[CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: CNC Plasma cutter

On 9/22/04 2:27 PM, turbulatordude wrote:

>you need to get a machine that is rated for 100% duty cycle. Cutting
>a sheet that will take 30 minutes will make lessor machines bug out.

True, but not every sheet is 1/2" thick.

>Second, a Torch head height control...

I'd sure like one, but without it I only screw up about one piece out
of a hundred. Okay, maybe fifty. And I'm not that careful, my torch is
fussy, and most of my cross bars are missing about a quarter inch in
the center of the table. And steel usually isn't flat. However, a THC
would make the cuts prettier.

>I looked at a table a few years ago. I figureded on welding the frame
>and grinding all the welds down flat and then haveing the bed heat
>treated to be stress releaved. One reason is that if they do it
>right, they can make it really really flat in that process. Makes
>grinding easier.

This may be a good method, but it sounds like a lot of work to me. I
just used 2x2 tube, and mounted the x axis track to it. The 2x2 doesn't
bend under normal use and the track can be leveled easily enough. My
cross supports are strips of 1/8" aluminum about 5 inches wide
suspended in a big tub of water.

I think having a water table helps things stay flat more that a perfect
worksurface does. One of the first things I did with it was to cut 1/8"
copper in the shape of a fern. For a 4' fern, it was about 40' of cut.
Without cooling, the sheet puckered up like crazy in about a minute.
You can also get by in a pinch by spraying water on it while it cuts,
but this gets boring and makes an awful mess in the shop.

Just my 2 rusty plugs.

Hal Eckhart - Casa Forge - Minneapolis MN - <http://www.casaforge.com>