Discussion about CNC Plasma in the Home Shop

[Tmate]

When I originally started the thread "CNC Plasma When You Have No Space" (https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/cnc-plasma-cutting-when-you-have-no-space.85935/) back in August, there appeared to be considerable interest until the $3,000 to $5,000 cost of the process surfaced.

I am just like the next guy out there who admires a big hefty piece of precision machinery. The beefier and heavier a machine is, the more value I generally place on it. While still a big expenditure, many of us have shelled out more than $5,000 for a halfway decent lathe or mill.

In contrast, a small CNC plasma cutting table seems light and flimsy. It's value lies in its capability rather than its mass. When it comes to steel plate 3/8" or thinner, it can do things not possible with any other piece of equipment remotely in its price range. While material up to an inch or more can be cut with a high power plasma cutter, the average home shop can get by fine with a plasma cutter that could plug into a dryer outlet.

A CNC plasma cutter can produce intricate, detailed shapes with a finish at least as smooth as a bandsaw in perhaps 1/25th of the time. Forget about bandsaw blade welding for inside cuts. Grinding is unnecessary and the small amount of dross generated can be tapped off in a couple of minutes. The time necessary to master the process is less than the time it took you to learn how to use a computer to access this forum.

I urge you to look further into the things you can accomplish with a small CNC plasma table, and place its value on its contributions to your shop rather than its physical impressiveness.

Please understand that I no longer have any commercial interest in selling this stuff, but still have a personal interest in steering others toward this amazing process. Thanks for listening!

 

[jwmelvin]

I found your description of the example machine quite interesting and helpful. I’ve long been tempted to put one together. But I often think about how easy it is to get parts from services like sendcutsend and question whether I would be better off with my own machine.

 

[Tmate]

I guess we could farm everything out if it came to that. But then again, we do it because it's fun. If you are in business, it's another matter. You go with the most cost effective approach, while keeping the future in mind.

 

[Papa Charlie]

You bring up good points. Most often CNC is associated with mass production. While that may be were it shines, it has it place in producing intricate single items as well.
Each must decide what fits them, for me I plan to purchase one in the near future.

 

[scoopydo]

I just ordered the parts (mostly McMaster-Carr) for an interseting little CNC plasma machine. It comes from DacsGarage.com, he has full videos on YouTube about construction and operation. It's a small 2' x 2' machine with a 16" square cutting area. For less than 400 bucks it's a bargain for cutting small parts which is all I have room for. That doesn't include the plasma cutter in the price but I already have one that I can use.

 

[Tmate]

When I mentioned intricate, detailed parts above, I wasn't only referring to flanges and brackets, etc. Perhaps the most intricate shapes are artistic shapes with no industrial use. For every industrial CNC Plasma user, there are maybe a half dozen small time shops, on-line businesses, and individuals cranking out pieces for sale or for their own enjoyment.

Below are some holiday oriented examples in 1/8" and 3/16" plate that even the most sophisticated machine shops would be hard pressed to duplicate by non-CNC methods. You can you use existing dxf files, scan and trace clip art, or create your own shapes with CorelDraw or similar program. The actual cutting process for each piece was under two minutes. I used the simple items in the second picture to deal with the dross. The V shaped backstop contains the dross chips, and the magnetic pick up tool ($11.99 at Harbor Freight) cleans them up.

The paint job was, of course, an optional task.

 

[DavidR8]

I just ordered the parts (mostly McMaster-Carr) for an interseting little CNC plasma machine. It comes from DacsGarage.com, he has full videos on YouTube about construction and operation. It's a small 2' x 2' machine with a 16" square cutting area. For less than 400 bucks it's a bargain for cutting small parts which is all I have room for. That doesn't include the plasma cutter in the price but I already have one that I can use.

Were you able to build this?

 

[scoopydo]

Yes, it's all built. Due to some health issues, I still have a few minor things to finish up. Like a box for the electronics and mount the plasma torch. very easy and fun project to build.