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Greetings to All,
I recently (just today) placed an order for a new "ZR" series CNC table from plasmaroutecnc.
My background experience is "Farming" and "IT" work... in my farming experience I have used a cutting torch(oxy/fuel), welder(arc), grinder and chopsaw to tackle many challenges with repairing and building equipment use on the farm. My IT work has allowed me to have a little money to throw at the farming challenges. To that end I have decided that I "Must Have" (Ha) a CNC table which I intend to use for Plasma Cutting, and Oxy/Fuel cutting... I think I would like to have a scribe, but will probably add that later.
A friend informed me about the cnczone site, and I have found it to be an invaluable resource for researching which setup is right for me. Thru the information that I have read here, and helpful advice from persons on this forum I have come to the conclusion that the plasmaroutecnc table is the correct choice for me and have place my order for a new table to be built. This decision closes an era of stewing over which machine to buy, and now I can focus on preparing my shop for the new machine, then ultimately to using it.
During my quest for information, I found quite a lot of posts regarding other Vendors products... but not very many regarding plasmaroutecnc products. It is to that end I wanted to start a new thread to chronicle my experiences going forward with this product in an effort to give back to the community from which I have received. Hopefully other plasmaroutecnc owners will post here as well so that information can be exchanged. If I am starting a thread for a topic which already has a thriving community somebody please point me in the right direction.
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My table is on order, and Steve has told me to expect 4 to 5 weeks for the system to be ready. I will be filling that time getting the shop ready for it.
I will update the thread as information becomes available
Congrats on your purchase. I too am in the stewing stage. I'd be interested to know what exactly it was about the plasmaroute that made you choose it...made in Oklahoma?
Seriously tho, the advanced THC is the main attraction for me.
I want to see one run before I buy. I will be calling Steve next week to see how far I'll have to travel for a demo. -ted
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First off... I want to qualify that I am definitely not as "deep" into this as some on the board are...
1.) I traveled to Ada and Steve demo'd a machine for me... I was able to see a couple of tables in mid construction, see the build, and cut out a couple of parts for me... one was a ready made art piece (horse)... the other was a simple bracket that I dreamed up... Steve quickly drew it up and cut it with no problems.
2.) I am not sure how justified I am in this... but in my thread reading, I came across a few posts where the users of the tables were having issues with the v-grove rollers jumping off track... and overall to me the Linear rails seemed to be the way to go... since making my decision I have seen some discuss that the linears might were more quickly because of the dust buildup... I will be cutting VERY light... so hopefully that won't be the issue... I will say this... Steve didn't push me either way on this... was just my thinking.
3.) I pushed on Steve pretty hard during the query phase with my questions (Newbie questions) and comparisons of his product workmanship etc... and he remained professional and worked to earn my business... I will say he "went the extra mile"... I also talked with another person who purchased his product almost a year ago... While he did have some issues, he reported that Steve worked with him to get them worked out..... overall Steve made me feel like he "wanted" my business and was willing to work with me.
4.) His shop is close (80ish miles)... while that was not a primary reason, it did carry some weight. It was easy for me to travel up and see his product... I contemplated a trip to Paducah ... but that would have been costly in both time and money.
5.) Price... while the base units were very close in price, Steve had quite a bit of extras that would have cost more with the other units.
6.) I like the fact that after my table is finished and delivered... I am not "Tied" to Steve if I want to modify, add, need to replace parts etc...
7.) I like the fact that I can use the Mach software with it... while I definitely have no grounds to compare from experience, I picked up from the forums that "Mach" seems to be the unspoken standard ... upgrades/maintenance on the proprietary software looked a little pricey to me as well.
8.) Tom's (TorchHead) electronics and support... through my hours of reading through posts on this board, one thing has stuck out consistently... that is Tom's zeal and willingness to help... it is evident that it is a passion with him, not just tring to generate business. His knowledge was impressive, he seemed relatively unbiased in his discussions with me.... I will say that Tom is probably one of the main reasons that I chose this system... not to say I couldn't have had Tom's help or electronics with another vendor... but all the stars seemed to align with this one.
9.) I have to be honest about something else... this is a "hobby" for me... While I do intend to use it to make gain... that is not my primary reason to purchase... making money will be a secondary side benefit... overall I intend to learn more about the tables... DT made it clear to me that they did not produce "hobby" machines... I am not going to say anything bad about DT... just didn't seem like a fit for me. Torchmate was the first one that I looked at (I have a friend that owns one)... basically the price for the TM was about the same, but a LOT of assembly was required... and it didn't seem to be nearly as flexible (z axis, THC)...
Hope this helps.
Thanks for answering my question.
I'd be interested to know what the problems were.Originally Posted by herrmc
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The issues mentioned to me were relatively minor. I am going to refrain from detailing them here because I don't think that would be fair to Steve or to the table owner that I contacted... the table owner was contacted by me without being given as a reference (un-solicited), and was kind enough to give me his candid answers... I think it is pretty likely he is reading this thread and I will leave it to him to respond if he wishes.
The value that I got from his comments was that Steve worked with him to get the problem fixed.
I respect your decision to withhold the info, I don't necessarily agree with it, but I respect it. Thanks, Ted
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I went up to Ada Friday and picked up my table. Steve had my table all setup and running, we spent a few hours cutting... and training.
I have table home and place in the shop... still working on getting all the appropriate wiring worked out etc... I resisted the urge to just wire it up when I got home... because I know how I am, I would never have gone back and hooked it up right.
The construction of the table is very good, and it worked very well. Delivery took a little longer than I expected, but it was not a problem... I think Steve would have hurried along if I had asked... but when we talked I always told him it wasn't an issue.
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I have a 20' x 12' section of the shop dedicated for the table... 42" clearance on the back from the wall, 5' clearance on the West, and 4 ' clearance on the East... the South is facing the rest of the shop.
Directly East of the table (4 ft) is a 10' x 12' room that is insulated, Air conditioned, and tightly sealed (computer room). I have conduit ran from the leg of the table to the inside of the computer room (3 runs of 3/4 conduit). My intention is to put the electronics all in this room... the computer will have a second monitor, keyboard, and mouse that will be mounted on the wall next to the table ... so you should be able to operate the computer from inside the room, or outside...
I also ran (3) runs of 3/4 conduit to the other end of the table...
1.) 6/2 w/ grd to power the plasma (ThemalDynamics A60)
2.) Air Hose to the plasma
3.) 120v for the table
I also planted a ground rod on the West end of the table (haven't attached to table yet)... hopefully that will get done tomorrow.
I am going to need to lengthen my cables by a few feet... I have a message in to Tom to find out the limits on length for the various cables.... I am hoping to have it ready to run this weekend.
I will try and get some pictures and post soon.
Hey herrmc,
You need to get some pictures up of this setup - it sounds pretty nice!
I went over and mulled through the same things you did on your plasma table purchase. I looked at the Plasmaroute tables, but wound up going with a 4'x4' table from ez Router. I received it last week and have been making strides to get it up and running, but ran into some unforeseen circumstances which have delayed me some.
Also noticed that we have a similar plasma setup - both the machine and the way it's wired. I used some 6/2 cable and ran a dedicated line to the plasma connected to a 240V, 50-amp breaker (I have a TD Cutmaster 52) and then ran another 120V, 20-amp line strictly for the table control box. I haven't been able to run the plasma and the machine at the same time, but each seem to work well individually, although I do have some issues with the motors missing steps - but I'll look into that further when another one of my issues is resolved as the two may be related. I also drove in a 5' copper grounding rod and have grounded the table chassis so far - still need to do the plasma and the computer case (comp will go on a separate grounding rod).
Ironically, I am also involved in the farming industry as my parents own a 250 acre produce farm and there is always a piece of equipment that needs repair. This will wind up being one of the many uses of my new machine, but I also intend (like you) to run off some pieces to put up for sale and try and make some of the money back that I spent on the machine, but we'll see how that goes.
Keep us updated!
Posted from e-mail to Curtis with his permssion:I am going to need to lengthen my cables by a few feet... I have a message in to Tom to find out the limits on length for the various cables.... I am hoping to have it ready to run this weekend.
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Curtis: It's time to rethink your design. Move the Controller and MP3000 interface out closer to the table. It does not need AC to survive. If you want to move the PC inside then you will still have to deal with the two DB cables that need to interface between the PC and the MP3000.
Having spent many years dealing with cables I can tell you that before you could buy them already made up and molded they were the single largest problem we had keeping stuff running. There is just no simple way to make up a shielded multi-conductor cable in the field. Having an install where you can't just swap out a cable to run down a problem is a troubleshooting nightmare.
The PC that runs the table is a dedicated CNC controller. It's no longer a general workstation. All it should do is run MACH3 and do base level communications. Most commercial machines have the machine controller at the machine it controls. If you want to run it remotely then a remote control pendant is a better approach.
If you are concerned about the harsh environment of the shop then a protected enclosure for the electronics next to the table is a better solution. Look at the consoles here: http://www.globalindustrial.com/gcs/...roductInfo.web they have a rebate going on that makes the price pretty attractive.
It's also not outside the realm of possibility to put a small AC unit in the back of a stand alone console.
We have been running PC based CNC tables in a shop area now for 6 years. Only failures I had were a PC that ingested to much plasma dust and shorted the MB. I replaced and put in filters on the fans and it has run ever since.
We do all our design work at a different PC in a nice climate controlled office. We Ethernet the file over to the control PC at the table and load the table and hit the RUN at the console.
The final solution might be to use our MPG101B remote pendant. It will connect to the control PC and can be used up to 25ft away so could sit on the desk inside the office/control room. It can be used to do most of the keyboard type jogging, setup and run/stop/pause functions.
If it's alright with you I will post a copy of this on the Zone so others that are planning an install can benefit.
TOM Caudle
www.CandCNC.com
One of the challenges I face in routing the table cabling to the computer room is the db9 (cable from plasma) and db25(cable from table I/O)... the heads on these cables are too big to fit through the 3/4 conduit.
Why did I use 3/4 conduit? - I cut two holes in my concrete slab approx 8" x 8" ... I then tunneled under the slab betwen the two holes. The act of putting the conduit under the floor required that the conduit be flexible to bend through the 8" opening.... the 3/4 conduit fit theis bill.
What was I thinking? - I was naively thinking that I would simply snip off the ends of the db9 and db25 cables.... route them through the conduit and re-attach them (solder). (I am fairly adept at soldering)...
Tom explained to me that it would not be smart to attempt this, and that he has seen many problems result because of the cabling... I digress to Tom's experience with this.
What I have done now is open a 3 inch channel in the concrete to the computer room (will install 3 inch PVC conduit).... hopefully will have that installed today, and the concrete patch put back.
This is my first attempt to post an attachment to the zone....
My shop is 30' x 48' in total size
Looks like it'll be nicely organized when it's all finished. I had to cram my 4'x4' table into a much smaller space - approx. 16' x 10'. The table is practically jammed in a corner - you look like you'll have plenty of room all around yours. Very nice!
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