Another plasma component...

My PlasmaC installation is about to get a serious workout, 2.2 tons of 16mm steel plate to cut in the next couple of days.

Tom,

The last few days I have cut about 4 full sheets of parts, 2 out of the 4 sheets I had 100% yield with no operator intervention.



You can see in the picture the cleats that did not cut properly out of second last sheet. That was caused by me being lazy and seeing if I could get the rest of the sheet out when the electrode started playing up and not changing it. The other sheet I had problems with was because I nested parts to close together in sheet cam and the lead ins clashed into other parts, that was 100% my fault.

So overall it is never the controller playing up, more so the consumables wearing out.

My last controller was from CandCNC and I had nothing but problems with it. I would suggest anyone looking for a controller to get help on this forum to build their own before buying that junk. I spent over $11,000 AUD on the system and it never worked correctly from the start. Getting help from them was like pulling teeth. But the biggest reason I stopped using it was the owner treating me like an idiot when I pointed out things that did not work. With PlasmaC, Phill is always happy to help out as well as others on the forum, and they are not even making money from this!

Rate of failure is low. Mostly it is a float switch tripped error from a tipped up part that happens on sheets with smaller parts.

Comfort of using the machine is high. I have built a console for my electronics, I have a isolator switch on the side of the unit that when I turn it on the computer starts up and the controller power turns on without having to press any other buttons. I then turn the power on to the plasma unit, then load PlasmaC, turn the motors on and home the machine. It is then ready to load the g-code file. I then load the plate, and touch off.Then check the consumables and I am ready to cut.

I am in the middle of working with Phill to test out the Hypertherm RS485 integration with PlasmaC. When we have that working we will no longer need to set the current or air pressure on machines with a RS485 port. Should be a big help.

thefabricator03 wrote:

Rate of failure is low. Mostly it is a float switch tripped error from a tipped up part that happens on sheets with smaller parts.

But in my experience, this is easy to recover from. I just pause the machine while Plasmac is retrying or after it gives up and pauses. Then I just remove the tipped up part and hit run again.

Usually when it trips the float switch it raises the z axis and pauses the machine automatically. All I have to do is remove the tipped up plate and un-pause the machine, Works great!

+1 on this.

The error recovery with PlasmaC is outstanding! It is rare for me to lose a part with PlasmaC! Reveres run coupled with near instant reaction to torch break away makes losing parts to tip ups a thing of the past. My torch usually never even comes completely loose PlasmaC reacts so fast when hitting a tip up, the error message is my only clue as what actually happened. Yes, when I get greedy (or lazy) I have lost parts due to electrode or nozzle failure.

'03

You really need to cross post your experiences on PS, the folks there are sick of hearing from Rod and I about using LCNC.

John

John,

I think you are right about plasma spider,

I will go on there soon and see if I can convert any of the Mach3 cavemen to convert to LCNC.

islander261 wrote:

+1 on this.

'03

You really need to cross post your experiences on PS, the folks there are sick of hearing from Rod and I about using LCNC.

John

Yes, there is one in particular who does not like the message I've delivered.... I'm sure the Islander and '03 know who I mean...
Do it Stefan!