Plasma/Mesa Guru's

I am looking to hook my plasma to a Mesa 5i20 and THCAD

I have already had it working somewhat with an MP1000 but it seems to be getting progressively worse the more I use it. I was told to do a bunch of different things that "will fix it" non of them ever did... it just kept getting worse. I would like to get away from using mach and into EMC. My current machine is more of a test bed/ learning experience. We plan to build a new machine in the spring that will be extremely accurate and closed loop. I would also like to have an oxy torch on it along with a plate marker. In the mean time I just want my current machine working and learn to add on all the bells and whistles a guy could want.

First off, is the mesa combo what I really want to be using? I haven't spent a ton of time with EMC as of yet, I do have my bridgeport boss machine running with it, and a Chinese laser. Those were really just plug and play installations though. I really didn't have to do much in the way of configuring the Hal or recompile the source code.. Is there a basic how to for using the Mesa thc cards?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Plasma with THC is on my list of things to do...maybe this winter. However Mesa is well supported here at EMC. John is using the THC with Mesa and seems very pleased, I am sure he will pipe in with any details you need.

Rick G

I figured that this was a better place to ask about the mesa stuff than cnczone. I am pretty sure that everything will make sense as soon as I start really getting into using it. I remember back in the day, just getting a stepper motor working seemed like it was something just way out of my league. Then I found a driver schematic online and wired everything up. It still took some time just to get it working, but once I did it no longer seemed like rocket science.

I still wouldn't mind a few helpful hints to get me started though.

BigJohn

Thank you for chiming in. I have an Esab ESP-50 it has all the hook ups for machine control. Trigger, Arc OK and a 20:1 torch volts. I am thinking that I should be in good shape to use the 10V THC card.

The rest of my machine is a rack and pinion, single side drive gantry that is 6' X 10' I am running the older gecko 201's and I run 450 ipm conservatively. I have had it up to 575, but I backed it off to help assure I don't miss any steps.

Any files you would be willing to share would be a big help. I haven't been able to find much out there on using the Mesa THC.

I have an older version of artcam that I wrote a plasma post for. It works good, but I would like something that works in ubuntu. I am no longer going to be using windows on the shop computer. I have banned myself from creating posts in my office computer for the plasma. I made the mistake of forgetting that I was using the plasma post on the mill toolpaths and crashed my spindle right into the table looking for a Z touch off. It was a bad day. So I have need to find something to create gcode on the plasma computer. Sheetcam seems popular, so I will probably use it.

Is it tough to add control knobs in EMC? My friend is used to having a knobs to increase/decrease pierce time and cut height. I may have to tell him he needs to live with buttons for the time being. Boy, after saying that now I feel as if I need to make a bad mamba jamba pendent. Something that has a digiital display, a joystick, and a bunch of buttons.

Alright. I am finally going to pull the trigger on monday. But, before I do....

What are the things that I need to buy/order. I am living in a rural area, so everything will pretty much need to be ordered and I want to try and make sure that I have everything that I need.

5i20
THCAD 10v version to use the 20:1 output on my Esab ESP-50

Is there breakout boards available, or do they come with them. I am currently only running steppers, but I plan to build a new table using AC servos in the near future.