Plasma CNC.. Need input for completing setup.. Here is what I need/have. What else.

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I am in the process of buying the Plasmacam CNC table. I have a friend who is using one in his school shop class. It looks good and performs for him very well.What im doingI will be doing art-cutouts, and machine part cutouts.  I will be cutting anything for sheet metal 16ga to 3/8 mild steel.  Might do some cutouts from stainless and aluminum but probably won't be cutting any alum or stainless over 1/4" ever. Probably will me 1/8-3/16 mostly.PlasmaIm thinking the Hypertherm powermax 45 should fit the bill and mount in the plasmacam nicely. It states it will pierce 3/8 and I hear hypertherms data is solid.  Its either that or the Miller Spectrum 625.CompressorsI see I need 6 cfm but read where that is usually not enough for long cuts. The majority of my LONG cuts will be cutting out Art Scenes from 1/8" mild steel, so the compressors need to handle that.  I have a 5hp 60 gallon ChargeAir Ingersoll Rand running on 220v. It states 12.5CFM and 11.0CFM.  I also have a 5.5hp Gas driven Coleman Powermate portable compressor with about the same CFM capacity. If needed, I can run them both into a single tank and use both.. I don't know if thats needed though.PCI think I'll just get my local computer guy to build me a unit w/scanner specifically for this process. This might save me a bunch of money vs. buying a PC from Wal-Mart or something and trying to make sure its compatible without paying for a load of un-needed stuff which I suspect would be the case.Ok, now I need opinions and advice. How does the above setup look?What other things/costs do I need?Im not going to worry about a venting system or water vat under the plasma just yet.I do probably need a good or a Few good Air/Particle/water seperaters for running the plasma better. I believe I can get this from my LWS.Do i need a special drawing software for uploading images onto the system or will the scanner be the easiest.  Im a little fuzzy in this area as to how the images get from paper to computer to cutouts etc.Ok long and drawn out, I apologize. but thanks to anyone that feels like dealing with me for a bit. I read through other post and tried to include all the info usually asked for by the experts.
Reply:Hi Chad, I do not have a plasma cam setup but Jim Colt does he should be able to help you.  You can either PM Jim or find him in the Hypertherm Forum under Other Manufacturers.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 shot him a PM earlier. thanks anyone else with any input
Reply:go big on the plasma, you'll need it for the duty cycle and those occasional thick parts that you don't plan on doing.My name's not Jim....
Reply:Hi Chad I can tell you that if you get the Hypertherm PowerMax 45 you will not be dissappointment at its performance. Last Nov I posted a Test and Evaluation Of the Hypertherm PowerMax versus two other plasma cutters which were higher amp Chinese units! You may want to go to the threads to see how it performed.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=28523http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=28873Co-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:Boost, you don't think the hyp 45 will confidently handle everything I need.  I may have some long 1/4" mild steel runs at times but It should handle it.specter, i'll take a look at those...
Reply:Depends on the size of your table and size and quantity of parts to be cut.I am not familiar with the plas you are considering, consider this situation...3/8" might not be a problem cutting by hand, but let's say somebody wants a hundred doohickys cut out of 3/8" material and you managed to arrange all the odd shaped pieces to fit in one sheet (or half sheet) of material. An odd shaped part can have a couple feet of length to be cut X 100 = 200ft worth of cut at say 40-50 amps.  That's a lot of cutting to do continuous.  And since the computer can move more accurately than a human, you can move faster, so say 60 amps.  These are just numbers I picked out of thin air, but I think you get the idea.A while back when I was in school, we went to check out a CNC plasma table at a highschool.  All they were using it for was to cut out 2-3ft tall lawn decorations.  They only cut one at a time, but they said that they had burnt up 3 plasma cutters in 6 months.  The plasma cutters were rated for thicker material than they were cutting, but the duty cycle was killing them.If you have yet to buy a plas cutter, I would look at the duty cycles and get one bigger than you actually think you need.  Spending more money once is cheaper than spending a little now and then having to upgrade in the future.My name's not Jim....
Reply:understood, well hopefully jim or someone with the machine will chime in on its capability in conjunction with the plasmacam table as you stated in your situation.
Reply:also noticed there are hundreds of DXF drawings on ebay and online. do these work with the plasmacam software?
Reply:Your compressor is perfectly fine ......and a Powermax45 will do everything you want......you will not be able to exceed the duty cycle on 1/4" with this machine......I commonly pierce and cut 1/2", and have pierced and cut 5/8" with my 45.....never exceeded the duty cycle, and have no issues piercing 1/2"....5/8" is pushing it for piercing but it will do it...not bad considering Hypertherm rates it as a 3/8" piercing plasma! I would consider getting an air dryer.....many have bought the $350 refrigerated dryer from Harbor Freight and have been happy with it. For less up front money...you can get an automotive sparay paint filter, water trap system.....but over time it will require more maintenance and filter changes as compared to a refrigerated dryer.The PlasmaCam comes with its own simple drawing package......after a few months use you will get very good with it and be able to draw and cut just about anything with it. The PlasmaCam software easily imports .dxf files....these are probably the most common types of files you will find...as .dxf is the standard AutoCad style format.For the computer.....don't waste your money! Buy a used pentium....take it to your computer guy and have him remove everything except basic Windows XP. Don't use it for anything but the machine.....make sure it has a Parallel port (thats what PlasmaCam needs)....and also USB ports for transferring files from your office computer. You should be able to get a good used computer for $50.My machine computer sets on the shop floor beside the machine.....I pull the cover every few months and blow the dust out of it. Buy a cheap keyboard and an optical mouse...the keyboard will fail from dust...so buy a spare!You will love the PlasmaCam.....it may be a little frustrating at first....learning all of the proper settings for the plasma, torch height control, motion control stuff.....and the drawing package. Its the best tool in my shop!Once you get the machine you should join the Yahoo group PlasmaPig......it has over 500 PlasmaCam owners that all help each other out....you must prove ownership of the machine to participate in the group.....some of the members are a little ornery at times....but still very helpful.Jim ColtHeres a pic of my machine: Attached Images
Reply:gee, thanks for all the info Jim.I think this will be a very interesting investment for me. Im sure it will be a huge learning experience, and hopefully you won't mind me asking you some questions about it along the way. hahaI can't believe the art disc are $500 a piece from plasmacam.  they seem very professional and they might be worth it for cutting out picture frames etc. but man 500 bucks for 1.
Reply:I don't have the art discs....but I have seen them....extremely professional art that is ready to cut. I think they are worth the money if you are doing that type of metal art. My day job keeps me from using my machine for much more than hobby type work.....so I have not really spent much time recently dong metal art....if I did, I would buy some of the discs.Jim
Reply:You might wanna price out a torchmate machine as well.  Also check DynaCNC.  There is a newer company called Bulltear that is making kits for pretty cheap that use Mach3 etc.I know a guy that has a 45 and he loves that thing for his CNC table.
Reply:I did see the different brands. I'm hoping to get some opinions on them. Im pretty green on these machines as it is.
Reply:Go to CNCZone.com  They have lots of information to rattle around in your head.  Torch Height control is a big thing to consider on these machines.  Especially if you work with thin material. A scribing pen addon is a cool feature to have for the artsy work.