4 X 8 Plasma table

[Frank W]

I started working on this at the end of March but I've had life get in the way and it's taking longer than I expected. Between birthday party's, camping, and a trip to Vegas with my wife I've only had a couple of complete weekends to work on it. My job seems to think I don't need a home life during the week sometimes as well so lets try to keep the laughing at the lack of progress to a minimum.

I have been taking pictures with my cell phone which aren't the greatest but you get the idea anyway but the first few I took were on my old phone which crapped out on me about a month or so ago so I don't have any to show of how I laid out the frame work.

Thanks to everyone that contributes their ideas to this site! I know without all of the great information here I wouldn't even try to tackle this thing.

As you can see from the pictures I kind of stole a lot of ideas from dnelso but I don't have access to the milling equipment so I improvised with the help of cncrouterparts. I have the Dragon cut 620 oz stepper motors and hardware from candcnc, the rails I got from automation-overstock, and the gear rack I purchased from moore gear.

Let me know what you guys think.

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[Frank W]

A couple more shots.

[Frank W]

And how it sets today.

I have to do some research on how to attach the Z axis to the gantry without having the access to the milling equipment or a bucket full of cash setting around to pay the local shop to fabricate the pieces for me. I have the same linear rail already for gantry as well.

[kburkk]

Looking good. Ill keep my eye on this one

[meatwagon]

Looks really good! A little scary as it is a testament to how far I have to go! Keep it up!

[Frank W]

Thanks guys. I had to work out of town for a bit but I worked on the machine for a bit today and yesterday. I'll try to post some pictures later tonight.

[Frank W]

Got the z axis mounted to the gantry. The drive for the z axis is bolted on as well but I took the pictures before I bolted it on. I need to get a new computer rounded up. I have a call to a local shop to see what it will cost to have the water table pan pieces bent for me and, I also have been shopping around for the best deal on a Hypertherm Powermax 45.

[lik2waterski]

Frank, that looks good. What method did you use to keep your rails straight?

[Frank W]

I have an 8 foot Stabila level that I used to level everything then I just used a fine point sharpie marker with the level to get a starting spot to clamp the rail on. Then as I drilled and tapped the holes I made sure to recheck it as I went along with the level. I'm sure it's not as precise as using a gauge but I placed the bearing blocks on both sides and made sure it was level side to side as I went as well.

[Frank W]

Just a little update. I have been working on the table but not as much progress has happened than I had hoped for. I got the water table in place with the slats, the gear rack bolted up, and I added some caster wheels so I can move it around a bit.

[Frank W]

I got the table tore down over the last few weeks. Got some paint on it and the aluminum pieces polished up. Starting to go back together. I'm hoping to start wiring it up this weekend. I'd be a lot further ahead if work would stop requiring me to be out of town so much. Plus my air compressor needed an overhaul which set me back some time and money as well.

[Frank W]

I got the machine pretty much wired up this weekend minus doing the grounds to natural ground and mounting the PMW sensor. With Tom's help through email yesterday I was able to test the motors and the machine moves using mach3.

I still need to paint the water table and the rail covers which I held off on painting when my air compressor died.

Here are some updated pictures.

[Frank W]

I got the water table painted and back in and have been working on getting the motors tuned and everything set up. I'm going to look around and see if I can find a small file to start testing it out.

[LeeWay]

Looking very nice, Frank.
Here is a nice forum where you can borrow some drawings.
CNC Plasma Cutters Ultimate Source for DXF files, cnc clip art, technical advice, plasma manufacturer support, and much more. ? Index page

I don't visit there nearly as much as I do the Zone, but they do have some very nice drawing and other info dealing mainly with plasma cutting.

[Frank W]

Thanks I'll take a look.

[Frank W]

I got my gantry squared up and was finally able to cut my first art piece on Sunday. I haven't tried to cut anything other than 16 gauge yet.

[dnelso]

Table looks awesome
DN

[Frank W]

Thanks Dave!

[Missle]

great build, im looking at building a very similar plasma table, just wondering if you could point me in the right direction for motor sizing and gearing as this is something i havnt yet come across

[Frank W]

It seemed the consensus was that 3:1 gearing was about the ideal ratio for the stepper motors. I kind of copied my design off of dnelso's build and because I didn't have a cheap and easy way to make the parts needed for the drive system I bought the standard rack and pinion from CNCRouterparts. The gear rack I picked up from Moore Gear because it was a bit cheaper through them. Look over dnelso builds as well as most of my design was his to begin with.


Standard Rack and Pinion Drive, Nema 23 | CNCRouterParts
Moore Gear Website