Plasma
A plasma cutter is an arc blown through a nozzle by compressed air, and the air is the part most buyers ignore. Get that right and a €200 machine cuts cleanly; get it wrong and a €750 one leaves dross and eats tips.
A plasma cutter is an arc blown through a nozzle by compressed air, and the air is the part most buyers ignore. Get that right and a €200 machine cuts cleanly; get it wrong and a €750 one leaves dross and eats tips.
Plasma’s natural ground: fast, low distortion, and clean if the travel speed is right.
Following a curve is far easier than with a grinder, and the heat-affected zone stays narrow.
Plasma goes through bolted assemblies and stacked plate where a saw gives up.
Plasma copes far better than welding does — but the fume it then produces becomes the real subject.
| What you cut | What decides | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Thin sheet, shapes | Nozzle fineness and travel speed | Dry air, spare consumables |
| Medium steel, straight lines | Quoted quality cut thickness | A guide or a cutting straightedge |
| Thick steel, severance | Maximum current and duty cycle | A pass with the grinder afterwards |
| Painted or galvanized metal | Nothing on the machine side | Serious fume extraction |
A plasma is maintained almost entirely in its torch and its air. A cut that deteriorates points to a worn nozzle, an electrode at the end of its life, or moisture — in that order of frequency. No consumable life can be quoted: it depends on the number of starts more than on cutting time.
A plasma arc is more intense than a welding arc at comparable current, and cutting coated metal produces dense fume.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-08-14. The live price is at the top of the page.
15–45 A · 15 mm (0.59 in) steel / 8 mm (0.31 in) stainless / 5 mm (0.20 in) aluminum · €330
The first machine here that publishes its cut thickness for three materials instead of one — which is the whole specification.
Best for: A workshop cutting steel plate and section up to about 10 mm (0.39 in), cleanly
65 A · non-contact pilot arc · €220
A pilot arc at €220 — which is what lets you cut rust, paint and expanded mesh instead of only clean plate.
Best for: Scrapping, dismantling and bodywork — material that is never clean
≈ $230
40 A · air filter unit included · 25 mm (0.98 in) severance · €520
The only machine here that ships with the air treatment unit — the part everyone else leaves you to discover.
Best for: A first plasma cutter, bought by someone who does not yet know that air quality is the whole game
80 A · 25 mm (0.98 in) steel / 15 mm (0.59 in) stainless / 8 mm (0.31 in) aluminum · €750
Adjustable pre- and post-flow together with thicknesses for three materials — the fullest specification on this page.
Best for: Regular cutting in 10 to 18 mm (0.39 to 0.71 in) steel, where the cheaper machines are working at their limit
70 A · PT-80 torch, 5 m (16 ft) · 25 mm (0.98 in) · €522
Sold as a working set — a 5 m (16 ft) torch, earth lead, shield and hammer — with a seven-year warranty behind it.
Best for: A workshop that wants one box, standard consumables and somewhere to send it if it fails
Clean cut, and expect it to be roughly two thirds of the severance figure. Severance is the thickest the machine will part, leaving a ragged edge covered in dross; clean cut is what you can weld or paint afterwards. Buy on the second number and treat the first as a limit rather than a capability.
A water separator at minimum, and ideally a coalescing filter or small dryer. Moisture in the line makes the arc wander, leaves dross and destroys electrodes and nozzles within an afternoon. One machine on this site arrives with the filter unit fitted; everywhere else it is your first additional purchase.
Yes: plasma cuts any conductive metal, unlike oxy-fuel. Edge quality varies with the metal, and both stainless and aluminum usually need dressing before welding.
The one the machine maker states, at the flow rate they also state: the two go together. A compressor that holds pressure but not flow will let the cut collapse as soon as the torch runs continuously.
Almost always a matter of speed: too slow, and molten metal piles up under the plate. An uneven torch height and worn consumables produce the same effect.
Far less than prolonged abrasive cutting, because the heated zone is narrow and the pass is quick. On very thin sheet, a continuous, even path limits distortion further.
No: the jet goes through and keeps going. A slat table or a sacrificial grid protects the support, and nothing flammable should be underneath.
Rarely. Nozzle and electrode geometries are specific to each torch, and an approximate consumable degrades the cut. That is a point to check before buying, not after.
For work that: A workshop cutting steel plate and section up to about 10 mm (0.39 in), cleanly
Where it is best: Three cut thicknesses published, by material — the only honest way to quote a plasma cutter
Where it is worst: 45 A maximum, so 15 mm (0.59 in) is the real ceiling in steel
For work that: Scrapping, dismantling and bodywork — material that is never clean
Where it is best: Pilot arc: cuts rusty, painted and mesh material that a contact-start machine refuses
Where it is worst: Again no cut thickness published per material
For work that: A first plasma cutter, bought by someone who does not yet know that air quality is the whole game
Where it is best: The air filter and regulator are fitted, not an accessory you learn about after the first ruined tip
Where it is worst: Verified on the German and Italian stores only
For work that: Regular cutting in 10 to 18 mm (0.39 to 0.71 in) steel, where the cheaper machines are working at their limit
Where it is best: Three published thicknesses and adjustable air timings — nothing else here gives both
Where it is worst: €750, and an 80 A machine will test a domestic supply
For work that: A workshop that wants one box, standard consumables and somewhere to send it if it fails
Where it is best: A 5 m (16 ft) PT-80 torch — the standard fitment, so consumables are commodity parts
Where it is worst: Not sold on the British or American stores at the time of checking
Tips, nozzles, wire and gas from the same aisle, at the price we read. Confirm they suit the machine you choose before ordering: it turns on the torch and the part number, which the product page gives.
Welder against welder, where the comparison is already written up.
The welders here are taken from the catalog of this site. Specifications come from the maker and from the Amazon product page; prices are what Keepa reported for the date shown, and both move. The order rests on declared specifications, on stated strengths against stated limits, and on price. No machine here has struck an arc in our hands, and nothing on this page pretends it has.
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Welders and plasma cutters swing by a hundred dollars or more across the year, and the biggest "discounts" often land at prices the same model sold for six weeks earlier. UniverTrack tracks the real price history across retailers, spots fake reductions, and alerts you when it is genuinely the moment to buy.
