Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Now for a change of pace: PlasmaCAM

Ron Yost wrote:

>>I wonder how much they sell for ?
>>
>>Dave
>>
>>
>
>I did a little searching by Google and the only pricing info I found was a
>posting by someone on a (non-PlasmaCAM) forum somewhere. He said they're
>'about $10,000'. May, or may not, be accurate. I found NO independent
>reviews of the thing at all! Not one! Maybe someone else has?
>
>One fellow on a forum said they're not nearly as robust as they appear
>in the purty pictures on the PlasmaCAM site, for what that's worth.
>
>
>

This is not a great surprise. As best as I can tell, he has the rack
mounted inside
a steel channel, and some kind of carriage rolls either slong the inside
of outside
of the channel. Since plasma is a horribly dirty process, this seems
like a pretty
good design from the standpoint of resisting contamination. But, you
can't expect
great accuracy from structural steel components. And, since there is no
scheme
to prevent racking of the bridge axis, that is going to put some
stresses on the
thing that may accelerate wear.

$10K just seems a bit high for a basic X-Y table with a little Z travel.

>The fact there's no pricing info on their site is a red flag, to me. I
>like companies who are up-front with such things. If they're not, they're
>usually hiding something, in my experience. In this case, I'll bet it's
>the lack of value for $$ spent. Something you're not supposed to realize
>until after the dotted-line has been signed and the thing is in your
>possession.
>
>One's supposed to watch their video and send them 10-large (or whatever).
>Basically sight unseen. They discourage contact with present owners,
>provide no references at all, and you -can't- actually see and touch
>the machine at the 'factory' before purchase. Gee, I wonder why?? :)
>
>
>

No posted price is not a great concern to me - yes they want you to
call, not too
unusual. If all the rest of the previous paragraph is true, then that
DOES raise a
red flag, for sure. Might be time to do some Google searches on the
trade name to
see if anyone has posted from their experience.

Jon