Hello Everyone, my name is Mike and I work in the Torchmate Technical Support department. I am here to answer any and all questions you may have regarding our machines, how they work, what they are capable of, and how to troubleshoot/fix problems you may be having. I will of course recommend that anytime you have a problem that you call our Technical Support Department M-F 6:30 am to 4:00 pm PST at (866)571-1066.

I will also be forwarding requests for price quotes to our sales department. Due to the many different configurations you can order a Torchmate machine in, price quotes will be handled by a sales representative who will likely contact you by phone or email to discuss what you are looking for in a machine and what Torchmate system will best fit your needs.

Thanks

Why don't you put up a real support site for your product, or if you have one just let the group know where it is?

This is the link to our current Technical Support page: http://torchmate.com/assistance/index.htm

We have several more that are not on the website covering everything from connecting nodes in the Torchmate CAD software to technical schematics for checking voltages. We send them out through emails because they can be specific per person, rather then a general non-specific guide.

Also we do 99% of our technical support over the phone and through emails. Who wants to dig through a users manual or troubleshooting guide when you can call anytime and ask a specific question and get the answer right away.

Hello Mike
I’m intent to buy a Torchmate 1 and I worry about the built instructions. I’m not a very god welder and it’s important to me to know how accurately there are instructions to build the table. And the complete set. And them, of course make it run.
Do you think? That will be not so hard to assemble it.

Ok Mike
I saw that’s torchmate 1 come whit everything I need to built my own cnc table. There a few things that is not so clear to me.
The Torchmate 1 kit comes with X and Y motors so one of the questions is if I will need Z axis motor to performance a plane plasma cutting metal shapes. And the other is if can add a Z axis to make non plane plasma cutting to the Torchmate 1 kid.
And one more, what is a Torchmate Probe Sensor?
Tell me if you can help me with these questions.
Tks.

Ok Mike
I saw that’s torchmate 1 come whit everything I need to built my own cnc table. There a few things that is not so clear to me.
The Torchmate 1 kit comes with X and Y motors so one of the questions is if I will need Z axis motor to performance a plane plasma cutting metal shapes. And the other is if can add a Z axis to make non plane plasma cutting to the Torchmate 1 kid.
And one more, what is a Torchmate Probe Sensor?
Tell me if you can help me with these questions.
Tks.


If you are referring to making Plasma cuts on material that is not Planar with the gantry (thus the torch) you would be referring to something like our Automatic Height Control, that can use the Arc Voltage reading from the Plasma cutter to adjust a motor that will keep the torch planar with the material while cutting.

This is an option on our tables, and if the material remains flat (say a heavier gauge plate) then an AVHC is not needed.

The Probe sensor is something used on our Z axis routing tables, for 3d mapping a small area to recreate a part.

-Mike

Hello Mike
After read a lot of the Torchmate 1 and 2 I decided to make the purchase next week. But I have two more things not so clear that I want to know.
One is if I can use any plasma cutting brand in a Torchmate 2 bolt together 4X8. Or what are the plasma characteristic needs to be use in Torchmate 2. I know that’s better for the cut a machine torch. But, how I will connect the computer to the Plasma cutter machine. There any output or input needed in the plasma cutter machine to be connected. I presume that’s the computer need to turn on and off the plasma many times. So must be a wired connection. I’m a little imprecise about these concepts.
And the second thing is if people from CNCZONE have any discount in the purchase of Torchmate product.
Any good information will be very helpful.

Hello Mike
After read a lot of the Torchmate 1 and 2 I decided to make the purchase next week. But I have two more things not so clear that I want to know.
One is if I can use any plasma cutting brand in a Torchmate 2 bolt together 4X8. Or what are the plasma characteristic needs to be use in Torchmate 2. I know that’s better for the cut a machine torch. But, how I will connect the computer to the Plasma cutter machine. There any output or input needed in the plasma cutter machine to be connected. I presume that’s the computer need to turn on and off the plasma many times. So must be a wired connection. I’m a little imprecise about these concepts.
And the second thing is if people from CNCZONE have any discount in the purchase of Torchmate product.
Any good information will be very helpful.

Just about any Contact Start plasma cutter will work on the machine, our control's provide an interface box which essentially replaces the trigger on the torch. This allows the computer to fire and shut off the torch in the program. We usually recommend Thermal Dynamics and Hypertherm plasma cutters on our machines, as they are both industry leaders with great performance, customer support, and warranties. We do have other customers running esab and miller plasma cutters successfully.

-Mike

Mr. Mike, our torchmate cnc does not automatically adjust the height whenever it touches the plate, is there a sensor that can do the adjusting?

Mike,

As a long time veteran with Hypertherm....we take exception to your statement below regarding that AVHC (automatic torch height control) is not needed in some plasma cutting applications.

In order to get acceptable life and good cut quality...today's plasma torches require that torch to work distance is controlled to within plus or minus .020" of the recomended standoff height from the plate during the cut. (With our industrial class high definition systems, height must be controlled to within plus or minus .004") In many cases...the recomended standoff is .060" to .080" off the plate while cutting. There really are not any large plates of steel....that will stay flat within .020" over their entire area, and further, as the cutting bed slats get used..the variation in torch to work distance can vary quite dramatically over the perimeter of a plate. Add normal heat induced warpage caused by plate stress to the equation....and expect height variations that must be corrected on all plasma cut plates.....without this correction you can surely expect collisions with the plate which will damage consumables and torch as well as situations where the torch is too far from the plate...which will cause extreme cut edge bevels and dross.

As important as accurate control of height whicle cutting....is the need to sense the surface of the plate before every cut , then retract to the manufacturers recomended pierce height. This function is called IHS (initial height sensing). One pierce too close to the plate will destroy the nozzle and shield on a plasma torch.

Torch height control should be installed on every plasma cutting application for acceptable ct angularity and for the best consumable life....as well as for better productivity. With a good THC you can push the start button and walk away from the cutting machine....without it, you need to stay at the machine and tweak the torch height every few seconds!

Jim Colt Hypertherm

This is an option on our tables, and if the material remains flat (say a heavier gauge plate) then an AVHC is not needed.

-Mike[/QUOTE]

Mr. Mike, our torchmate cnc does not automatically adjust the height whenever it touches the plate, is there a sensor that can do the adjusting?

Do you have an Automatic Height Control already, or are you running a manual torch setup?

Mike,

As a long time veteran with Hypertherm....we take exception to your statement below regarding that AVHC (automatic torch height control) is not needed in some plasma cutting applications.

In order to get acceptable life and good cut quality...today's plasma torches require that torch to work distance is controlled to within plus or minus .020" of the recomended standoff height from the plate during the cut. (With our industrial class high definition systems, height must be controlled to within plus or minus .004") In many cases...the recomended standoff is .060" to .080" off the plate while cutting. There really are not any large plates of steel....that will stay flat within .020" over their entire area, and further, as the cutting bed slats get used..the variation in torch to work distance can vary quite dramatically over the perimeter of a plate. Add normal heat induced warpage caused by plate stress to the equation....and expect height variations that must be corrected on all plasma cut plates.....without this correction you can surely expect collisions with the plate which will damage consumables and torch as well as situations where the torch is too far from the plate...which will cause extreme cut edge bevels and dross.

As important as accurate control of height whicle cutting....is the need to sense the surface of the plate before every cut , then retract to the manufacturers recomended pierce height. This function is called IHS (initial height sensing). One pierce too close to the plate will destroy the nozzle and shield on a plasma torch.

Torch height control should be installed on every plasma cutting application for acceptable ct angularity and for the best consumable life....as well as for better productivity. With a good THC you can push the start button and walk away from the cutting machine....without it, you need to stay at the machine and tweak the torch height every few seconds!

Jim Colt Hypertherm



This is an option on our tables, and if the material remains flat (say a heavier gauge plate) then an AVHC is not needed.

-Mike

Jim,

I do agree to your points that you will experience a better cut, with longer consumable life, and you won't have to watch the machine as much when you have an AVHC unit. I know several customers running very well on non AVHC machines. It does take more work to watch for tip ups, and adjust the height if the material height changes, and you probably will get less consumable life from this process and less production (time).

With that being said, the machine does function without an AVHC unit, and on thicker materials the height does vary less then with a lighter gauge material that will warp easier. We do sell most of our machines with AVHC units, but not everyone can afford to buy one up front, or have the knowledge to build one themselves. If someone is not satisfied with the machine without an AVHC, it can always be added later. I have never heard a customer complain about not having one, because they realize it is not the 2 axis machines fault, nor the plasma cutters fault that their consumable life may not be that great, or that they have to watch the machine closely.

-Mike

We already have the AVHC but whenever we are cutting the plasma hit the plate and doesn't adjust.

We already have the AVHC but whenever we are cutting the plasma hit the plate and doesn't adjust.

This could be for one of several reasons, or a combination of a few.

The first thing I will ask is if you ran a test cut in Manual Operation of the AVHC system at the proper Pierce and Initial Cut heights to determine the correct voltage to set the unit to in Automatic Mode? If you have not, I would recommend setting the unit into Manual mode, and check your pierce and initial cut height settings in the unit to make sure they are appropriate. Typically on 3/16" and thicker material with non-shielded consumables, a good pierce height is .22 and initial cut height is .18. On thinner materials we may drop those numbers by .03.

During the cut, the current voltage will display an average voltage reading, that for this material at this amperage and this speed, is correct to run in Automatic mode. You would then change the AVHC into Automatic mode, and adjust the set voltage to match this number. From that point on the AVHC will adjust the torch height up or down in order to follow the material.

If this is still not working, I would suggest going through and re-checking your delay times in the AVHC against the Setup and Start Guide to make sure the AVHC unit is coinciding with your current machine configuration.

-Mike

Mr. Mike,

we also want to use the oxy fuel, is it correct that the driver for that is 220V and the solenoid valve is 110V? thanks!

Mr. Mike,

we also want to use the oxy fuel, is it correct that the driver for that is 220V and the solenoid valve is 110V? thanks!

I would need to know the account information in order to look up which one you purchased, however we only have 3 customers in Oman and 1 of them has Oxy so I would assume that is you.

As it was ordered over a year and a half ago, the solenoid is 110vac. Since then we have released a 220vac solenoid valve. You can use a step down converter to reach your 110vac solenoid, or potentially get a 220vac solenoid.

-Mike

yes you are correct it's been 1 and a half year, before oxy fuel was working but they shifted it without remembering the wiring and configuration. anyways just to clear things, driver is 220volts input/output and the valve is 110volts input. thanks

yes you are correct it's been 1 and a half year, before oxy fuel was working but they shifted it without remembering the wiring and configuration. anyways just to clear things, driver is 220volts input/output and the valve is 110volts input. thanks

You will have to step down the power before it reached the solenoid valve on it. If you are looking for some instructions, PM your email address to me or email me so I can respond with some Oxy setup instructions.

-Mike

Hi Mike- So i've been trying to work this issue out for over a year now. I only use my plasma table maybe once/twice a week. the issue i have is sometimes in the middle of burning the manual height control will stop working. See i use the manual up/down height control because the automatic one doesn't respond quick enough when i'm traveling at 150ipm. so could you tell me what is possible for fixing this. it's a pain when i'm going down an 8' sheet of 14ga and all of the sudden my height control stops working and the torch smacks into the plate. then i have to manually error out the motor and try and manually with my hand turn the motor coupler to the correct height. a huge pain!! anything i can do? a guy from torchmate sent me a motor re-program file but that didn't seem to do anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!
-Nate
Newport Fab & Machine .com

Hi Mike- So i've been trying to work this issue out for over a year now. I only use my plasma table maybe once/twice a week. the issue i have is sometimes in the middle of burning the manual height control will stop working. See i use the manual up/down height control because the automatic one doesn't respond quick enough when i'm traveling at 150ipm. so could you tell me what is possible for fixing this. it's a pain when i'm going down an 8' sheet of 14ga and all of the sudden my height control stops working and the torch smacks into the plate. then i have to manually error out the motor and try and manually with my hand turn the motor coupler to the correct height. a huge pain!! anything i can do? a guy from torchmate sent me a motor re-program file but that didn't seem to do anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!
-Nate
Newport Fab & Machine .com

In manual mode the height control will maintain the pierce or initial cut height for the entire length of the program, shouldn't adjust up or down at all unless you initialize the jog command. When you say it "stops working" during the middle of the cut, you later say that it smacks into the plate. Is the motor jogging down into the plate?

I would recommend running the AVHC in Automatic mode with a 20 or 30 amp drag tip. This would allow you to be in contact with the material but still adjust up and down in automatic mode over the variations in material which shouldn't put too much pressure on the material being cut. Depending on the severity of the warping, 150ipm could be too fast in which case I would go with a lower amperage to decrease your travel speed, this will improve the AVHC units function.

I'll be out of the office until next week, but feel free to email support @ torchmate.com if you have any other questions in the mean time.

-Mike

ok, maybe i phrased it wrong. so yeah i know that in manual mode, once it touches off it maintains that height, which is another probelm. mine doesn't maintain that height. throughout it running it slowly dwells and moves closer to the material. it's like the motor isn't strong enough to hold it up. so that being said, yes, during the cutting operation i have to manually with the torch height control move it up or down. not moving it through the software but moving through using the button on the torch height control itself. also when the plate warps thats another reason i have to move it up or down. like i said, when i put it in Auto the torch height control doesn't read and respond fast enough. and no it doesn't smack into the plate. it's more like the material warps and i can't manually move the head up. and for as far as the AVHC like i said, it just respond quick enough, and i'm not sure what you're talking about "drag tip" I just use and standard Hypotherm 40amp fine cut tip and if you look at the hypotherm recommended speeds it should be at like 200IPM.

Hi Mike, I am having some trouble with my Torchmate.
First some history; when I first got it running the signal generator would go offline when ever the plasma torch would ignite ie piercing the plate. At the same time the USB mouse and keyboard would stop working. I talked to someone in tech support at torchmate and they suggested grounding the plasma cutters chassis and the plasma table to a ground rod. We did this as well as changing out the PC for a different one and the problem seemed to be solved. We made several parts last week with no problems.

I was attempting to cut some parts today and had the same problem. As soon as the plasma lights the signal generator goes off line. I ran it for close to 20 minutes with the plasma cutter turned off and had no problems but as soon as I turned the plasma on the signal generator went off line. It always happens as soon as the plasma lights. The plasma stays lit and I get a message on the screen saying that the computer has lost its connection withe the signal generator.

Where should I start? This is extremely frustrating. I have had this machine for almost 10 months and have cut one paying job with it so far. It worked perfectly for that job by the way and it has worked perfectly for some test cuts I have made. Right now it is just not reliable enough.

Hi Mike, I am having some trouble with my Torchmate.
First some history; when I first got it running the signal generator would go offline when ever the plasma torch would ignite ie piercing the plate. At the same time the USB mouse and keyboard would stop working. I talked to someone in tech support at torchmate and they suggested grounding the plasma cutters chassis and the plasma table to a ground rod. We did this as well as changing out the PC for a different one and the problem seemed to be solved. We made several parts last week with no problems.

I was attempting to cut some parts today and had the same problem. As soon as the plasma lights the signal generator goes off line. I ran it for close to 20 minutes with the plasma cutter turned off and had no problems but as soon as I turned the plasma on the signal generator went off line. It always happens as soon as the plasma lights. The plasma stays lit and I get a message on the screen saying that the computer has lost its connection withe the signal generator.

Where should I start? This is extremely frustrating. I have had this machine for almost 10 months and have cut one paying job with it so far. It worked perfectly for that job by the way and it has worked perfectly for some test cuts I have made. Right now it is just not reliable enough.

The plasma cutter is generating enough interference to cause an interruption in the USB communication causing the machine to go offline. There are a few ways to tackle this problem, the main one being grounding. You may need to ground the electronics to the table 'common' ground, as well as possible checking the quality of the ground to make sure it is efficient enough to shed the interference well. If the ground is not good enough having the table and cutter grounded to it is not going to help.

What is the Serial number of the signal generator, there may be some jumpers we can change inside of the signal generator to try and change the grounding inside of it which in the past has also helped. I would also want to make sure you are on the latest version of the software which has an option to change the USB communication speed from High Speed to Full speed which when combined with the jumper settings helps to solve the problem.

Interference is hard to track, and is usually solved by grounding the machine and electronics to a dedicated ground rod.

Thanks Mike.

When you say ground "the electronics to the table" what do you mean? Run a wire from the metal signal generator box to the table? I am thinking I will run a wire from the PC case and the signal generator to the table.

How do I check the quality of the gound? I installed a ground rod when the problem first occured. At that time someone in tech support at torchmate emailed me instructions. I can't remember all the details but there was a 100 watt light bulb and a multi meter involed. Is this what you are refering to? I can't remember the numbers but the test was within the specs provided to me at the time.

We changed the jumpers last time as well as changing the settings in the computer to match. Everything is set to Full speed, if I remember correctly.

Someone in the torchmate yahoo group suggested sheilding the plasma lead in a steel braided cover and using shielded USB cables. The Burny/Hypertherm we use at work uses a braided cover and it never has any problems. What do you think? Worth a try?

Thanks Mike.

When you say ground "the electronics to the table" what do you mean? Run a wire from the metal signal generator box to the table? I am thinking I will run a wire from the PC case and the signal generator to the table.

How do I check the quality of the gound? I installed a ground rod when the problem first occured. At that time someone in tech support at torchmate emailed me instructions. I can't remember all the details but there was a 100 watt light bulb and a multi meter involed. Is this what you are refering to? I can't remember the numbers but the test was within the specs provided to me at the time.

We changed the jumpers last time as well as changing the settings in the computer to match. Everything is set to Full speed, if I remember correctly.

Someone in the torchmate yahoo group suggested sheilding the plasma lead in a steel braided cover and using shielded USB cables. The Burny/Hypertherm we use at work uses a braided cover and it never has any problems. What do you think? Worth a try?

As a worse case scenario all of the machine cables would be contained in a stainless braid, with one side grounded to a common star ground on the table itself. The way we have always setup our grounds is everything goes to a common point on the table (Cutter, electronics, table) and then a single wire goes to the ground. While I don't think it matters too much, it has always worked in the past. If grounding the electronics, or putting all of the electronics in an enclosure and grounding the enclosure doesn't work, then you may have to start shielding motor cables, and communication cables by shielding them. Most of the high frequency torches we work with at the industrial scale come with a shield around the torch lead from the factory, which is grounded to the plasma cutter supply. Anything we can do to try and contain and shed the interference to ground is what needs to be tried.

-Mike

Hey Mike, I wrote this thread a month or so ago and never heard back. I know you were out for a while there so i just figured i'd send this again to see if you had any suggestions.

ok, maybe i phrased it wrong. so yeah i know that in manual mode, once it touches off it maintains that height, which is another probelm. mine doesn't maintain that height. throughout it running it slowly dwells and moves closer to the material. it's like the motor isn't strong enough to hold it up. so that being said, yes, during the cutting operation i have to manually with the torch height control move it up or down. not moving it through the software but moving through using the button on the torch height control itself. also when the plate warps thats another reason i have to move it up or down. like i said, when i put it in Auto the torch height control doesn't read and respond fast enough. and no it doesn't smack into the plate. it's more like the material warps and i can't manually move the head up. and for as far as the AVHC like i said, it just doesnt respond quick enough. I just use and standard Hypotherm 40amp fine cut tip and if you look at the hypotherm recommended speeds it should be at like 200IPM.

Hey Mike, I wrote this thread a month or so ago and never heard back. I know you were out for a while there so i just figured i'd send this again to see if you had any suggestions.

ok, maybe i phrased it wrong. so yeah i know that in manual mode, once it touches off it maintains that height, which is another probelm. mine doesn't maintain that height. throughout it running it slowly dwells and moves closer to the material. it's like the motor isn't strong enough to hold it up. so that being said, yes, during the cutting operation i have to manually with the torch height control move it up or down. not moving it through the software but moving through using the button on the torch height control itself. also when the plate warps thats another reason i have to move it up or down. like i said, when i put it in Auto the torch height control doesn't read and respond fast enough. and no it doesn't smack into the plate. it's more like the material warps and i can't manually move the head up. and for as far as the AVHC like i said, it just doesnt respond quick enough. I just use and standard Hypotherm 40amp fine cut tip and if you look at the hypotherm recommended speeds it should be at like 200IPM.

Which model height control do you have? If you don't believe the AVHC is functioning in Automatic mode, I would set the voltage too high and see if it retracts away from the material. If it does, it is functioning. There is only so much adjustment it can make, and this is in part due to the programming in the motor. There are different programs that can change this sensitivity.

If you are running at 40 amps, you could potentially drop the amperage to 30 and run at a slightly slower speed, which can allow the height control to react to adjustments in material height.

-Mike