Clearly there is something serously wrong. Any chance you can send pictures of the nozzle and electrode you used?
Have you verified that the machine speed is accurate? You can program a straight line 50" long, put the machine in test and set the speed to 50 inches per minute, see if it takes exactly a minute to go 50".
Is your plasma in the cut mode? There is a switch on the front panel that must be in the correct position.
Can you connect the plasma work cable (ground clamp) directly to the piece being cut, does it cut better?
Can you shut the height control off, set the torch (with a new nozzle and shield) at a fixed height of 1/16", and try cutting.....does this work?
Do you have access to a clamp on DC ammeter?
Jim
well maybe i can send them to your email.yes the plasma is in cut mode. it doesnt make a difference if it connect to the table, or the metal directly. when u shut the height control off, it still jumps up and down. it doesnt matter what u try, the height of the nozzel will not stay at one height. i dont have a clamp like that. i can try to get one.
"By the way, Ben is one of the most helpful folks I have worked with from a vendor. I don't necessarily think that ShopSabre is as customer oriented as they could be, but Ben is always there to help when I need anything."
yes i agree, the dude is a good guy...!
well just so there is some kind of ending to this ordeal.... the table seems to be working better. i had to take the hypertherm 1000 off 3 phase. the arc doesn't jump around as much.i was told it could be the ground in the breaker box, but the single phase, and 3 phase ground wire is connected to the same bar. either way it cuts better. i use the same cutting programs that i used in the beginning. the table has gone thru a bunch of new programing (it probably got screwed up because Ben wasn't there when my table was being built). either way would i buy from them again NO.! is it working yes.
one thing i noticed during this whole thing is right away people blame it on the user, when in deed it was the table, and the plasma that has issues..!
Glad to hear things are finally starting to settle down for you. Sounds like there were a few issues, probably some that came from the problem solving process itself, and having power issues makes things much more difficult to isolate when combined with the start-up problems. In any case it is good that you are now able to move forward. Hopefully your future experiences with CNC will work out better.
I apologize for being a little tough on you.Originally Posted by ryderz
In my defense, I've lived a long time and seen a lot of stuff.
$h1t Happens ... Rants and blame are pointless without good documentation.
I've seen half a million dollar machines made buy the best in the biz (Not cnc) crap out on start up.
I owned a quarter-mil machine made by the best in the biz.
The first owner sold it because about once a month it simply stopped working.
I owned for an month and it simply stopped working.
Snowing, raining, windy, miserable it could have cost me my livelihood.
Quite by accident, my friend noticed from 8' away two wires that simply didn't seem to be connected right. This is in the brainbox department of a sophisticated machine. The kind where the wire is poked, a lug screws down on the wire and then is painted over.
Oh...the two loose wires effectively worked like an E-Stop.
Faulty threads confused the assembler into believing the lugs had secured the wires when they had not.
I write this short story only to show "I get it".....but I never considered disparaging the company.
Now go earn some dough and become an enemy of our political leader by earning more then 250K this year!
;-)
"I apologize for being a little tough on you"
I accept the apology, and thank everybody for there opinions. Im in hard times like the rest of the people. when i spoke with this company about there product and what it could do for my company it made everything look better for a change. so when it got here and performed the way it did, it really bummed us out even more. I have been taking criticism, i told you so's and really behind on orders. I was expecting turn key..! they would fix the programming tell me its good to go, then it would mess up again, waisting material, i would try to call but different time zones, people not available. so i had my reasons. so anyways it is doing allot better. i cut some 1/4 steel yesterday, and it was very nice. i made some upper control arms out of 3/16. they turned out good. So the ball is rolling in the right direction for a change. I feel more confident about this machine, and FYI ben is the man at shopsabre.!
This thread is a great illustration of the value of being able to properly diagnose problems with CNC machines. I think it also applies to edgebanders (and cars, computers, stereos...). These machines can appear to have wierd voodoo going on. I have tried to back away from the machine and try to think of diagnostic tests that would eliminate or confirm possible problems. People like Ben are so valuable in the this process because of their knowledge of asking the right questions (diagnostically). It will be interesting to hear if you ever figure out the story on the grounding issue as I am sure that information would be very helpful to others who are using the machine in a plasma cutting configuration.
I remember one time an engineer was talking to a group of us about a given setup for a project that was in his words "physically impossible". The guy who worked on the bench in the group who had been there for over 25 years working with that product slipped away from the group un-noticed and when the engineer was done with his rant on the impossibility of the widget being done in that way and the reason why they should do it his way, the bench worker came back with the impossible widget in hand and said nothing but just handed it to the engineer. Knowledge trumps no matter who has it. I am not saying anything here about your Shopsabre or your knowledge of the trade. I surely know the pain of the story of losing days of production because of a loose wire or some other problem that looks more like the darn machine has a demon. I have not had problems with my Shopsabre. I turn the thing on and it works great every day. I have had problems with other routers and most often it was not the problem of the manufacturer it was something like a loose wire or a pile of sawdust in the wrong place... Each of these problems is a chance to learn more about these cool machines.
When you start making stuff post some photos, it will be fun to see your product.
My two cents.
Keith
Last edited by KLarson; 10-20-2010 at 07:37 PM.
well i see now why a water table isn't a bad way to go. the smoke and the warping of the metal. even 1/4 thick steel warps a little. so why is it that some water tables have the metal all the way under and some have it just sit on the top, not really in the water. im going to build a water table as soon as i get a chance for this table. i just dont know witch way to do it. submersible or not..?
I was wondering if you get warping on thicker guage material. I guess you answered my question.
Can you post some pictures of the type of finish you are getting with the machine? I myself have been thinking about getting a shop sabre.
By the way, you made a upper control arm out of sheet steel? Not tube steel? Is that the products you make?
ya, its a minor warp but it still warped wright down the middle. i cut out a 45" by 24" football field out of 1/4 thick plate to make a table for a Buddy.
i dont have allot of things cut yet. i just got the table going. the few parts i have cut is those control arms about 20 sets, and some towing attachments for a company here in town. we are building the back section (wheel lift). mostly for repo style trucks
the table wont cut stainless or aluminum very good. not even the thin stuff. we still have to out source those pieces.
the upper control arms are just one of the things we build for are customers. they like the oem look, and style of that arm. we also do tubular suspension for almost any make and model in the late 80's and older. i have a 6,000sqf shop were we work on custom projects, usually just a few at a time. the other parts we build is earthquake safety brackets to mount down top heavy furniture,computers,fridge,desk etc etc.
i have been having a constant issue with this table still. sense i had this plasma table i generally cut out temp-lets to help people support of modify there stock frames to make them stronger. we also cut out orders for certain company's were there will be 50 holes on one sheet. when we cut out the temp-lets things go for the most part ok, but when we do the bigger company orders we always have to restart the plasma. it will go down touch off and not fire AT LEAST 15-20 TIMES..! it has done this sense we bought the machine a few months ago. so im open for any help. it has even lost its home settings a couple of times, and the material is wasted. another issue is that the little circuit boards that run the x-y-z has went out twice on us. shopsabre was quick to replace them. Im open for any help on why they are burning out.
Hi ryderz!
Google told me you made a post and brought me back to familiar stomping grounds.
The frustration is still apparent in your writings but what is lacking is details for trouble shooting.
The Basics:
What is your power source?
What is your air source?
PSI and CFM and does it meet the requirement for your machine?
Is your air filtered?
Are you draining the water daily?
Do you have a water trap?
Is a hose kinked?
The Basics:
What is your power source?
What is your air source?
PSI and CFM and does it meet the requirement for your machine?
Is your air filtered?
Are you draining the water daily?
Do you have a water trap?
Is a hose kinked?
power source is 60 amp hypertherm power max 1000.
cutting on the last order -air comp - 75 psi -1/4 mild steel - 35 ipm - arc v 156.5.
there is a trap on the compressor and the plasma.
i dont drain daily but when i check there is none or rarely moister at trap on plasma.
no hoses kinked, we clean regularly once a week computers,table,plasma and grease sliders.
sorry for the writing. i have spell check but just type and send. doesnt bother me any. u still got my point.
while im on here i have another problem. when i write the programs for the plasma to cut, while it is cutting it will try to cut the same hole 2-3 times. i only wrote for one hole to be cut. this is a ongoing problem i deal with. i make sure there is not a copied hole on top, or that i dont highlight twice when im making a g code. i go thru one line or hole at a time to make sure there isn't 2 on top of each other. so out of 50 cuts/holes it cuts 70 or so on top of the ones that have been cut already. the part turns out ok just took longer to cut.
I was thinking about your power supply...as in incoming power.
We all assume you have perfect clean power coming in when you might have an MG set.
I'm working on a job right now where all the power goes out and comes back on driving everybody batty. We lose a phase in our spiders. We found it today and it was simple dirt in the connector, Every time somebody stepped on the connector....it was lights out.
I don't know the answers to your digital problems but it is part of the trouble shooting to make sure you have clean power and air.
HTH
well my electrician was the one who figured out the 3 phase wasn't working right. we dropped it down to single phase 220. ever since then i have been able to cut with out the tip going into the steel, but it still jumps up and down. we have checked the ground bar and the power coming in and they stay with in specs when the machine is on.
i also drained the compressor this afternoon. there was hardly and water. when i let the air hose just run open there is no water.
Was this discovery before you turned on the machine or after?
after
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