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Plasma cutting in a nutshell: a step-by-step guide to the process and the materials needed |
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Tuesday, 01 May 2007 |
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Page 1 of 3
I asked the supervisor if the car that he was inquiring about was a 2004 or newer Volvo XC90, to which he responded,
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Rear
bumper reinforcement with 8mm plug weld holes.
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"Yes!” He was curious how I knew which car he was asking about. I explained that two Volvo models were using advanced steel allied with boron on the rear body panels and rear bumper reinforcements. (A related article is available online at www.i-car.com. Click on technical information for I-CAR Advantage article dated April 22, 2005.)
“What is boron steel?” he asked. I told him about advanced steel with boron and that the most effective way of removing it from a damaged vehicle was to use a plasma arc cutter or a 3-fluted drill bit designed for boron steel, available at Dent Fix Corp. This drew yet another question. “What is a plasma arc cutter?” he asked. At this point I realized I had another idea for an article. So here is everything in a nutshell about plasma arc cutting beginning with the plasma process.
The four states of matter
Physical matter can exist in four states, and I am not talking about states as in the United States of America. I am referring to physical property states of solid, liquid, gas and plasma. To change from one state of matter to another, energy is added or subtracted from the matter.
To get a better understanding of matter, let’s look at water. Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This is its solid state. Energy in the form of heat is added to the frozen water and as the temperature rises water changes from its solid state to a liquid state. If additional heat is applied and the temperature is elevated to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the liquid water changes to steam or a gas.
The fourth state of matter is plasma, but what the heck is it? It is defined as “an assemblage of charged particles called electrons and ions that react collectively to forces exerted by electric and magnetic fields.” If you can understand that definition, maybe you should get out of the collision repair business and enroll at MIT.
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