Quote:
Originally Posted by Adrian Clark
I cannot stress enough how important it is to test new fabrication methods before the season. In 2013 I tried to cut a bellypan out of .090 5052 Al on a plasmacam machine, a machine I had never used before. When I came to the shop and showed the staff what I was making they told me it wouldn't work, and they were right. As I was cutting out the profile the sheet began to warp, I had to give up shortly after I started because the sheet bent up and hit the torch. This is exactly what I was warned would happen.
Before you take the time preparing to go to your sponsor and make the test parts I recommend you talk to an operator first. They will know the machine and it's limits and can tell you if your parts can be made on their machine and even give you tips on how to design your parts to be easier to cut. The main things you need to convey to the operator is the materiel, its thickness, and the complexity (run time) of your parts. With that information they should be able to tell you if they can cut them without the sheet warping.
-Adrian
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In 2013 we tried to use our plasmacam for the exact same operation and had the exact same issue. Luckily it was in house, so we were only wasting our own time and resources, but we quickly learned a plasma cutter is not a precise machine, even if the software and rigging is.
Warning you now, do not try to do bearing holes or gearboxes with the plasma cutter. You could do a solid 1/16 Al bellypan, if you just use it to make ziptie holes for your electronics. Think of the plasma cutter to be just more precise than a bandsaw, that can also do pockets. If you have access to a manual mill, that should get you most of what you need for a WCD.