Making a plasma table

[Blacksmith glen]

Hi everyone i am about to buy or make a small plasma cutting table.I have researched this for the last 3 months and now feel ready to start.I live in the u.k and most ready built machines are from the USA infact i have only found 1 new machine in the U.k from a company called Techserve and they want a staggering $32,000 for it. I have a small blacksmiths shop and i need the machine to cut out small decorative shapes for wethervanes and stuff out of 1/8 inch steel. Space is very tight so i am
looking for the smallest machine possible,price is also an issue.
Question 1
Are there any reasons i could not convert a small cnc router table to a plasma cutting machine. My Knowledge of electronics and engineering says that there is no reason why this could not be done as there are many small router tables for sale in Germany that are less than $3,000.
Question 2
How important is Automatic torch height control on 1/8" steel do you need it or are the rollerball systems i have seen just as good for this purpose.
Question 3
How much better are servo motor drives to stepper has anyone had a real problems with steppers loosing steps.
Any help would be much appreciated
Thanks Glenn

[jcc3inc]

Glenn,

1) a router table would be just fine

2) ATHC is very desireable, but not absolutely necessary. A "floater" is often used with sheet metal cutouts. You can cut with a fixed height if your table is flat and the workpiece not warped.

3) Steppers are just fine; the steppers on my test table can run it past 500 IPM with no trouble. You would likely plasma cut at 30-200 IPM, +/-. I added a counter to my steppers to look for lost steps and have none with proper machine setup. If you stall it, then there will be lost steps!

Email me jccinc-at-owc-dot-net and I will send you pix of my test table; it is not made for plasma as-is, but raising the carriage would do the job for plasma.

Regards,
Jack C.

[jcc3inc]

Glenn,

Just a second thought; see the Torchmate machine mentioned on this forum. It is light weight and appears to be thoughtfully made.

Jack C.