PlasmaCam vs Torchmate vs Blaze2. Which to buy??

[Bluekid]

Hi everyone

Im looking at taking the plunge into buying a plasma / router cnc. The 3 main brands are PlasmaCam , Torchmate & Blaze 2 and was wondering what your views are on them . I have no experience what so ever working with these machines so please take that into consideration

Thanks

[Benderart]

Unless you find someone that owns or, has owned all three machines, your decision will likely become more confusing.
Personally, I've been using Plasmacam equipment (4X4 & Samson 5X10) for over 8 years and they've served me extremely well.
I know several owners that have used routers on Plasmacam although, there's no dedicated mounts.

Mick.
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[InflatibleDog]

I have spoken to all 3 companies and ended up going with the Blaze2. The system has more features included and the sales staff at plasmaroute is extremely friendly to work with. Give Nikki and Steve a call with any questions you may have. I'm sure they can answer them for you.

Luke

[xavier2nd]

My experience with Plasmacam.

I went to go look at a torchmate machine in action before I bought my torchmate 3. I found a guy that had one and I drove 4 hours in each direction. When I got there the guy was showing me his torchmate when I noticed a plasmacam in the corner. I asked him which one he liked better. He told me the plasmacam is more for a hobbyist, it's always breaking, and he can't leave it unattended. It was actually broken at that time.

I had called plasmacam before my trip. The salesperson didn't seem to care if I bought one of his machines or not. I figured if the service was that bad before I bought the machine, how bad would it be after.

My experience with torchmate.

I decided to buy the torchmate 3. It's been holding up well for the past 5 years. It's had some break downs here and there and the parts are a bit expensive. However we do use our machine everyday for most of the day so I can't complain.

As for the Blaze2, well I have no experience with that one.

Good luck with your decision.

[geo4932]

Compare drive systems- stepper or servo. Servos give you faster cut speeds.
Torch height control - Do they have ohmic material sensing?
Is the raw arc voltage brought outside the plasma cutter or is there a voltage divider for safety?

[CarltonCNC]

Which software is best:Torchmate or PlasmaCam?

[Benderart]

Which software is best:Torchmate or PlasmaCam?

Hey, that question should open a can of worms.....
I guess if you're running either system, you're going to think you have the best but, from my experience (Plasmacam & Samson) I'm more than happy with the new upgraded Design Edge software from Plasmacam.
There's not too many plasma programs out there that offer freehand tracing in their arsenal.
That said, I'd still like the advertised nesting capabilities that Torchmate (Lincoln Electric) offer.

[xavier2nd]

I do most of the designing in Corel, Illustrator or Flexisign. Then use Torchmate for Lead in's and tooling offset.

[geo4932]

The Plasmacam Design Edge software has the drawing, machine tool path and machine control all integrated. No need to use an outside program. You can still import dxfs if you like to use other programs.
You do not need to know gcode with the Plasmacam systems.

George