cnc plasma thoughts..

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i'm very interested in building a cnc plasma/router machine. i just joined cnczone and they have a waiting period or i'm waiting on an admin to ok me to post...so to the point..  budget $2000 i'm planning on building a 4x4 cnc plasma machine/might try to also use it as a router if its doable on the cheap... i am trying to do this at home with what i have here, i have a mig welder, tig welder, 4x6 horizontal bandsaw, drill press, also a friend told me to come get his mill/drill and i can use it...  i also have access to a small mill and lathe at a friends house, but i dont want to use his stuff if i dont have too, you know how it is..  after researching different builds, what i've come to find out is most of the money is tied up in the slides and the electronics..planning on building the frame of steel, also the gantry of steel,, possibly aluminum to make it lighter but not decided yet..  also using rack drive as i think this is the cheapest.. the z axis will probably be acme screw drive.. heres what ive come up with for slides for the gantry as of now... i'm not so certain my slide idea is going to work, i'm including a sketch of my idea.. after looking at it i dont think the bearings would hold up too the vertical load.. i think that i somehow need to square the bearings up to handle the load.. this is the simplest idea that i've come up with so far..  the slides would be made of 1 inch angle iron on the table, and the go with 1 inch angle iron or aluminum on the gantry.. was planning on using the abec7 sealed skate bearings mounted with shoulder bolts/ or hardened stripper bolts.. the slide assembly would be 6 inches long using 4 bearings/2 bearings on each end, or could even go up to six bearings for increased side load bearing ability i need to keep the slides as simple as i can and adjustable to make up for wear later on, i can use shims for adjusting...  for the electronics: a friend of mine is a hoarder and works for a plant that has the salvage auctions..  he has scored an old Burny cnc contoller and the servos and gear reduction boxes from a cnc plasma that they had retro fitted.. he told me i was welcome to use them... i figured i would use them to start with...  possibly later on use the power supply, drivers and then possibly use mach3 or linux-emc2 for the controller software... i'm not worried as much of the electronics right now, as i'm focusing on the design of the table and gantry as this is where a majority of the budget will be i think.. appreciate any ideas.. thanksbrucerLast edited by brucer; 01-31-2011 at 12:24 PM.tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/
Reply:check this guy out for tracks & extrusions & stuff..http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/8...MEFSX:SELLERIDmiller 330a bp TIGmiller dynasty 200DX TIGmillermatic 185 MIGthermal dynamics cutmaster 101 plasma cuttersnap-on YA5550 plasma cutterhypertherm powermax 30 plasma cutterbaileigh CS225 cold sawetc....
Reply:Originally Posted by turbocad6check this guy out for tracks & extrusions & stuff..http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/8...MEFSX:SELLERID
Reply:Brucer, I built a 4X4 and your budhet may be a little low for what you want to build.  The good CAD and G-code converters are very expensive as well as the mechanical components.  I have just a buck or two over 12 Grand in my system, but I did buy a turnkey machine from one of the top vendors too.   The machine was 8000, oo plus freight and the additional computers, and Plasma cutter with machine torch filled up the rest.  If you have the time to tinker tou probably can get that price a good bit lower, but you will also be sacrioficing interoperability with other machines and owners.  The best 2 out there are Torchmate and PlasmaCam as far as systems go, and each has it's strong points as far as systems go,  I am sure that each offers different level of assembly options, but I was interested in minimal fuss and a proven ready to go system that would allow me to get up and running without a huge learning curve,  Once all of the crates had all arriver, I was assembled, up and running in about 3 hours from the start.  If you really want to get the goody out of your investment you definately need the Arc Voltage Height Control feature, I left this off of my initial purchase and have regretted that fact since.  It is an aditional 3 grand to buy seperately and something I should have corrected immediately.  Unfortunately since my disaster I have been unable to set aside a spare chunk of change that large and have been learning electronics and making my own.  The education has been fun, but if I had a do-over I would change that.    The rest of the system is very simple as evidenced by even someone of my limited computer savvy and abilities being able to make it work well from the start.  Since I bought the machine I have managed to get it to pay for itself by pushing the Flea Market angle and also making inserts and art for several  gate and fencing companies.  I did not get much quality home and weekend time to first start out, but after a while I had folks calling and work offers from the internet that I was able to stay busy enough and operate at enough of a profit that it paid off.  It took about 18 months to break even  and show enough of a profit that it worked out.  CNC Zone is a great resdource if you are doing initial research and comparing the different options, and Mike from Torchmate is a great guy to deal with when you are ready to buy.  In the long run the money I saved by not buying the AVTHC was the difference in price between the PlasmaCam and Torchmate system,.  All optioned up and ready to go they would have been almost exactly the same in price.  So welcome to the world of CNC plasma tables and the huge market it offers to those who are interested.  It will never repace all of what I do, but it made a few bucks and put a grin factor on my face that still hasnt worn off yet, nearly 7 years later.  There is nothing like standing back and watching the machine devour a sheet of material and spit out cool artsy fartsy stuff as well as the structural and patch types of stuff.  I made patches for loader buckets and back hoes as well as the artsy stuff in thinner guage metals.  I figured that if a sheet costed 85.00, then I should be able to get an additional 3X's that to cover my labor and consumables.    It averages out pretty good in the long run using that as a rule of thumb.  The big custom gate medalions for the local horse farms was a tough  nut to crack and get into, but ince I had a few out and could offer pretty quick idea to art times and consistent good quality it got a whole lot easier to keep the machine going and producing income.  Since I dont offer or even want to get into erection and installation it cut down on my exposure to liability and risk if something did manage to go horribly wrong, like hitting a multi-million dollar stud horse with a gate or allow it to escape and create a traffic hazard.    Hope this help get ya going, cause I have had a blast playing with the machine I have and managed to pay for it on its own ability to fill a niche in our area.   Have fun and if I can help you in any way I will be glad, just OM me and I will get back ASAP with specs and observations.BobI'm spending my Kids inheritance, I dont like him that much anyway!!!!!!Enuff tools to do the job, enough sense to use em.Anybody got a spare set of kidneys?  Trade?