Re: Plasma Gap Control

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@egroups.com, Joe Vicars <jvicars@c...> wrote:

> One of the plasma kit people (I think Torchmate) has

incorporated a

> feedback device on their plasma cutters to maintain accurate gap

control

> over wavy steel and uneven surfaces, etc. I thought they were

going to

> sense changes in the cutting current, but it looks like they are

using

> proximity sensors instead.
> This feeds a signal back to the controller to increment the Z

axis

> up and down to maintain good gap, and therefore more consistent

cuts.

Costs almost 1700 bucks. Not that it isn't worth it, but it would
stretch my current budget past its point of elastictivity <SP?>. I
found one from Australia for about 1400 that uses the torch voltage
as feed back....how I don't know. Monitoring the current might help
but a lot of the better Plasma rigs have current control to stabalize
the arc and that wouldn't help. Their rig is completely self-
contained with its own feedback and stepper so nothing goes back to
the Z axis controller. The challenge is of course the atmosphere you
have to work in...thousands of degrees, molten metal and enough light
to sunburn George Hamilton.