In the coming weeks, you may notice visual changes for certain Hypertherm heavy industrial plasma swirl ring consumable part numbers as we phase in a new material. Swirl rings were one of the components that was affected by supply chain disruptions, creating long backlogs, and impacting the operations of customers and channel partners. From this experience, Hypertherm Associates identified and qualified an alternative material with improved supply stability and made significant investments in upgrading manufacturing capacity.
The new swirl ring is functionally equivalent to the original part, but is manufactured from an advanced, high-performance fluoropolymer which provides exceptional durability. The new material has proven to have as good or better performance, better supply chain availability and manufacturing reliability. Hypertherm Associates has fully vetted this material through internal engineering and manufacturing verification, as well as external validation. There are no dimensional changes to the swirl rings, no system or cut chart changes will be needed, and the part number will remain the same. The parts may have a slight aesthetic difference due to the new material, as shown below in the representative images for part number 220179.
Please note that we will transition to the new swirl ring material by part number throughout 2023.
