Mark picked up the piece. The edge was smooth. The hole was round. He ran his thumb over the cut face—no slag, no dross, no fissure.

He overrode the safety. Manually set the cut speed for the hole to 60% of the main speed. Added a 0.2 second "dwell" at the pierce to let the arc stabilize. Then he added a —a dummy move where the torch would jump to an offcut, fire for 0.1 seconds, and dump the thermal load before cutting the next feature.

What are your current and pierce delay times in SheetCam?

Use SheetCam’s "Path Rules" feature to automatically reduce feed rates or modify torch height control (THC) behavior near tight corners and end-of-cut sequences where heat tends to accumulate.

A hot crack often occurs at the (end of the cut) because the puddle is still liquid. In SheetCam, turn on Overburn .

They act as stress concentration points where structural failure can begin.

In this post, we’ll dive into why toolpaths "crack" under heat and how to use SheetCam’s features to keep your cuts cool and clean.

operation to mark hole centers without overheating the surrounding metal.

Retains heat poorly compared to carbon steel, leading to massive heat accumulation. Using a combination of nitrogen shield gas and smooth arc lead-outs in SheetCam is critical.

Understanding and Preventing "Hot Cracking" in SheetCam: A Guide for CNC Plasma Cutting

If you are cutting parts that drop out of the sheet (freeing themselves), they lose structural support. Cracks form as they fall.

With this information, I can provide tailored adjustments for your specific cutting profile. Share public link

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The term "hot crack" might sound like a complex technical failure, but in SheetCam, it’s usually a signal to look at your thermal management. By utilizing cool-down passes, staggering your cut order, and managing corner velocity, you can eliminate hot spots and produce parts that are clean, square, and warp-free.