DIY cnc table plasma cutter

[NRM]

I like the pen, good work.

[acourtjester]

Hi All
New torch holder, I was not pleased with the operation of the p-80 torch as it was a 60-80 Amp torch. So I broke out the torch that came with my Everlast PM256 (60 amp max). I machined a holder for it so I could use the floating head holder I was using with the p-80. This was a great improvement in cutting I did a test cut. I drew up a box with 4 holes of different sizes and this torch completed the cut very well. Still much to learn and a few more bugs to work out.

Have fun
Tom

[everlastsupport]

Hi All
New torch holder, I was not pleased with the operation of the p-80 torch as it was a 60-80 Amp torch. So I broke out the torch that came with my Everlast PM256 (60 amp max). I machined a holder for it so I could use the floating head holder I was using with the p-80. This was a great improvement in cutting I did a test cut. I drew up a box with 4 holes of different sizes and this torch completed the cut very well. Still much to learn and a few more bugs to work out.

Have fun
Tom

I too agree. I have been hounding Oleg to find me a 60 with pilot and euro connector. The old 60 cuts nice and the consumables are pretty tough and cheap. I use the P80 for hacking things up and the A81 for cleaner work for now.

BTW, table looks good, like the handle for the torch as well. Keep us posted, esp total cost minus plasma.

[Rodsmachineshop]

thought this was cool mod to torch

[Rodsmachineshop]

rest of mod pics

[everlastsupport]

That saved a lot of money right there. I like it, your own blowback CNC torch (dirt cheap).

Sometimes Rod you do scare me. hahaha.. I could see you going, you heat the red bend on the torch handle with a torch and put in a vise and bend it straight.

Nice job. Where did you get the black plastic tubes from).

[Rodsmachineshop]

vacuum cleaner end pipe or could just use pvc pipe . lol i spend so many hours on the internet just looking a homemade projects. people have made people come up with some neat cheap things to make

[everlastsupport]

vacuum cleaner end pipe or could just use pvc pipe . lol i spend so many hours on the internet just looking a homemade projects. people have made people come up with some neat cheap things to make

I do the same. Waiting on the right CNC or water jet for the next big project.

[acourtjester]

Looks like good old American engineering But no duck tape???? ha ha ha

have fun
Tom

[undercut]

rest of mod pics

That's being pretty resourceful. A bit of an aside - You ever cast your own metal parts, Rod?

[acourtjester]

Getting near the finish of the table. Build the mount for the router and a boom for the plasma cutter cable and router power. I used the same output from the BOB board to start the plasma and router, with the router I added a SSR to switch input power on/off. That’s in the black box on the boom the boom rotates freely and can be removed for storage.
I also built a cart for the controller/computer box its like a hand truck so I can move it when I want. The keyboard and track ball have Velcro under them to hold them down. The monitor is on a flip stand up for using it and down for traveling.
I ran a free program called StickFont v1.1 to lay out names and routed them on some MDF as a test.
Have fun
Tom

[undercut]

Getting near the finish of the table. Build the mount for the router and a boom for the plasma cutter cable and router power. I used the same output from the BOB board to start the plasma and router, with the router I added a SSR to switch input power on/off. That’s in the black box on the boom the boom rotates freely and can be removed for storage.
I also built a cart for the controller/computer box its like a hand truck so I can move it when I want. The keyboard and track ball have Velcro under them to hold them down. The monitor is on a flip stand up for using it and down for traveling.
I ran a free program called StickFont v1.1 to lay out names and routed them on some MDF as a test.
Have fun
Tom

Really nice and clean. Excellent idea to combine the router and cutter capability - best of the wood and metal worlds. Even better you are able to test things out before the project is completely done. Are those ferrite cores you have the laptop power cable looped through or is it just cable management? They aren't the "typical" ferrite core color.

[Rodsmachineshop]

that looks super nice like the computer stand

[everlastsupport]

Yea, I like the computer stand and fold down display too. Ford blue is a nice touch

I was at a friends this last weekend, he was doing plastic steps for a 100+ foot boat, wish I thought to get pictures. Bought his Mill and the CNC will be next in the future. He uses BobCad and Mach3, works very well.

[Rodsmachineshop]

what not purple with flames lol

[acourtjester]

The ferrite core are from a buddy but here is a place that has a good price for them.
http://www.parts-express.com/wizards...gag=2242940713

I don’t have a laptop I removed the motherboard and hard disc and installed them in my controller box. Attached is a picture of my controller with the motherboardand disc mounted to the top of the box. The BOB is on the front panel and both power supplies are on the bottom with the motor controllers. That is the black box on my cart. The trackball and keyboard have ferrite cores on them and I have a USB jumper out the back. I use it when I want to add things to the disc me inside desktop is where I load a thumb drive with changes and bring it out to my shop to load. If the ferrite cores are large enough it pays to loop the cable through it a few times.
I downloaded a Plasma screen from shopdroids here it is if you want it.
http://www.needfulthings.net/shopdro...ay;threadid=74

Mike I picked up a interesting tid bit about milling plastic on a CNC table the guy said he submerges his plastic in water during machining to keep it cool.

Have fun
Tom

[undercut]

The ferrite core are from a buddy

Those are pretty big cores. Nice that you took advantage of their size and wind a couple of times.

I don’t have a laptop I removed the motherboard and hard disc and installed them in my controller box. Attached is a picture of my controller with the motherboardand disc mounted to the top of the box. The BOB is on the front panel and both power supplies are on the bottom with the motor controllers. That is the black box on my cart.

I see now. Should have taken a better look when I first saw it. I like what you did with the screen. Nice way of keeping the screen safe when you aren't using it.

The trackball and keyboard have ferrite cores on them and I have a USB jumper out the back. I use it when I want to add things to the disc me inside desktop is where I load a thumb drive with changes and bring it out to my shop to load.

Good idea with the trackball and the USB drive. Will probably keep everything far more industrial that way.

Mike I picked up a interesting tid bit about milling plastic on a CNC table the guy said he submerges his plastic in water during machining to keep it cool.

Must splash quite a bit. Need to keep the water out of the electronics(?)

[everlastsupport]

Mike I picked up a interesting tid bit about milling plastic on a CNC table the guy said he submerges his plastic in water during machining to keep it cool.

Have fun
Tom

Will pass the tip on to Gary. He is talking about building a water table for plasma, so technically he could drop the plastic in the tank. Nice work on the machine. Looking for buy the one Gary built while he does bigger than his current 3x5. Unless a cheap, well detailed plan comes out. Have you tracked the parts and prices? That and pictures and you could be on to something. What was you final size, sure you posted it. Also, did you buy Mach3 of you think you can break code into small g-code batches?

[acourtjester]

HI
It’s hard for me to put a total cost as I scrounged much of the metal. And some of the parts I cast the aluminum and machined the parts. The useable area on my table is 34’ X 48” but since I will not be cutting very large parts my water table will be a little smaller. I did buy Mach 3 and have been trying to learn Turbo Cad. I have finger boned in a few Gcode strings for cutting simple parts. I did machine language programs back in the 70’s after your get you head around the concept it makes senses. The video in the beginning of this post was a finger bone I really like the concept of touching the metal top before each cut as a reference as to where to start. A simple start to learn the Gcode is down load the free Mach3 and run some Gcodes and watch what is going on in Mach 3 display. You can see how the command lines move the axis’s to do different things. Also Mach had a screen called MDI where you can put in a command and when enter is pushed it executes that line so you can try things like moving to some point or the Z axis up or down. They also have a learn mode you can enter in your finger bone programs and it will save it in the .Tap format to use later. You can also use notepad to write programs in Gcode.
A trick I found is if you write your own programs load it into Mach 3 and click on Regen tool path which cycles through and if there is an error it will stop on that line and you can edit it to correct the program.
You can find all the info you need to make your own CNC table.

Have fun
Tom

[acourtjester]

Here is the finger bone I did for the small boc cuts in the video with each command info next to it.
The info is not in the program when it is used


G90F30 G90= absolute distance mode and F30= speed of movements
G28.1Z.5 moves the torch to touch metal top (TOP) in G speak
G92Z0.00 tells Mach 3 to zero "Z" axis
G0Z0.750 moves "Z" to 0.750" above metal
G0Z0.045 moves "Z" to 0.045" above metal
M3 turns on plasmatorch
G4P0.5 delay movement for .5 seconds
G0Z0.035 plunge torch to 0.035"
G0X1.50 move "X" for 1.5"
G0Y1.50 move "Y" for 1.5"
G0X0.00 move "X" back to 0 this is the 3rd side of the cut
G0Y0.00 move "Y: back to 0 this is the 4th side of the cut to close box cut
M5 turns off the plasma torch
G0Z0.750 moves the "Z" back to 0.750" above the metal
M30 end of program and rewind to start position

You could also now move the torch to "X" 2" and then zero "Z" and start cutting

another box like above you could cut a string of boxes by doing this over and

over again.