way to cool!!

[james mcgrew]

the fellows have prepared a machine for jeff w and i am now wanting one of these as well!!

[Bryan Cowan]

Seems like that may be a tad overkill for the 1/4" aluminum sheets I cut.

[Dan Hintz]

only one of the images blows up in size

How much for that option?! I've been slowly clearing space for when my machine comes in

[Mitchell Andrus]

How much for that option?!

If you gotta ask......


I want one too. I have NO use for it, but it'd be cool.
.

[Gene Crain]

If you gotta ask......


I want one too. I have NO use for it, but it'd be cool.
.

...now that signature is just tooooo funny

[Dan Hintz]

Ahhh, it can't be too much... they have plasma cutters out there for quite reasonable prices, so once you have a good table, adding on the cutter shouldn't be too much of a problem. There's something to be said for plug-n-play, though, even if it costs a little extra...

[Jerome Stanek]

Ahhh, it can't be too much... they have plasma cutters out there for quite reasonable prices, so once you have a good table, adding on the cutter shouldn't be too much of a problem. There's something to be said for plug-n-play, though, even if it costs a little extra...

You have to take into account a new table that is not flammable and along with a plasma that has a duty cycle that can handle it. That most likely would cost about the same as the stinger that you would put it on

[Dan Hintz]

Jerome,

Harbor Freight has a nice little plasma cutter kit on sale right now for $650 (I bet you could use one of those 20% off coupons on it, too, bringing it to $530). I'm sure you could rig up a thin sheet-metal pin table for a couple hundred $s.

If I wasn't spending a ton of dough elsewhere right now, I might drop by HF and pick one up, try it out...

[Mike Heidrick]

Not to be a bizz kill...........

Using a plasma cutter in a shop doing woodworking or hooked to a woodworking machine does not seem like a good idea AT ALL. I would think exposing the cables/hoses in plastic Igus where splatter can land and not having the spindle or mount protected from the splatter is not a good idea as well. I think I like mutually exclusive machines and rooms much better. At least hang some welding fire retardent tarp walls around it. If this burns up the wood workers shop......?? That guy better contact his business/homeowners insurance agent and Cammaster may want to talk to their legal department/team/expert (depending on their staff) At minimum you may want to type up a new warranty for that equipment. The wrong settings on the plasma based on the material being cut and it is going to make one heck of a mess of that Z axis and expensive spindle. This is not like sawdust settling on it!

[james mcgrew]

mike i admire your post but must differ here (and from experience) for anyone to purchase any machine without a basic understanding of the dangers involved is insane. cnc plasma cutters and torches are not new and in the metal working industry as numerous as those discussed here. i do not discuss it as much here but my shop has both metal welding and equipment of all types,

anyone who thinks wood is safer than metal, i beg to differ

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ghlight=safety

jim

[Keith Outten]

I don't think that I would be doing any serious welding or burning work in a garage attached to my home.
Where there is metal work there are sparks, there isn't any way around it!!!

I do a lot of metal work in my shop however, I am always cognizant of where the sparks are going and I make sure that wood dust and any flammable materials are cleaned up before I start welding, grinding and cutting. For the record I'm not promoting metal work in a woodworking shop but sometimes it is a necessity and in my case it is a normal operation and has been for over twenty years.

There are additional risks involved sharing a facility between wood and metal work, in my case my shop is not connected to my home, I don't have any close neighbors and I have business insurance. With a stand alone workshop if a profitable job came my way that required me to install a plasma torch on my ShopBot I would do it in a heartbeat.

I expect that there are more fires in woodworking shops than metal shops and there are probably a lot of reasons for metal shops being safer overall when it comes to fire hazards.
.

[Joey Jarrard]

On the plasma tables we sell we leave the base open or supply a water table. On the combo tables we can offer a removable table top for wood or a removable water table for the plasma. If you use a water table and know your correct settings you will have little or no splatter. The spindle on the combo machine is at no risk from the plasma head it comes down a good distance from the spindle. The only thing we need to watch for is noise from the high voltage. A few filters and shielded cable and this is quickly solved.
The idea of this machine came from some talks with David a school teacher in SC. Schools are on a tight budget and he was going to split the bill with the metal shop teacher. The way most companies build a router is not much different than the way they build there router. Why not put them on one machine you can buy for less than 28K , 30K with water table. And have 2 machines for not much more than one cost.
Is this option for everyone? No but some shops do both wood working and metal working to make ends meet or there in a area that would facilitate a machine like this.

This customer does wood and his wife is in to metal so it was the beat for them. I was glad to help build a machine to fit there needs.
The evolution of this machine is from talking with David a school teacher in SC

[Jerome Stanek]

Jerome,

Harbor Freight has a nice little plasma cutter kit on sale right now for $650 (I bet you could use one of those 20% off coupons on it, too, bringing it to $530). I'm sure you could rig up a thin sheet-metal pin table for a couple hundred $s.

If I wasn't spending a ton of dough elsewhere right now, I might drop by HF and pick one up, try it out...

What is the duty cycle of that plasma cutter? Just like a welder where you cut and have to let it sit to cool off if the cycle is short. We have a plasma at work and it is only rated for 40%.

[Dan Hintz]

Jerome,

It says 60% at 40A and 100% at 31A... that should cut 1/4" without a problem...

I was also surprised to read it has a pilot arc feature... something you don't generally see in the cheaper models.