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.
But seriously? White paper.. CD.. upload.. You get what I'm sayin'! :) - Elgin Clock [more] 
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