There are various kinds of plasma cutting machine available and most of them are priced differently that is based on their amperage and capacity. Generally, they will have cutting speeds that will be appropriate for various kinds of materials with different thickness. Speed of the machine is usually considered by IPM (inches per minute). A machine that is only 1/4 inch will give 25 amps output, whereas 50 to 60 amps output can be got from a half inch machine and a 3/4 inch instrument will have the capacity to provide 80 amps output.
It is always better to prefer a device that can manage double the thickness that you would like to cut generally. In this way you can complete all the work gently. At the time when machine becomes overheated and can't function, you have to weight until it gets cool. The time in which you can cut materials earlier than the instrument gets overheated and requires cooling is called duty cycle. Hence, duty cycle of plasma cutter is also one of the essential aspects in those industries where the working process generally takes long time.
If machine has high duty cycle, then you can employ it for a longer period of time. When you are buying a plasma cutting machine, you should consider its part and have to buy the one that includes less delicate parts. It will be a wiser decision because there will be only few parts to change, hence it will be cost effective. You should check the quality of the plasma cutter before buying it. This job you can do by cutting a metal of similar thickness at the same speed, with different machines of various manufacturers to find the top quality machine.
You can also verify the machine's quality by shifting it to a certain distance and viewing from how far you can keep an arc. If the arc is much longer then that means it has many volts and it can easily and quickly cut a thick metal. Plasma cutters are being utilized in various fields such as locksmiths, automobiles and construction industries etc. Therefore, you have to select the one that is well suited to your requirements but you have to do a careful research with various types of machines presented in the marketplace.