Re: Now for a change of pace: PlasmaCAM

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, Jon Elson <elson@...> wrote:

>
> 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
>

The PlasmaCAM solution is for the person that wants nothing to do
but turn on the machine and start cutting. There is nothing DIY
about it. They are expert marketers and they have a software
interface that is their primary selling point. If you watch the
video, the software is so good you can almost just "think" about a
part and it will cut it. They show importing a bitmap and clicking
a few buttons and cutting out a part. In real life the reports are
that it's not quite that easy and reviews are mixed. It will import
DXF so you are back to the basic CAM toolpath functions. It's the
software that attracts their customers since it appears to solve the
issue of: fear of computers and software.

Their machine is totally proprietary and works ONLY with their
software and controller. If something breaks you have to get the
part from them.

Four years ago they were one of the few ready-to-run low cost plasma
CNC machines out there, but there are now several other mfgs of mid
range tables built using various approaches and some with more open
designs that lend themselves to selecting the best mix of CAD CAM
and Control.

Since this list is for people interested in building/modifying their
own CNC machines the further discussion of specific brands/pricing
would better be moved to the Plasma specific lists.

What is a valid topic of discussion is the specific design of a
commercial machine and how it could be utilized by the DIY builder.
All of us have looked at other designs or commercial machines to get
ideas. PCAM and others inspired my initial plasma table design but
there is no substitute for experience!

Tom Caudle