P Plate (mm) 36 610 1020 2040 4080 80125 125200 200300 LPG (kPa) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Oxy (kPa) 200 200 250 400 400 400 500 600 LPG (L/min) 2 3.5 4.5 5.5 6 6.5 9 14 Oxy (L/min) 18 30 58 100 120 171 256 450

105571 105571

Speed too fast

The excessive backward drag of the cut line would result in the cut not being completely severed at the end. The occasional gouging or fluting along the cut indicates that the oxygen pressure is too low for a normal speed. In other words, if the speed was dropped and the oxygen pressure maintained, a perfectly good cut would result.

BOC LT Cutting Nozzlesfor use with LT Torch

Part No. 105590 105591 105592 105592 105592 Description LT 8C-A LT 12C-A LT 16C-A LT 16C-A LT 16C-A Plate (mm) 36 620 2025 2535 3550 DA (kPa) 15 15 15 15 20 Oxy (kPa) 200 200 200 400 500 DA (L/min) 3 3 3 4 4 Oxy (L/min) 10 11 23 56 70

Top edge not too sharp and may be bearded. Undercutting at top of the cut face. Draglines have excessive backward drag. Slightly rounded bottom edge.

106631 106632

AU S T R A L I A

N E W ZEALAND

131 262
Fax: 132 427 Email: contact@boc.com Website: www.boc.com.au BOC Limited
ABN 95 000 029 729

0800 111 333

Fax: 0800 229 923 Email: customer-service-nz@boc.com Website: www.boc.co.nz BOC Limited 970 992 Great South Road Penrose, Auckland NEW ZEALAND

Riverside Corporate Park 10 Julius Avenue North Ryde, NSW 2113 AUSTRALIA

Details given in this document are believed to be correct at the time of printing. Whilst proper care has been taken in the preparation, BOC Ltd excludes all and any liability permitted by law for injury, damage or loss resulting from use. BOC is a trading name of BOC Limited, which is an operating company within The BOC Group, the parent company of which is The BOC Group plc.The stripe symbol and the word BOC are a registered trademark of The BOC Group plc and used under licence by BOC Limited. BOC Limited 2006. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

IP 21874

FDAUS

0106

10K