Precision Plasma 4x4 CNC Table Build

[Pierke]

Waaawhh,

nice job totaly.

We looking forward!

Congratulations,

Pierke

[jjellingson]

Great job you have done. It looks like you are getting it down. You are coming up with some rather unique ideas. Keep posting, you are an inspiration to us all.
I am so far behind you it looks like it will be snowing again before I see sparks. Nah, I just been slammed with work.
You are going to need several cup holders, many friends will be hanging out at your place. Keep the fridge stocked up.
What did you end up with for a size on your plazma? I thought 45 but I noticed you mentioned 30, was this just tips?
John

[unixadm]

Not sure how many people have made their version of "Plasma Quench", but I went ahead and mixed some up for my table which holds roughly 70 gallons of water. I have seen zero corrosion in nearly a week, and I can say from having straight water in the table for one night, it was rusted badly the next day.

I finally found some dye which would work to finish it off. At $70 a pint, it's not cheap, but it treats 12,500 gallons of water and will last a very long time. I put just a little bit in the table and then drained 4-5 gallons of water into a bucket, which I then poured back into the table to mix up the dye. It worked out well, and looks just like the real thing.

[mikefayettev]

That is a real nice, expertly constructed table. I am working on the same setup with the Precision Plasma pkg and the same electronics from C&CNC.
Where did you connect the torch limit switch to at the controller?
I cannot seem to find it anywhere in the manuals but I am probably overlooking it.
You are right on concerning Ron at Precision. Great person and vendor to do business with.
Thanks
Mike

[unixadm]

That is a real nice, expertly constructed table. I am working on the same setup with the Precision Plasma pkg and the same electronics from C&CNC.
Where did you connect the torch limit switch to at the controller?
I cannot seem to find it anywhere in the manuals but I am probably overlooking it.
You are right on concerning Ron at Precision. Great person and vendor to do business with.
Thanks
Mike

Thanks Mike.

The Z-Axis torch switch hooks to the Z-Home function inside of the CandCNC control box. Looking inside of the box it's towards the bottom center, slightly offset to the right if I recall correctly and has several spade style connectors for various limit and home switches. You just hook to both of the Z-Home spade connectors and then to the bottom two pins on the Z-Axis switch. In addition you need to enter some offset information for the Z travel and if you need help with that, let me know. You will need to drill a hole and install a cord grip to get the wiring into the CandCNC box. If you need any part numbers just shoot me a PM. I source most of my parts from Mcmaster and can bring up my 15 past orders to give you any part numbers you may need. I used 18GA two conductor orange SO cord for that switch.

If you look at these pictures you can see where I entered the control box (I also installed a connector in line so I can disconnect and fully remove the box from the table as needed), and how it connects to the Z-axis switch.

[mikefayettev]

I do appreciate the info. I will check it out tonight. I will get with you when I have any question, and I know I will as I move forward.
Thanks again.

[unixadm]

I'm putting the finishing touches on the operators center this weekend. I got some additional parts in from McMaster and I should receive my stainless steel to form the top on my brake next week. Today I received an Industrial Air 60 Gallon 155 PSI Compressor from Home Depot, so I've been working on that. When I got it, I read "Assembled with care in MN". Cool I thought, that's where my family is from. I get it wired up, install a ball valve to so I can have it build some pressure after the 30 minute breakin - it's a hisser. I took my time and did the wiring all nice, and then I had to rip it all out because some asshat didn't put any teflon tape or thread sealant on the threads where the cycle switch goes into the top of the tank. The switch side had some 290 or similar Loctite, but the bottom had nothing. So I had to take all that apart so I could seal it up. Now I'm doing a pressure test to see what else is leaking. It's not a Quincy or Eaton, but fills in a little over 6 minutes to 155 PSI which isn't bad. It's not quite, but it's not overly annoying either.

Anyhow here's a pic of an address sign I cut for my house. I'm learning how to draw, and I apologize to Jim Colt for sending him such horrible files for my caster plates. WOW, they were bad. I have learned though Jim, now that I understand the cutting process a bit more. I still have some improvements to do, but each day I'm getting better results. I also had to replace a control board in the CandCNC control box, because the original had a design issue which was causing missed steps. After a while my gantry would be twisted on the table due to the motors not getting the right step signals. Anyhow that's all fixed and I ran a long program, then measured each side in reference to the gantry track to make sure it's staying accurate. I also cut a 2.77" hole as drawn in my CAD program, and when measured with my digital caliper it was 2.761 on average. I'm very impressed with the accuracy on thiner sheet goods. Can't wait to get the 30A consumables in as that should help with some detail work for lettering.

[unixadm]

I hooked up my new 60 gallon compressor with a Norgren filter and regulator in place of my 6 Gallon Porter Cable compressor I was using previously. It has made a nice difference in the cut quality and dross.

Here are some pictures of adjustment brackets I'm prototyping for a racing stand project I'm working on. The bottom one is the top side of the cut, the other one is flipped upside down to show the bottom of the cut. I've had some interest in my first prototype I built for a buddy, so I may fabricate them using my JMR bender and 1-1/4" square tube with minimal welding. In place of the crappy angle brackets I used on the first one, I cut these out of 12 GA for testing. I'd probably settle on 1/8", but the 12GA may prove sturdy enough in testing. I have not removed any dross and this was cut on a Powermax 45, 190 IPM, 45A with T45M torch. I'm learning every hour I work with this thing what to do. I still have an occasional issue with the DHTC cutting off my cuts even though I can cut a part several times without issue, then all of the sudden have torch issues on ever pierce almost. For reference I tried cutting this at 140 IPM and there was a lot more dross.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg87oCoFA_0"]YouTube- Precision Plasma Gantry Kit Cutting Brackets[/nomedia]





Here's the stand I built and what these would replace to support the center 1/2" roundbar.



Forza fans anyone?

Can't wait to get the 30A consumables in for this thinner stuff. I also begun work on my scriber / plate marker and hope to have that going in the next couple of weeks if I get some time to machine the parts for it.

[unixadm]

Here's a couple more videos. First is cutting a small two piece Route 66 sign.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfH_qRZS3dU"]YouTube- Precision Plasma CNC Table cutting Route 66 sign[/nomedia]

The second I'm cutting a mounting plate for two air regulators and two 120V air solenoids that will control the scriber/plate marker/engraver. It has a series of pecks for drilling, mounting holes and some text. Mach3 will trigger the 120V coolant outlet which will power both solenoids supply air to a pneumatic cylinder and the engraver. Working on that in my spare time so I can engrave and cut parts all at the same time.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB1iGYe7Ezg"]YouTube- CNC Plasma Table cutting mounting plate[/nomedia]

[unixadm]

Well I'm nearing having dross free cuts. I ordered up a large desiccant dryer, coalescing filter, a nice Watts heavy duty regulator, and a few other odds and ends to provide clean dry air. I'll be using PEX along with a mix of copper in my shop for air distribution.

I received my black Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless PC controller today and got the Mach3 plugin configured. It's so nice to be able to set the torch location with the analog sticks, and start/stop/pause/zero/reference/etc from the controller without having to be at the monitor. i just keep it in my hand while cutting and if I hit a problem I just hit the RED button.

The table is performing well. Tom from CandCNC.com sent out a replacement control board and the table has performed much better since then. I'm getting better with the drawings and today was the first time I manually nested some parts on a 12x12 piece of 1/4" plate. The cuts shown in the pictures were cut with the original consumables I've been learning with, and have had crappy air ran through them. I'm glad to still see quality cuts! I have been fine tuning my torch height and I think it is now near perfect. These parts had minimal dross and most just chipped off. What was there easily ground away on my Wilton 4200A belt sander/grinder. Unfortunately I couldn't fit a fourth gusset on this plate, and someone smarter than me may have been able to do it. However this is my first nesting attempt and I'm happy with the results.

I did a comparison between the parts Jim Colt had cut for me on his table to the parts I cut on mine. It was the same basic part, I just modified it slightly for a relief in the gussets, and cleaned up the main base plate a bit. I have the same or even slightly less edge bevel on the gussets than what I received from Jim, so I think I'm doing pretty darn good. I can't say enough good things about Hypertherm and this Powermax 45! It simply is an awesome cutter. Actually everything just works, from the gantry, to the controls, to the table I built. I'm really 100% pleased with everything, and it's only going to get better. I have a rotary axis on the way, and my plate marker is coming together! This is seriously a fun project - not cheap, but damn fun!

[adiozmm]

Hallo, nice Parts ?

Wats the Thickniss of the Sheet ?

Which Speed do you run to do this ?

Mfg Mathias

[unixadm]

On the parts in my last post, it was .250 inch or 6.35 mm hot rolled steel plate. Cut speed was 60 IPM, voltage 120, amperage 45, stand off distance .060 inch. Those are the default settings from Hypertherm on my Powermax 45 with a T45M torch. I think +/- 5 IPM to find the best cut quality with the least amount of dross. The parts had such little dross that I know it's close or as good as it's going to get with this particular material.