I am fairly new to all this stuff, can anyone explain what this is and how much it costs ?My friend has a steel 3d spider with a lot of 6 mm metal pieces all neatly cut and slotted together and it looks really cool. He said it was done on a CNC plasma cutter.Are these super expensive, how big are they, how complicated are they to use, are they worth the $$$ ????Thanks
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ook in the Hypertherm section. Jim Colt has a PlasmaCam CNC table. He has posted info on cost, setup and pics of results. Im itching to buy one myself.
Reply:about 100 grand will fix you right upComplete Fabrication Shop specializing in pipe fabrication. Also offering heavy steel fabrication and sheet metal work.
Reply:Originally Posted by scubaholicabout 100 grand will fix you right up
Reply:From the Hypertherm Section. #77 04-04-2009, 04:33 AM jimcolt WeldingWeb Tradesman Join Date: Oct 2007Location: New HampshirePosts: 279 Re: Hypertherm Manufacturer Section --------------------------------------------------------------------------------If my first PlasmaCam is any indication....I'll like this one even more. They are a low cost machine that comes complete....except for a PC, a plasma, and some method of fume extraction. I bought a new PC for $300 from Tiger Direct, The Powermax45 is around $1500, The Torit fume extractor is around $3500, and I made sheet metal panels to close in under the machine. Add the PlasmaCam for around $9800, shipping was $350......so, for a grand total of $15,450 I'll have a complete cnc cutting machine that will do a great job up to 1/2".....and occasionally thicker. The PlasmaCam has an incredibly easy to learn drawing package.....even if you've never done any CAD drawing you can figure this out very quickly.I should be firing it sometime tomorrow....just got the fume extractor connected and wired up the interface connections on the plasma....next...plug the computer into the PlasmaCam box, plug the plasma interface cable into the box....and fire it up.Jim
Reply:Thanks for the replies, but it looks like it's way out of my price range. I will have to source somewhere that has one and see if I can outsource what I need done.
Reply:Jim If it is that easy for you you need to get into the graphics end, people with these machines will pay for someone to build there parts for them. Here is the deal, your not going to get rich with these machines, there are so many of them out there there is no money in it anymore. In the small town that I live in there are 4 of them with in 3 miles of my shop. Twenty miles from here there are about 30 of them. They are a good shop tool and that is about it. I had a job about two years ago that was so intense that it took five eight hour days to build everything. I would have been glad to pay for that one. Because when you are trying to run a business it just dont pay enough to set there and build parts.1990 SA 200Miller 225 Rip Miller302Miller 135Lincoln 200 MigHypertherm 600 PlasmaPlasma Cam Cutting TableMikita Cold SawJL Welding Tx . com
Reply:Too make any money at it you really need a speciality side of the available market. If your community is mainly farming you could try that or heavy machinery. Sounds like the author here is mainly interested in a hobby or just doing an occasional item certainly not making owning a cnc setup worth the expense. Even Jim is looking for some projects that will pay back the investment he has in that PlasmaCam & Hypertherm cnc setup.Co-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.& 2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.
Reply:I have almost got enough work to pay for one within 4 to 5 jobs.May have one soon.
Reply:Great work Larry. Its amazing what a cnc table can do. Of course anything over the standard 2 axis tables will cost ya. But talking to Jim might give you some hints on what you can do to. For folks that have never seen what a cnc table can do there are alot of places you can visit. Hypertherm has some great video on industrial applications. TorchMate and PlasmaCam have some great video on small shop and hobbyist use.Co-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.& 2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.
Reply:Rarely a day goes by that I don't use the PlasmaCam / Powermax 45 cnc setup in my garage at home. I do just enough paid work to keep material in stock and to buy an occasional tool for my shop....the majority of the use is for my home/farm type use....as well as to keep a few of my friends up to speed with hot rod parts...log splitter parts...pretty much anything made from metal.I think that if I did not already have a good day job (Hypertherm) that I could easily earn a living doing light fabricating and cutting with the PlasmaCam machine out of my home shop. A PlasmaCam with software, computer and 45 Amp Powermax plasma totals about $12,000 or so. If you go to the Hypertherm manufacturer section you will find pictures of my machine.Jim Colt
Reply:The plasmacam machine is a really nice setup. There are others out there also but on just about anything as turn key as the Plasmacam the money is about the same..... You have to be careful to compair apples to apples when purchasing a CNC burning table.Now with that said. You can build from scratch & purchase all new stuff to build your own for apx 1/2 or maybe a bit less the price of a Plas-cam or similar machine. It's a pretty good project though. I spent about all my spare time for a couple weeks or so, reading & studying others build logs over on www.cnczone.com Then another month or so sourcing most all the parts to begin a build. Then expect to spend hundreds of hours (maybe over 1000 even) buildning something that will cut with as tight of tolerances as a Plas-cam or similar machine.IF IT WORKS, DON'T FIX IT2 Lincoln CV-300 / LN-7 GMALinde-VI 253,400 & 450 w/MIG35 feedersCNC Table with Oxweld O/A & Hypertherm 1250G3Lincoln Ranger GXT 250Hobart-MicroWire 300ESAB Heliarc 161ESAB-Mobilemaster 2 CC/CV Feeders& more
