CNC plasma or norm plasma option upgrade later?

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yup...After reading soooo... many thread on plasma, it seem I am becoming a new believer... got tired of ole oxy/C2H2 set and would try plasma...I was wondering... which brand out there offer the best machine for a fabrication shop? I am still constructing 2 part of my workshop and seriously consider plasma...I know I need it later for my shipyard... is CNC plasma the way to go or I can buy a basic model and upgrade it later to CNC?Mmmm... I know there is waterjet and laser but I am not doing alotta aluminium sheet and very ultra precision stuff... but wouldnt might if quality cut is attained for a minimum cash bang... I am young in the frabrication business and I need to invest the right machine  with the right cash ratio... any opinion? Dont worry... my shop is in a remote 3rd world country ...Unit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:Well, what brand you buy depends on local support to some degree.Are you the guy in Venezuela?What brands can you buy there?Here in the US, my standard advice is only to consider Hypertherm or Thermal Dyamics, as they are the two best manufacturers here. But I can get consumables for either at my local welding supply store.If I lived in a country where I had to import, on my own, parts for them, I would look for a brand that is sold locally- Esab makes decent machines, and I am sure some of the euro machines that are not sold here are good too.Plasma is great- but it uses expensive tips and nozzles, and they are not repairable or regrindable- they get used up, and tossed out. So you must have a source for more, and be aware of the ongoing cost of them.You can do a lot with a hand torch on a plasma machine- you can clamp a piece of steel down for a guide, and get a good straight line easily. I used to make plywood patterns, and just trace around them, and get good parts on thin stuff- up to about 1/8" this works.But if you are cutting a lot of thicker plate, say 3/8" and up, you are going to want to get some kind of motorised cutter, doesnt have to be cnc.You use the same plasma power supply, but you buy a machine torch, usually about $500. Then, you use something as simple as a track burner like a Bug-0http://www.bugo.com/track.htmlor a simple optical trace machine, which traces a drawing.or, you can drop $10,000 to $100,000 on a cnc machine. The problem with thick stuff is that the torch must move very slowly, and its hard to do that by hand. So a motorised torch of some kind is needed.But any machine that cut with an oxy-fuel torch can easily have a plasma torch mounted, and work fine. Lots of big used flame cutting machines available, with and without computers.I cant see the little home model cnc machines like Dynatorch or Plasmacam being much use in a real shipyard- the first time you drop a 5x20 sheet of 1/2" plate on them, they flatten out like a tin can.
Reply:wow... you have a link more to the shipyard version... yes I have a crawler myself... so I can adpt a plasma on it?Mmmm... encounter problem with downloading the PDF... will try later...But what about nesting? CAD compatible???Last edited by Mandau; 04-11-2008 at 02:21 PM.Unit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:Is there a plan for sale on the table...  a kit for CNC and the best choice on plasma?Unit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...