Mesa Hardware Recommendations

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27 Jun 2020 19:25 #172900 by KaleD
I have been trying to hookup an Arduino THC for my plasma table. It has been a lot of fiddling for very little gain. My engineer brother is enjoying banging his head against the wall. But I want something a little more reliable. I can't be waiting for parts from china when the system inevitably fails.

The obvious choice seems to be Mesa hardware. I will get a THCAD-300 but while I'm at it I would like to get a control board while I'm at it. The shipping is pricy so I might as well go all-in on Mesa stuff.

Peter at Mesa recommended the 7i96 board but that is out of stock. There seems to be a lot of options. Is it worth waiting or is there something equivalent? What are others using?

I've been living without end-stops but I would like to hook up more stuff as I go along. My parallel port BOB has a lot of inputs already tied up.
Thanks for and insight.

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27 Jun 2020 20:45 #172910 by tommylight
7i76E
7i92M with 7i76
5i25 with 7i76
6i25 with 7i76
and some other combinations
What plasma source ?
Have you checked
mesaus.com ?

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28 Jun 2020 03:53 #172944 by KaleD
Replied by KaleD on topic Mesa Hardware Recommendations
I've done most of my searching here: store.mesanet.com/

I didn't find that other site.

My plasma cutter is a hypertherm 600. It's a bit old but it's powerful enough for what I cut.

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28 Jun 2020 04:14 #172947 by phillc54
He is out of stock as well. mesaus.com/product/7i96/

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28 Jun 2020 04:35 #172949 by Aciera
I don't know where you are located but they seem to be available here:
eusurplus.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=60

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28 Jun 2020 10:41 #172971 by tommylight
eusurplus.com is in Portugal, but from what i gather regarding postage from US to Canada, you might get them cheaper from Portugal. And eusurplus.com is very fast for deliveries throughout Europe.

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28 Jun 2020 11:30 - 28 Jun 2020 11:32 #172976 by gerritv
I can confirm that postage to Canada from US is extortionist. I chatted with Mesa about it, they are very displeased as well with US based shipping costs to out-of-country, all it does it hurt business. It was cheaper to UPS linear rail from China than mail an 8oz package from US (US$43). UPS from US looks less expensive at first until you add their inevitable charges.

While a 7i96 is suggested there must be other combinations that would work?
Last edit: 28 Jun 2020 11:32 by gerritv.

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28 Jun 2020 12:58 #172985 by tommylight

While a 7i96 is suggested there must be other combinations that would work?

Already posted a short list above, there are more options for sure but i left that to someone who used something else, those were just what i use.

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28 Jun 2020 16:55 #173005 by KaleD
Replied by KaleD on topic Mesa Hardware Recommendations
Thanks for the first hand advice.

Between the 7i76E and 7i96 is there any differences that would affect my usage?

Plasma table with end-stops, ohmic probe, THCAD-300, breakaway switch,

Maybe in the future a scribe, espresso machine, etc.

I understand that adding features is somewhat of an addiction. I don't want to end up limited. I also want to be able to keep up with Plamac's development.
The following user(s) said Thank You: tommylight

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28 Jun 2020 19:58 #173024 by tommylight

Maybe in the future a scribe, espresso machine, etc.

LOL, coffee is a must for this type of work.
7i96 should do just fine, plenty of members here use them for plasma machines and no one complains about not enough IO, except Rod who uses a 7i76E and is out of all IO's.
I make do quite nicely with a single parallel port , with only X and Z home/limits shared. With a THCAD, mind you, and home and limits on all 4 axis ( well 3 axis but gantry with dual motors and limits).
7i96 also has another header with 17 IO pins, but care must be taken when using them as they are sensitive.

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