Want to buy 4x8 cnc plasma any advice good or bad

[Tj,s welding]

Ive read through the post i need a small machine to do art and small parts under 3/8"tracker,torchmate dynacnc,dynatorch,plasmacam,shopbottools any input to help make a choice good or bad havenet found any thing bad about tracker yet Thanks for any input TJ

[amdmonster]

i've been reading through all this stuff as well and have even got stuff from dynacnc, tracker, plasmacam and still are undecided. From what i see alot of people use plasmacam but on here people seem to talk bad about it. I personally like thier software, but the machine looks very thin and cheaply made. Torchmate has really impressed me with their stuff! I have been leaning more towards Dynscnc, and torchmate myself at the moment. I was looking into building one but it looks like once its all done its still very pricey. So why not buy one done and not have the headaches of it something isn't done right.

[redfarm]

I have been looking as well and have pretty much decided to go with dynatorch (www.dynatorch.com) the servo system instead of stepper was a good point (very cost competitive) and the machine seems to be well built but what capped it was talking to the salesperson. call the other places and then call dynatorch the difference is very clear.

[Torchhead]

Factor in DynaCNC. Very quality oriented. Weak Customer Support and poor attitude have been the most often criticisms of PlasmaCAM. Be careful when buying a table with proprietary hardware/software. If the hardware will not run with other software ontrollers (like MACH3) then realize you may be stuck with a sick goose in the future.

[Fab]

I am also looking at different plasma cutting tables. I have looked at several different machines Plasma Cam, Practical CNC, Torch Mate, Saber CNC and Dyna CNC. I was really impressed after watching Plasma Cams DVD they sent me. However I have heard both good and bad about it. As of right now I am sold on the Dyna CNC they have been very helpful and informative over the phone and their machine looks to be of good quality. It is a little less expensive than the Plasma Cam too. If any one has any experience with this machine or with the Bob Cad 20 software it comes with I would sure like to hear your commits good or bad.
http://www.dynacnc.com/dynacnc.htm

http://cgi.ebay.com/CNC-PLASMA-ROUTE...QQcmdZViewItem

[PowerCNC4u]

I went with a DynaCNC machine because of the help I received when I was trying to decide which machine to buy. I have the 4x8 Plasma / Router and it is far superior to the machine my friend has. They had no problems answering my questions and were happy to answer them. I have had a few tech support questions that I needed help with and they had them answered within minutes and I was up and running. The hardware and cutting software combination is Super Great! I can switch from router to plasma in a few minutes after I sweep the floor. I have the servo model and it is fast, accurate and reliable. I have the newer ATHC than the video shows. It rocks! I am very happy with my choice and I would highly recommend the DynaCNC machine to anyone. I am making money with my machine when I hear complaints about my friends machine being down or lacking tech support. Good luck with your choice. I highly recommend the DynaCNC.

[amdmonster]

what type of machine does your friend have?

[Fab]

I went with a DynaCNC machine because of the help I received when I was trying to decide which machine to buy. I have the 4x8 Plasma / Router and it is far superior to the machine my friend has. They had no problems answering my questions and were happy to answer them. I have had a few tech support questions that I needed help with and they had them answered within minutes and I was up and running. The hardware and cutting software combination is Super Great! I can switch from router to plasma in a few minutes after I sweep the floor. I have the servo model and it is fast, accurate and reliable. I have the newer ATHC than the video shows. It rocks! I am very happy with my choice and I would highly recommend the DynaCNC machine to anyone. I am making money with my machine when I hear complaints about my friends machine being down or lacking tech support. Good luck with your choice. I highly recommend the DynaCNC.

Thanks for your recommendation. I haven’t received their video yet; it should be arriving any day. By the way you brought up a question that I am going to ask the next time I talk to Dyna CNC. What are the advantages to having the $1500 upgrade to servomotors over the stepper-motors?

[Torchhead]

The stepper VS Servo debate has been waged ad infintium on this and other lists. There are arguments in both directions. I run machines I have built with steppers and others with servo's. The general argument is that servo's have what is called a "closed loop" and any loss of position outside the range of error (normally 128 counts) results in a fault that stops movement. They are also quieter and smoother (although with modern micro steppers like the Gecko that is less of an issue). A falicy exists that servo's are better because they "correct" for positional errors but the fact you are getting postional errors at all indicates something is wrong, so how far do you want a servo to actually correct before it decides it's trying to push against an obsticle and burning up the motors? A loss of position on either type of system indicates a problem in either the design or the work being done (working outside the limits of the machine). It needs to be physically corrected rather than compensated for. Properly designed and used steppers do NOT "lose/gain" steps.

You can get faster speeds and higher torque from a similar sized servo. Steppers lose torque as RPM increases whereas the torque for a servo is actually greater at higher speeds. Conversly steppers work better at low RPM than servo's.

So now that you are confused I offer this: Buy the system you are most comforatble with. If you use you table a lot in production the added cost is easy to rationalize. If you were doing the design it (would be) harder to build a stepper that does not lose steps than a servo, but in the process of buying one from a vendor that issue goes away. They have done the engineering, testing and have working machines in the field under varying conditions. If your primary intent is just plasma cutting I think a (properly designed) stepper system is just fine. Use the money to invest in a good THC solution for plasma.

Just my opinion and I have the whip marks to back it up (:-). BTW My home built plasma is servo's on X&Y and stepper on Z.

[Fab]

The stepper VS Servo debate has been waged ad infintium on this and other lists. There are arguments in both directions. I run machines I have built with steppers and others with servo's. The general argument is that servo's have what is called a "closed loop" and any loss of position outside the range of error (normally 128 counts) results in a fault that stops movement. They are also quieter and smoother (although with modern micro steppers like the Gecko that is less of an issue). A falicy exists that servo's are better because they "correct" for positional errors but the fact you are getting postional errors at all indicates something is wrong, so how far do you want a servo to actually correct before it decides it's trying to push against an obsticle and burning up the motors? A loss of position on either type of system indicates a problem in either the design or the work being done (working outside the limits of the machine). It needs to be physically corrected rather than compensated for. Properly designed and used steppers do NOT "lose/gain" steps.

You can get faster speeds and higher torque from a similar sized servo. Steppers lose torque as RPM increases whereas the torque for a servo is actually greater at higher speeds. Conversly steppers work better at low RPM than servo's.

So now that you are confused I offer this: Buy the system you are most comforatble with. If you use you table a lot in production the added cost is easy to rationalize. If you were doing the design it (would be) harder to build a stepper that does not lose steps than a servo, but in the process of buying one from a vendor that issue goes away. They have done the engineering, testing and have working machines in the field under varying conditions. If your primary intent is just plasma cutting I think a (properly designed) stepper system is just fine. Use the money to invest in a good THC solution for plasma.

Just my opinion and I have the whip marks to back it up (:-). BTW My home built plasma is servo's on X&Y and stepper on Z.

THANKS

[Tj,s welding]

Thanks everyone for the info im leaning toward the dynacnc also.I live in Alaska and its hard to get out and see what everyone else is doing its also a long way to ship a lemon if you buy one.So THANKS again for everyones help glad i found this forum first.There are only three 4x4 plasma cams in town so i wanted to get a bigger unit that was built better Have a nice day TJ

[amdmonster]

well so far practical cnc has been alot better and more promptly at answering my ?'s or emails.