newbie questions

[FUBAR62172]

Hey Guys
I have a small home based machine shop and I'm interested in getting into plasma cutting.I've seen a new 2 X 4 plasmacam goes around $7K is that typical with other machines? I thought I saw an ad for torchmate for appx $4K but I can't be sure.Also where do you usually find work for these machines? I can think of alot of custom stuff but I'd like to find some steady work so it pays for itself.Thanks for any info

[nearboston]

I'm new to Torchmate myself and will have a few questions. Since this purchase was for a college Manufacturing Center, I bought through a third party, and had them set it up. Frankly, this process has dragged a bit, but for my application it is probably best.
We bought the 4x4 unit, no water table, automatic height adjustment using a Hypotherm Powermax 65 plasma cutter.

So far I am not displeased. For tweeking and testing we used 4ft long by 4 inch wide metal that we had laying around. One thing that gave us problems using these is that the slag builds up and the torch tends to drag the whole piece instead of cutting. Don't know if this is normal, and if claming of narrow pieces is suggested.

A problem that I am having, and it might sound silly, is I am looking for some dxfs of "real" stuff. NO OFFENCE INTENDED! We'll be cutting our share of art and signs, etc... I just don't feel like taking the time to build something more practicle in Autocad and am having trouble finding a "One Sheet" sheet metal projetc to throw into the PC, zap out on the Torchmate, and hold up to the admin as "TaDa" material.

That having been said, The Civil Engineering School is very interestd for it's Spring Steel Bridge Contest.

Anyway, That's where we're at. A lot of anxious tudents , who have no idea what a learning curve is, so I am the Learning Curve Buffer,

[Mike 1948]

Originally Posted by nearboston I'm new to Torchmate myself and will have a few questions. Since this purchase was for a college Manufacturing Center, I bought through a third party, and had them set it up. Frankly, this process has dragged a bit, but for my application it is probably best. We bought the 4x4 unit, no water table, automatic height adjustment using a Hypotherm Powermax 65 plasma cutter. So far I am not displeased. For tweeking and testing we used 4ft long by 4 inch wide metal that we had laying around. One thing that gave us problems using these is that the slag builds up and the torch tends to drag the whole piece instead of cutting. Don't know if this is normal, and if claming of narrow pieces is suggested. A problem that I am having, and it might sound silly, is I am looking for some dxfs of "real" stuff. NO OFFENCE INTENDED! We'll be cutting our share of art and signs, etc... I just don't feel like taking the time to build something more practicle in Autocad and am having trouble finding a "One Sheet" sheet metal projetc to throw into the PC, zap out on the Torchmate, and hold up to the admin as "TaDa" material. That having been said, The Civil Engineering School is very interestd for it's Spring Steel Bridge Contest. Anyway, That's where we're at. A lot of anxious tudents , who have no idea what a learning curve is, so I am the Learning Curve Buffer,

Not to get off the subject of the original poster but, if you are cutting and the torch is dragging the part around you have a problem. The torch should cut at .06-.19 high depending. If there is slag it "usually" is only on the bottom if you are cutting at the correct height. I never (almost)have had a problem with the part being dragged by the torch unless its operator error

Good Luck
Mike

[nearboston]

Originally Posted by Mike 1948 Not to get off the subject of the original poster but, if you are cutting and the torch is dragging the part around you have a problem. The torch should cut at .06-.19 high depending. If there is slag it "usually" is only on the bottom if you are cutting at the correct height. I never (almost)have had a problem with the part being dragged by the torch unless its operator error Good Luck Mike

Thanks Mike, those numbers are a big help. I am still standing back watching the installer do the work, so I will check the program ans see what he has set for cutting height.

Thanks again

CP

[millman52]

Originally Posted by FUBAR62172 Hey Guys I have a small home based machine shop and I'm interested in getting into plasma cutting.I've seen a new 2 X 4 plasmacam goes around $7K is that typical with other machines? I thought I saw an ad for torchmate for appx $4K but I can't be sure.Also where do you usually find work for these machines? I can think of alot of custom stuff but I'd like to find some steady work so it pays for itself.Thanks for any info

A short few years (apx 3) ago I was faced with a similar situation. I was doing what I thought was all the parts I needed to do with an old Linde pantograph machine.

In short I decided to build a 5 X 10 CNC of my own. Just for my own work. Once in place & the word of mouth got out to other businesses. I now have a man hired & the table is running full time. Not only that I am in need of a larger machine.

Everyone's market is different. In my area I'd go broke waiting on walk-in work. I deal with other industry & production quantitys of CNC torch parts.

[plasmamatt]

We purchased a Shopsabre 4896 earlier this year. It took us quite a while to get all of the bugs worked out but now it is almost working perfect. Shopsabre has excellent tech support and I would highly recommend their product. I felt that it was the nicest looking unit for the price. I did however have to practically become an expert in plasma cutting just to get my unit to work good. From what I am seeing I think this is common though with any brand. Now I can produce a very nice part that is almost dross free with limited curf and a very smooth cut edge. With a few changes to my Thermal Dynamics sheild cap my consumable life has drastically improved as well.

We are a small manufacturer and we are currently using our unit to cut parts for our own product but word of mouth travels very quickly. We have already been approached by multiple local machine shops a couple other manufacturers and a couple farmers to do work for them. I think you will be surprised how many people want you to do work for them.

As far as dragging the torch on the work piece, it sounds like your torch height control is not working properly. Are you seeing this right after a pierce or while cutting?

[Mike 1948]

Originally Posted by plasmamatt With a few changes to my Thermal Dynamics sheild cap my consumable life has drastically improved as well.

Do you mind me asking, what changes you made? I have a TD also.

Mike

[plasmamatt]

Hi Mike,

I just posted about our TD plasma cutter in a new post. Here is a link. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_pl...ml#post1014603