Thread: 95 Hard at work
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Unread 15-01-2014, 14:36
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Re: 95 Hard at work

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Ray View Post
JamesCH95 We're in the market for a CNC plasma and are new to both. We were looking at PlasmaCam for the table, but your finished products have me sold. Our only concern is that right now no one on the team knows G code for the programming. (1) We're very proficient in solidworks and other CAD programs, will it be difficult to pick up? (2) Is the Torchmate software what you actually designed these pieces in? (3) Could we get a decent set up for about 15K?
What exactly have we sold you on?

G-Code is pretty easy to pick up as it's an extremely basic language. However, very little work is actually done in straight G-Code. About all I ever do directly in G-Code is change feed-rate commands.

1) Everything in our process is pretty easy and I was able to learn/figure it out in an hour or two. Typically this process is: design part in solidworks, make 1:1 scale drawing of part, export drawing as DXF, in TorchMate CAD turn the DXF into a torchpath with lead-ins and lead-outs, transfer to CNC control computer, convert DXF to G-Code with built-in software, edit feedrate if needed, hit go.

2) We design everything in SolidWorks, Torchmate CAD is there to make toolpaths from those designs, although it is also capable of simple design operations. There are MANY different CAM programs that can perform this function: MasterCAM, ProNest, BobCAD/CAM (what I use for my CNC router), and many others. Talk to whatever vendor you wind up buying from and see what they recommend.

3) That's a loaded question! I would strongly encourage you to talk to Hypertherm and Torchmate and see what they offer for educational institution deals. Torchmate has a number of DIY plasma cutter kits and small-format tables (2'x2', 2'x4', 4'x4') that would probably be quite budget friendly.

A Hypertherm Powermax 85 power supply will run you $3k or more at retail prices, plus consumables and a torch. You will also need to invest in either a water table or a very strong ventilation system to extract fumes from the cutting area. Do not cheap out on fume control, plasma power supply, or cutting torch, these are the most critical parts of a CNC plasma table as far as I can tell.

I'm not an expert CNC plasma table operator. Personally I have only been using them for a few months. Your best bet is to talk to Torchmate and Hypertherm to get setup. I have, however, been using manual plasma torches for a long time. This is where my strong preference for Hypertherm equipment comes from. That, and they're a US company that treats their employees REALLY well, doesn't out-source anything that I know of, and is head-quartered in the next town over from where I live.
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