New Low Cost Torch Height Control Beta Testers Needed

[plain ol Bill]

Well crap! I thought I might qualify as an operator. Took the test and was passing with flying colors until i hit #7. This might explain why my TV looks so dim after cutting awhile. Guess I will just have to go to the university now.

[cowleym]

We fitted a few extra buttons on our controller to make it look a little more complicated. One button flashed up a message informing the operator of the number of times he had pressed said button and asked him to not press it again please.


mike

[jimcolt]

OK.....many cutting machines are relatively simple to operate when equipped with an air plasma system or an oxy-fuel torch. Industrial grade machines...often pretty large (I have seen shipyard machines that had a 50' x 360' cutting bed)...and are often equipped with up to 4 high definition class plasma systems, each with up to 8 channels of gas flow settings, and up to 12 oxyfuel torches. Older cnc controls on this type of machine would have full keyboards as well as operators consoles that controlled each individual tool. Further, the operator would have to walk to each plasma system gas console and set up to 8 different gas settings (preflow, cut flow gases for both plasma and secondary flows)...as well as set voltages, pierce height, pierce delays, etc on each torch height control.

Attached is a picture of a Hypertherm Automation control that takes all of those setup processes away from the operator. The operator chooses the material and thickness being cut....which torches he wants to operate...and all of the rest of the parameters are adjusted in 2.4 seconds by direct digital communication between the cnc and each plasma system. Very few buttons.....and very easy to control by the operator. There is a touch screen that does allow a lot of customized options...yet it actually walks the operator through the entire process with a process wizard.

This unit can have 4 torches simultaneously doing arc marking for layouts lines on a plate at about 9 amps...then switch gas flows, torch height settings and current and be cutting at 400 Amps on 2" thick plate 2.4 seconds later!

This obviously is different from entry level or hobby class cnc controls....but shows what the PC based cnc technology has brought to industrial class controls! Not many buttons...but they are all functional!

Jim Colt

[cowleym]

Yep

We use to buy Burny 10 controllers but got sick of paying £6500 a throw so I spent 2 years designing my own, with inbuilt generic shapes, dxf conversion, kerf offsetting and multiple THC AVC etc. I also have the 'input the material type and thickness and the system does the rest' fuctions. ( we can't buy the hypertherm unit here as bigger manufacturer has an exclusive deal ).

I am happy because I save lots of money i.e. Burny 10 £6500, (ITT Kaliburn - Innerlogic) Innova height sense £6000, My costs including Z axis positioner £3000. No sense in giving the big boys more money to maintain their bloated design departments when technology has moved on to the point that one person can produce a similar system with virtually no resources. I am sure that my system is missing some features that the big boys systems have but I have not come across (m)any yet. Another irritation was that their system or locked up pretty tight and its a pain if you suffer a hard disk crash.

Anyway I am moving even further off thread here, sorry

Mike

www.techservcnc.com