Plasma Table

Toddy · Jun 22, 2014

Anyone built a plasma table? Or for that matter bought one. I've see the burntables stuff on here but think I can save some coin and go DIY. I have most of the stuff laying around to build the table its self. At that even the gantry kits are $$$$. I understand you get what you pay for but I think I can build it myself.

Really I guess what I am asking is which type of rail system should I go with? I really like liener bearings but they are $$$$. I have 4 bearings that use a 1.5" shaft that I could use for my Y but if I use them there I'll need to buy them for my X and Z. Not opposed to that but $$$.

I have seen the bearing and Cold rolled steel option and the bearing running right on the tubing. I like the CR option better cause you can replace it if it gets screwed up.

I know a couple people on here have them and would be interested in there opinion.

Toddy

85toyo · Jun 22, 2014

This is a tracer table built by angryfab

http://www.hardlinecrawlers.com/forums/index.php?topic=31154.0

BarnesBuilt · Jun 23, 2014

I built one that works pretty good..it's a 4 ft x 4ft.. I use a belt drive system(cheapest way for me)...and uses roller blade bearings and cold rolled steel guides.. have you ever been on cnczone.com... you can find all the info ya need on there..very helpful in building mine...

Craig · Jun 24, 2014

We just bought a 6x6 (5x5 cutting capability) from Lightning CNC and a Hypertherm powermax 65. We are supposed to start putting it together tonight. After a ton of research this seemed like the best bang for the buck money and time-wise. We looked at all the major brands and were originally going to just buy a gantry kit and build the table our selves but after sourcing all the parts and the time invested it was not a worth while savings for us. We ended up being right under $8K to our door turnkey.

patooyee · Jun 24, 2014

I built my own 5x10 table using used Torchmate electronics I lucked into on eBay. It works good enough for one-off stuff and prototyping but I wouldn't do anything I was going to sell with it. There is a lot more that goes into building a table that cuts straight lines than you realize until after its built and cutting. I wish I could go back and do it over with better parts and stuff but time is scarce these days. I agree that the builder kits are stupid expensive, the companies that make them make a killing off the materials. But there is a lot of experience / knowledge that goes into a properly built table and that is what you are paying for really.

If you're just building one to cut stuff for yourself I would say to go for it. If you ever want to do production level stuff with it I would buy at least a DIY kit without a second thought. Really I would prefer to have them come build it on site for me. It would be worth the money, IMO.

Toddy · Jun 24, 2014

I hear ya JJ. Getting the table to run strait and true is no problem. At work we do stuff like this that has to be within .001's all the time. Think I got a good handle on how I'm going to do it now. Sent an email to CandCNC and he has me strait.

Could prob piece the electronics together with our engineers but think I'm gonna go plug and play with the CandCNC kit.

What Tom told me in the email is plasma is dirty and to use Lienar rails I would have to wipe down and oil after very little time to get them to live. Think I'm gonna go with V groove bearings and hardened rails. I will report back when I get started.

Keep the ideas coming.

Toddy

Craig · Jun 25, 2014

Here is our table we started putting together last night. I can't wait to start cutting! I was wrong about our cutting size capability also. we can cut 6x6 on this table.

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wow that pic came out crappy... I will get some better ones tonight.

bradzuki · Jun 25, 2014

Ours is a Torchmate 4'x10'. I studied a lot about different tables before buying this one. When I made the 30hr round trip haul to go pick it up, I'd never seen one or had any type of CAD training. I bought a Torchmate because the customer service is for the life of the machine and believe me, I've had to use them a time or two. They can connect to your machine and walk you through a problem if needed. To me, that was more important than saving a few bucks. There is a forum on Pirate that has been invaluable the few times I've needed it. I've taught myself everything I need to know to turn into a production shop. I've got parts around the world that have come off this table and I can now design and build anything I need.
If you'd like to come check it out, give me a yell.

jordan7118 · Jun 25, 2014

Nice job on nesting those cuts, bradzuki 8)

bradzuki · Jun 26, 2014

jordan7118 said:
Nice job on nesting those cuts, bradzuki 8)

I can't take credit for that. The Torchmate software takes care of nesting too.

bradzuki · Jun 26, 2014

You can't get as much detail in the plasma as you can with a laser but it works good enough for us at 1/10 the cost. These are the trophies we made for the Bronco Super Celebration in Townsend, TN that was put on by Bronco Driver magazine.

On a side note, a friend of mine just bought a 5x10 plasma table from some smaller company. I know it uses PlasmaCam and CandCNC stuff but I don't know the actual "brand name" of it. He gave $5600 for it and it's junk. The whole table is made from 1/8" material and shakes and moves while it is cutting. Needless to say, he can't get a quality cut out of it. The holes look like bicycle sprockets that have been beat with a hammer.
Here's a picture of my cuts on 1/4" and keep in mind I only have a 40 amp Thermal Dynamics plasma. I wish I had the Hypertherm 1000 that he's using.

That is an oval BTW not a round hole.

Craig · Jun 26, 2014

On a side note, a friend of mine just bought a 5x10 plasma table from some smaller company. I know it uses PlasmaCam and CandCNC stuff but I don't know the actual "brand name" of it. He gave $5600 for it and it's junk. The whole table is made from 1/8" material and shakes and moves while it is cutting. Needless to say, he can't get a quality cut out of it. The holes look like bicycle sprockets that have been beat with a hammer.
Here's a picture of my cuts on 1/4" and keep in mind I only have a 40 amp Thermal Dynamics plasma. I wish I had the Hypertherm 1000 that he's using.

We got a Hypertherm powermax 65 I am excited to see it cut. I hope it lives up to everything I read about it.

dmtfabrication · Jun 27, 2014

patooyee said:
I built my own 5x10 table using used Torchmate electronics I lucked into on eBay. It works good enough for one-off stuff and prototyping but I wouldn't do anything I was going to sell with it. There is a lot more that goes into building a table that cuts straight lines than you realize until after its built and cutting. I wish I could go back and do it over with better parts and stuff but time is scarce these days. I agree that the builder kits are stupid expensive, the companies that make them make a killing off the materials. But there is a lot of experience / knowledge that goes into a properly built table and that is what you are paying for really.

If you're just building one to cut stuff for yourself I would say to go for it. If you ever want to do production level stuff with it I would buy at least a DIY kit without a second thought. Really I would prefer to have them come build it on site for me. It would be worth the money, IMO.

I agree with this 100%. I have had a 5x10 TM3 with a Hypertherm 1250 up and running for almost 6 years now. The quality of your fab work will sky rocket, but don't expect that to come without headaches. I used to work for a company that had a 15x60 high def Plasma with laser alignment, plate etching and a torch collision system. $200k +. The amount of time tweaking every aspect of the machine and constant maintenance really surprised me. We also had company rep's coming out to help a few times a year. Having someone at your beckon call is well worth the cost. My TM is a gantry kit and all I can say is that there are NUMEROUS ways that the system could be improved. The nice thing about their setup is that you don't have to be a CAD/G-code expert.

I would never consider my machine for production. The cut quality just isn't there. I tell people it is a prototyping table, great for one-off jobs or small runs of duplicated parts. Not trying to imply that the tool isn't worth it, but it definitely has limitations.

Not sure if TM is using the same stuff today, but my gantry was all 80/20 extruded AL. http://www.8020.net/ I fabricated the "table", but the gantry just rolls on cold rolled flat stock. The other parts of the gantry are all available outside of TM, from industrial suppliers. I think you really just pay the price for the electronic hardware, the CAD software and the endless tech support (without this, their system would be the BIGGEST headache I have ever spent a fair amount of $$$$ on)

dmtfabrication · Jun 27, 2014

Also, a circular hole is difficult to achieve. That can be pretty frustrating. Don't expect to be able to drill out a hole to a specific size. The edges harden and will ruin drill bits. My experience has been to either chase all bolt holes with my iron worker or a carbide burr like this

put in a drill press. The burr works pretty well, but typically the piece need to be hit from both sides. I have also seen a guy using a tapered reamer for the same effect.

Jduck · Jun 27, 2014

I purchased a used 4x8' TM2 back in '10 and it has been one of the best tools I've purchased. Its come with its share of headaches and cussing as well but over all its been great. I do some small production runs for a local company in town that doesnt have to have the percision of laser cutting on thier parts and it works out well for both of us. Other than them its one off parts or stuff I just feel like making vs buying. Like said for holes that have to be exact sizes its best to not cut and hand drill or just put a small pierce at the hole location and drill out. I've found for what I do its just easier to oversize the holes and run with it.

Stuff like this is your money makers