Advice regards CNC Plasma Table

[henry Kadzielski]

My two cents worth. There is much to be said about having the luxury of cutting parts when you want, and this is a good thing. But it comes at a price, that price is not just a money value. It is the cost of the material, that you have to store and find storage for, the consumables for the plasma, running costs and lets not forget maintenance and breakdowns. The software was the hardest thing for me to learn and fortunately I had some one that I could ring and talk me through, when i started. If you buy a complete machine the manufacturer will give you that support (well at least they should). There are many machine manufactures out there, the most important is to get one from the supplier with the best support, as you will need it. My machine had been working fine and I can just cut what I want when I want it (providing the machine doesn't chuck a wabbly). In fact today came in and needed another 4 S/S items. Took the **** off the plasma table, (they double as a storage bench and work table) 6mm S/S plate with the forklift onto the table and cut the required 4 items. Remainder of the sheet back to the rack with the forklift, dress the 4 items. What could be better than that

 

[buttonboxexpo]

Firstly - thanks everyone for your advice and comments - again very much appreciated.
I think - a visit to Xtreme will be a good start, next time I am in the area - certainly they seem to get good reviews and have good customer service - which is the most important thing I think especially with a machine like this - where it will take some time to get up and running properly.
In terms of a laser machine - what sort of price are you looking presently for these - I had thought it would be very much outside my budget - 30 / 40k and upwards? So hadn't really looked into that too much. Thanks for all advice again.

 

[Ged93]

My previous post has been deleted , maybe too strong... I have to apologize

Just don't go with SwiftCut , problems problems and problems everywhere

 

[Tom Orrow L]

We do a Thermacut ex-track 4ft x 4ft CNC table with power source for around 11-12K all in, including VAT and delivery.

We’ve got one set up in Warrington if you fancied arranging visiting the see it in action?

 

[Tom Orrow L]

If that's anything like the esab one (which was imported chinesium) then I'd feel sorely disappointed by spending that sort of money on one.

Made in Czech Republic and they’re very high quality. Abicor Binzel don’t back crap, Thermacut is their brand.

I’ll put my money where my mouth is and open the invitation to a demo to anyone who wants one. I’m 100% sure they’d end up impressed

 

[Jim Davey]

The X-Trac has a bit of a reputation for being a bit bouncy when the arm is at full extension potentially leading to slightly wobbly edge cuts, especially when it’s travelling diagonally at the same time.
They may have sorted it now but as the old ESAB crossbow suffered from it I’d expect the Thermacut to be the same as it essentially the same machine.
But let’s put this into perspective, it’s a portable system that can be lifted onto a large, heavy or immobile workpiece. It’s designed for small to medium fab shops who may not need CNC plasma/flame profiling on a daily basis but when they do they need something simple and effective, the x-Bow ticks a lot of boxes.

I don’t sell Lincoln tables but the one I’m working on at the moment seems fine. The software is simple and intuitive.
I don’t think Lincoln are the best value for money however and I’d have thought you’d get more for your cash from the likes of Extreme.

 

[James1979]

Another Xtreme fanboi here!

Can’t fault the table or the service from Rob. I have a small engineering business and although the plasma isn’t solely what we use, it gets a lot of hours. (I must remember to check the hours counter next time I’m using it out of interest!)

The table is solidly built. I have the 4x4 and it’ll take 10mm that size no bother. I think how you load it makes a difference. I lower it on nicely rather than just dump it on

Bit out of your way, up here, but I’d be happy to let you play with it. I found it easy to learn. Mach is no issues. I am a dinosaur when it comes to this stuff usually.

What settled it for me is the number of times Rob has called me on a Sunday afternoon to respond to a question. All of which would have waited but it’s appreciated.

He also installs team viewer as standard so he can do remote support. I think the level of support he provides costs a fortune with any other manufacturer

 

[Ged93]

Pay attention with chinese lasers :
- not CE marked
- majority of them do not have fumes extraction ventilation and eye protective glass panels around
- poor software
- the main structure frame is welded and machined but they don't do any thermal treatment , this causes stresses that can be slowly released in months or years and at a certain point the deformation could cause geometry errors , asimmetrical wearing of motors , bearing, linear guides ... , in general the machine bed 'sits down' , and there is no way to fix it , same on the gantry . I've heard that bigger chinese machines have vibrations problems on the gantry while accelerating , a couple of companies tried to copy the Amada triangular profile , with poor results
- chinese manufacturers are growing like mushrooms right now , there is no guarantee that they will be there after 1-2 years or more , so no guarantee on spare parts availability and support
- all materials and parts are .... made in china ....

Maybe I'm mad but I believe that the only way to bring back all the work here in Europe is to slowly stop to buy chinese/asian/indian stuff , expecially if they don't respect global market rules like patents , industrial property , unfair competition .

 

[xtreme engineering]

Shut up Tom , we are also a thermacut dealer

 

[Jim Davey]

Shut up Tom , we are also a thermacut dealer

Don’t pick fights with the appointed forum dealer…

 

[xtreme engineering]

Don’t pick fights with the appointed forum dealer…

Thats only because he beat me to it lol

 

[Ctreanor13]

We had a small plasma set up in work years ago. Then upgraded to a Chinese laser (cheap at auction) lasted maybe 2 years and died. Just been replaced with a nice shiny new one from a UK based company (we're in Ireland) Bodor I think is the make. I believe we chose them as they offered lots of support and sent 2 guys over to install and are doing a few days training.

 

[EM1L4]

@MattH if I recall you have two laser CNC’s, any views?

 

[Jim Davey]

Thats only because he beat me to it lol

And me

 

[Jim Davey]

And me

To be fair, I was told there would be an opportunity for multiple forum sponsors but next thing you know it’s WSD show, so what can you do eh?

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Alright lads.. I’ll leave you all to it.

Don’t know why you wanna pick fights, no need for it really.

Edit: I’ll message you both privately.

 

[tflnemesis]

I know nothing about plasma cutting cnc or otherwise unless I have read it on here.

But, @doubleboost has an extreme plasma cnc table and he seems to get good results, has plenty of youtube videos with some cutting shown.