Mach3 turns a typical computer into a CNC machine controller. It is very rich in features and provides a great value to those needing a CNC control package. $ 175.00 Add to cart View Details. Welcome to Newfangled Solutions We are a company focused on finding the best solutions for complex issues. We have the ability to design and build. Torchmate 4400 and 4800 - 4x4 and 4x8 CNC Plasma Cutting Tables. These industry leading 4x4 and 4x8 plasma tables are the premier option in their class. These unitized systems are designed and built by Lincoln Electric and include everything you need to start cutting.
PLEASE NOTE:
I do NOT supply kits for these. Give the RAR file + BOM to your favorite laser cutting company to quote then .cut / fold. All parts are cut from 3mm / 1/8' Mild Steel Plate.
ALL THE SOLIDWORKS FILES ARE ON GRABCAD - Please have a look before emailing me asking for the files.
So, you've bought a plasma cutter and you wish you could accurately cut your designs in metal. Tracing lines by hand gives disappointing results and CNC Plasma tables are way out of your budget. Sound familiar? Well, that's what I thought anyway!
If you have not bought your plasma cutter yet - there are a few things to bear in mind!
- The cutter must have 'HF Start' (Cheap cutters sometimes use 'scratch start' where you have to touch the torch on to the metal to strike the arc. Sadly, these will not work with CNC, least not this one!)
- If you have the option (can afford it) buy one with 'Pilot Arc'. If the torch moves over a poorly conducting area of metal such as rust, paint or a hole, the arc can go out and it will stop cutting. A Pilot Arc, like the pilot light in your boiler re-lights the arc if it extinguishes. It means you can cut pretty much anything no matter how grotty the surface looks.
- If you can, go for a branded cutter. Hypertherm are probably the best - or at least best known. They will give you the best cut quality and cut thickness for a given quoted power (some of the cheaper ones are a bit optimistic with the quoted power and cut thickness!). I started with a cheap cutter (which was actually pretty good) then upgraded to a used Hypertherm 40A machine which was cheaper than a new 'no-brand' machine.
- Go for the highest power you can afford. My original 30A cutter claimed to be able to cut 12mm thick - but the most it could realistically cut was 6mm. My new 40A Hypertherm claims 19mm cut thickness - and can indeed cut it (not very tidily though). It will cut nicely at 12mm thickness though.
This plasma table has been designed to work with whatever plasma torch
you have whether hand-held or a full blown CNC Torch. The mounting plate has been designed to be adaptable as possible. You can either attach the torch with zip-ties or U Bolts depending on how often you need to take it off.
This instructable really started on a Land Rover forum, LR4x4.com One of the members (RobertSpark) was building his own plasma table but it was a bit complex and needed welding together. I thought 'I'd like a plasma table' and thought I could build one too!
I decided to design a table from scratch on Solidworks using Laser Cut parts which anybody could bolt together with no welding. It would also be scalable so you can build a table pretty much any size you like using the same laser cut parts. You need to source lengths of steel box section from a Steel Stockholder and everything else you can buy on eBay / Ali-Express.
All the parts need to be cut in 3mm or 1/8' mild steel A366/1008 Grade (or 304 Grade Stainless). The parts are suitable for both metric and imperial box section / nuts & bolts if you just pick the closest size.
William Piotrowski has sent me a link to a (very cool!) time-lapse of his build - which shows in intimate detail the build process as it has progressed so far. I thought it might help everyone else!
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- MebfabDiamond
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Mach 3 questions for cnc plasma table
Anyone on here using Mach 3 to control a plasma table? Wondering about its programing functionality vs some of the premade low to mid range systems
- Diamond
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I am thinking about building one myself for TechShop. I do use Mach3 for my mill and I am installing it on my Hercus CNC lathe and it works fine.
You will want to invest in the torch height control though. Makes a world of difference.
These guys sell a THC that is intended to work with Mach3.
http://www.soundlogicus.com/
I got some old servo motors and drives that a friend pulled out of an old Mori SL-1 lathe. Thinking of using those. Plasma tables are simple beasts. Not difficult to build and easy to over design. No need for things like linear slides here. Virtually all the commercial machines I have worked on in the past were variations of the same design. Rack and pinion drive, generic ball bearings ran on cold roll rails.
Oh, the main thing you will miss from Mach compared to something like an Esab or Hypertherm control is there is no conversational built in so you will need to bring in your g-code from a PC. - MebfabDiamond
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Programming is the thing. If you look at plasmacam for instance you can scan in an image (or import from clipart) and the software will clean it up and generate the code. Really trying to make programing simple
- Diamond
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Mach used to have a thing where it would convert a jpeg or dxf into gcode. Its been a while though and I think that may have been incorporated into Lazycam.Originally Posted by MebfabProgramming is the thing. If you look at plasmacam for instance you can scan in an image (or import from clipart) and the software will clean it up and generate the code. Really trying to make programing simple
Only problem with Plasmacam is their horrible tech support. - MebfabDiamond
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Was at a local shop. He has a plasma cam. Loves it. Went on and on about how great tech support is.
The machine itself looks like a project from the back of popular mechanics. It is an excersize in value engineering. I cant believe what they charge. - Diamond
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I was wiring up a plasma cutter for a plasma cam machine for a customer. Had to jump through hoops just to talk to a tech. If you dont have a serial number and the original owners name forget it.
But I bet you could get a good Esab or the like from an auction for the price of one of the plasmacam machines. And they have some of the best techs in the industry. - MebfabDiamond
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He bought the machine new, probably why they will talk to him.
I have most of the parts needed to build one, anyone found a website detailing a build? - Aluminum
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torch control
spent most of the day reading the manuals for mack3 and it seems all there if not a little hard to find. i am intrested in making a plasma cutter and anything free can be worked with but to use the tip height you have to purchase mack3 then purchase the tip voltage thc330b (nice link by the way) and another port control (my machine only has one printer port) so what im wondering is how the tip height control works. it says it reads voltage but in the pictures there are ct's so they must also be reading amps. i guess what im asking is there a way to make my z axis floating using industrial controls that are kinda free. this would not be a axis controlled by mack3. ampage going to machine converted to anologe then using a idp controller adjust the torch height on a air cyclinder. i guess $600dollars for a system that works is better than playing around to make some thing that might not work but wheres the fun in that. any ideas?
- Diamond
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The machine I was working on was new. They didnt want to talk to anyone but the guy that bought it.
The THC uses a voltage divider to determine arc voltage. That sensor you see determines if the arc transfer was successful and tells Mach it is ok to move.
A THC is not simple device. You need to compensate for things like corners which is why it talks to Mach. Torch Height is a function of arc voltage. You will never do it with an air cylinder. - Diamond
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Don't know whether or not there's still a Yahoo group for Plasmacam, but if so, one quick visit there oughta be plenty adequate to convince anyone that bag full of assholes is the last bunch in the world most people would want to buy anything from.
Personalities aside, I looked at one of the machines a year or so ago in a shop near ours, and I've never laid eyes on anything else in my life that was so overpriced and at the same time such a totally mickey mouse looking contraption. It was about new, and the owner said it worked fine for what he used it for, but it sure didn't look like something that would hold up over time. - Cast Iron
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metlmunchr,
I have owned 2 PlasmaCams.....and I'll disagree with you regarding the PlasmaCam machines...as will thousands of happy owners! It is an inexpensive, turnkey entry level (it is not a high production....nor a high tolerance machine) cutting machine.
I use a Hypertherm Powermax45 as the plasma cutter on mine....attached are a few pictures of cut samples. There is a great owners group on Yahoo called PlasmaPig....has around 500 owners that share art....and help each other with any machine related problems. This group is independant of the PlasmaCam company.
Jim Colt - Aluminum
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Sooooooooo! lets cut through the bullshit is it Plazma cam or mach3?????
lots of us have been looking for the best bang for the buck which is it? - Diamond
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Bang for the buck? That would be Mach. Mach is now up to $175.
But that only comes into play if you are building a new table or retrofitting an old table.
Otherwise Plasmacam is a complete system. Little light weight though for my tastes.
If one were to get one dont go with the hand torch and get the machine one. - Aluminum
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- MebfabDiamond
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But the problem remains. Plasmacam (they claim) allows you to scan in an image and the software smooths out the lines and figures toolpaths. You define inside or out and suposedly from the info they give, off you go.
Cant do that with Mach - Cast Iron
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While I really like my PlasmaCam.....the notion that it is simple to scan a bitmap and convert it to a cut path....is not exactly correct. The PlasmaCam software can accept bitmaps....and has the ability to convert them into cut paths.....but every time I have done this it requires a lot of work to make a finished, usable drawing out of it. If you have a simple line drawing....such as a page from a childs coloring book....scan it and import it and it can relatively easily be converted to a cut path.....however more complex drawings and photos are much more difficult.
I agree with Macona in regards to using a machine torch on a PlasmaCam machine....they normally are shipped with a hand torch holder.....for a few bucks you can get a machine torch holder......which makes the machine much more accurate (torch can be easily squared to the plate), and repeatable.....as the torch always is in the same position.
And....in regards to the comment about PlasmaCam's tech support being terrible.....that is a lingering complaint from over 3 or 4 years ago. PlasmaCam has restructured the way they support their installled base of machines.....and added some very capable tech support staff....owners of these machines have very few compaints today in regards to factory support. It is true that if you are not a registered owner that they will not help you out...but it is real easy to register as an owner!
Its hard to compare PlasmaCam to Mach 3......PlasmaCam is a turnkey 4 x 4 or 5 x 10 plasma cutting machine complete with software for under $10k.....you have to add the plasma and PC, Mach 3 is software that supports a variety of cnc operations including plasma cutting and torch height control.....you add a cutting machine, torch height control, PC and plasma to make it work.
Jim Colt
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