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diy cnc plas table found on FB should i...

chaplinfj60

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Good am,
so i found a DIY cnc plasma table kinda local and what would be some things that i should look for to make sure its a decent unit.

this is the ad.

says it uses Qcad mach3 sheetcam.. and a few parts he cut. imguess is there any thing that would say hard no.... \

thanks


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What is your intended use for it? Do you have any CAD knowledge?

I've done a basket case diy table, a rebuild on a non-working arc-light table, and now own a pretty nice starlab 5x10 table we use everyday.

For brackets, tabs, and smaller art type stuff that table should be decent. I assume it doesn't have torch height control which isn't a huge deal on smaller stuff

CandCNC – CNC Control Electronics has always helped me out with parts for the electronic side and general operating knowledge.

If you are just wanting a few parts, I'd look for a local guy to cut for you. If you want a new hobby, probably a decent setup there in a known working condition, depending on price. If the time comes, I can help you with sheetcam and mach 3.
 
I use QCad & Sheetcam in my setup.

I use both like a caveman that learned CAD in the 90s, and it works for me. I have used Mach3 on friend's tables and it was fine. It'd be interesting to know what the controller setup is. Is it pure DIY, or was it CandCNC like mentioned above or similar?

Friend had an older plasma table with a custom controller that worked with Mach3, and it was good as long as you didn't change anything. They tried swapping the PC and they had to ride the struggle bus trying to get the config right; so getting the PC the guy was running would be important.
 
Is it pure DIY, or was it CandCNC like mentioned above or similar?

This is a good point, make sure you can get parts or are okay with the cost of a retrofit. If you do get it, back up the computer immediately and screen shot all the controller setting while it is working
 
after more and more digging ii feel like my xp30 air hypertherm may not be up to the task of what i want to do, like brackets and such lots of 3/16 and 1/4 so that makes me think i should hold off.
 
You failed to mention the price.....which is a pretty import part of the equation here.

If the price were right, I wouldn't hesitate on picking that up. I'd actually love to find a deal on a table that size near me.

Yes, Mach 3 is long discontinued and no longer supported, but there's still plenty of community support for it out there and cheap hardware solutions that'll let you run it on a newer, cheap PC. I currently have my router running on it on Windows 7 on an older Intel Nuc that I got free.



Friend had an older plasma table with a custom controller that worked with Mach3, and it was good as long as you didn't change anything. They tried swapping the PC and they had to ride the struggle bus trying to get the config right; so getting the PC the guy was running would be important.
All you need to do is copy the config folder from the old machine on to the new install and it will work right out of the box. When I got my router, the guy wouldn't let the PC go with it, but he let me get on it and copy the old files over.

Also a really good idea to keep a backup of that config somewhere NOT on the computer so you can restore it in the event of a total failure of the PC.
 
I have 2 working machines with this exact setup, router and mill, and building a plasma table currently. MACH3 is old, but it just works. Gecko G540 and amazon steppers and work great with that setup. I have been running the mill for 17 years now, just hobby stuff, but Sheetcam and Qcad have been my go to. I also started drafting on a board with a pencil, so I'm close to dirt years old.
 
All you need to do is copy the config folder from the old machine on to the new install and it will work right out of the box. When I got my router, the guy wouldn't let the PC go with it, but he let me get on it and copy the old files over.

Also a really good idea to keep a backup of that config somewhere NOT on the computer so you can restore it in the event of a total failure of the PC.

It's been some years since the whole thing went down, but I wanna say that the move to a newer PC made the control card no longer work. Seems like it was moving from a real serial port to USB serial, but it was definitely a table that did not like the technology change. Either way, it's important to have the config and make sure you don't lose it along the way.
 
$600 seems cheap. If you can get a demo of the machine working, then it seems like it'd be worth it.

Could always limp along on the small plasma, and then bump up when funds become available.

This, for $600, if it is decently built, known working, and you aren't doing production your 30 will be ok on 3/16 or 1/4" just slow, maybe a little rough on the pierce, but you can program around most of that except on small holes. Hack on whatever budget of china machine later if desired
 
$600 is pretty cheap for a functional table of any quality.

The only problem is if you lack any knowledge of the tables construction, cnc terminology etc. will have you drinking from a fire house.
 
I did get a message back and he said I could see it working. I can’t go and put physical eyes on for 10 days because this weekend is a wheeling weekend in the landcruiser. But I am digging what I like to hea. Agree about info over whelm. Am excited to learn it though
 
It's been some years since the whole thing went down, but I wanna say that the move to a newer PC made the control card no longer work. Seems like it was moving from a real serial port to USB serial, but it was definitely a table that did not like the technology change. Either way, it's important to have the config and make sure you don't lose it along the way.

Yeah....a controller change is a bit more than just changing the PC. The serial issue is a common problem with Mach. There's a $100 motion controller that will let you run older serial controllers off a modern PC's USB port. It's not a simple as a USB to serial converter....you need an actual motion controller that effectively serves as a "buffer" between the PC and main controller. It's what I'm running with my router and it's been trouble free.
 
Patooyees thread about rebuilding a old table has some good discussion on the "controller" aspects.
 
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