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Qualifications and Requirements
Recommended grounding and shielding
It is important to use grounding and shielding best practices when you set up a plasma cutting system. This can minimize problems related to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), or electrical noise.

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Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
Specifications
Qualifications and Requirements
- Document requirements
- Operator qualifications
  A person is considered qualified to operate the cutting system if he or she is trained and knowledgeable about cutting system equipment construction, operation, and work methods, and about how to recognize and avoid hazards that can be present with certain cutting system equipment or work methods.
- Qualifications of service personnel
  It can be hazardous to do service and maintenance on industrial cutting systems and equipment.
- System electrical requirements
- Process-gas requirements for all gas connect consoles
  You must supply the process gases for your cutting system.
- Shield-water requirements (VWI and OptiMix)
  If you use water as a shield fluid, use the following water pressure requirements, flow requirements, and water-purity guidelines.
- Torque specifications for gas or water plumbing and hose connections
  For the best results, use the recommended torque specifications for plumbing and hose fittings.
- Coolant requirements
  Add the correct type and amount of coolant before you operate the plasma cutting system.
- Requirements to put system components in position
- Torch mounting bracket requirements
  Make sure to use a torch mounting bracket that obeys the requirements for XPR® torches.
- Torch lifter requirements
  Use a torch lifter that has the correct weight capacity for XPR® torches.
- CNC requirements for plasma cutting systems
  There are specific Computer Numerical Control (CNC) features that are necessary for integration with plasma cutting systems.
- Recommended grounding and shielding
  It is important to use grounding and shielding best practices when you set up a plasma cutting system. This can minimize problems related to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), or electrical noise.
  - Types of grounding
    When you set up an XPR® cutting system, make sure that you comply with the four types of grounding: service ground, Protective Earth (PE) ground, Direct Current (DC) power ground, and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) grounding and shielding.
  - Grounding practices
    When you set up an XPR® cutting system, make sure that you comply with all best practices for correctly grounding the system.
  - Example grounding diagram with a plasma cutting system
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Recommended grounding and shielding

It is important to use grounding and shielding best practices when you set up a plasma cutting system. This can minimize problems related to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), or electrical noise.

This documentation describes practices for grounding and shielding a plasma cutting system to minimize its susceptibility to EMI (also known as noise). It also describes the service ground, Protective Earth (PE) ground, and Direct Current (DC) power ground. The diagram at the end of this section shows these types of grounds in a plasma cutting system.

Note:

The grounding practices in this documentation have been used on many installations with excellent results, and Hypertherm® recommends that these practices be a routine part of the installation process. The actual methods used to implement these practices may vary from system to system, but should remain as consistent as possible. However, due to the variation in equipment and installations, these grounding practices may not succeed in every case to eliminate EMI problems. Hypertherm recommends that you consult your national and local electrical codes to make sure that the grounding and shielding practices that you use comply with the requirements for your location.