The Aluminum Falcons (FRC 2168) are working on proposals for a number of grant opportunities that we have have identified. One of the proposals in the works is being generated to support the purchase of 4' x 4' Torchmate CNC plasma cutter package. I know there are a number of teams who have purchased and are successfully using these systems from Lincoln Electric. In order to properly estimate the grant amount request, I am working to estimate a number of costs assosciated with purchasing and owning the said system. My questions to those teams that use the Torchmate or an equivalent system are:
What are the costs beyond the purchase of the machine and tooling you have expereinced, i.e. installation & setup cost (electric drop/water line for water table), gas rental, etc?
What have users experienced in terms of operational cost i.e. gas usage, tool & tip replacement, power consumption etc?
I have searched through a number of machining forums to see what peoples experience in industry are and have complied a rough set of cost figures. These numbers however are based on a machine shop usage level and not an FRC build season and off season usage level.
Your experiences and feedback are greatly appreciated.
