Just IN- MACHINEGURU.COM: PLANS FOR LOW BUCK CNC PLASMA TABLE AVAILABLE NOW

[MachineGuru]

MACHINEGURU.COM: PLANS FOR LOW BUCK CNC PLASMA TABLE AVAILABLE NOW
GET UP AND RUNNING FOR ABOUT $500
Introductory price of plans: $24.99

I wanted a CNC plasma machine but couldn't afford the high dollar, super nice commercial units. So I made my own. If you are in the same boat as me, and are handy, you could have your own functioning CNC plasma table for under $500. The price includes electronics and the table itself. You will need a computer with a parallel port and a plasma cutter. It does not have torch height control, or super accuracy, but it's not meant to. It's meant to make brackets, signs, tools or whatever crazy project I'm up to at the time. In making this project I used a mini-lathe, metal chop saw, drill press, hacksaw, taps, plasma cutter and MIG welder.

These were my requirements:

* it had to be cheap (under $500)
* it had to be light enough to carry or hang on a wall
* it couldn't be too complicated
* it should use easily found parts
* it should have ok accuracy
* it should be fairly rugged

I think it fits the bill fairly well. I'm happy with it. You can find the plans at Machine Guru

Thanks for reading and happy plasma cutting!

[pboulay]

Hey Machine Guru,
I took a look at your video and saw that your machine does plasma cut as advertised. But before I shell out $25 for your plans I want to see more of an overview of what I'm buying. Could you post photos of the overall machine? What goes into the $500 cost figure? (I've seen too many of these sorts of things where the cost claim is based on having most of the materials lying around or available at essentially zero cost.)

Paul
Northern California

[MachineGuru]

Hi Paul, thanks for the question.

What you get is a digital copy of the 30 page plans that include 10 fully dimensioned drawings that can be used as full size templates for fabrication (make sure it's printed 1:1!). Also included is an outline of the project, explanation of the project as it progresses, color photos with labels of parts, and a bill of materials. The bill of material includes approximate prices of parts and where to find them.

The $500 estimate includes all parts and electronics except a computer with a printer port and a plasma cutter. You could go with all usb electronics but it will cost extra. I run my table with an old IBM thinkpad I got off e bay for about 30 bucks. You don't need much processing power to run g-code.

The photos I included are of my setup. There's surface rust and pretty much full of dust. It squeaks a but as you can see from the video on MachineGuru.com, it still works fine. Imagine if you kept it indoors.

You can get as fancy as you want. Or not. I started out with the table perched on cinder blocks and finished the project I needed to plasma cut.

Additionally, I would encourage anyone who had problems with the build or wanted to leave feedback to do so in the Machine Guru forums.

I hope that answers your questions Paul!
And thanks again for writing.

-Guru
MachineGuru.com