[billcat]

Hi folks,
I've somehow convinced myself that I cannot live without a CNC plasma cutter:banana: And I want to build my own but sadly realize there is quite a bit I still need to learn up on before expecting some success. Hopefully I can get a little advice here to get me going or at least pointed further forward.

First, a little background for those willing to advise.....I have a decent bit of hobby CNC experience, having built two and a halve(2 complete from scratch and a major retrofit of an EBAy special) small CNC routers that perform to my satisfaction. I am comfortable with the operation of steppers, drives, basic electronics to control those, linear motion mechanics, some CAD, some CAM, Mach3 for routers/mills, and the occasional light hand g-coding from time to time.

I have committed to purchasing a secondhand(but unused) Hypertherm Powermax45 this weekend that has a manufacture date of 9/2011. I have no expectations of ever a need to cut thicker than 1/2" material. I have a G-540, powersupply, a handful plus of 380 to 425ish hundred inch/oz steppers, ball bearing linear slides, and so on.

But I have next to no experience with plasma cutters, and have been doing a good bit of searching here and elsewhere round the www to get some answers. I still have a few real basic questions before I can even make a start...........

1. Is the plasma cutter I am purchasing a good candidate for CNC; specifically regarding ease of integration to ATHC(which I just learned of like yesterday), ease of finding and connecting the CNC required type torch(versus handheld,which I assume it will come with), etc.?

2. What total costs might I expect for purchasing all needed components for an entry level, hobby oriented(but not junk), torch height control system? Recommendations on where to start looking for this?

3. I am considering using geared pulleys/toothed belts to accomplish the relatively rapid linear motion; any plasma specific problems with this, seems most I have browsed use r & p?

[Torchhead]

1. Is the plasma cutter I am purchasing a good candidate for CNC; specifically regarding ease of integration to ATHC(which I just learned of like yesterday), ease of finding and connecting the CNC required type torch(versus handheld,which I assume it will come with), etc.?

The MP3000 thru MP3500 with the DTHC has a single cable connection to the 45....nothing to open, splice or solder. Click, twist . DONE. It also has a direct ribbon cable connection to the G540
You DO NOT have to have a machine torch to use the 45 for automated cutting.

2. What total costs might I expect for purchasing all needed components for an entry level, hobby oriented(but not junk), torch height control system? Recommendations on where to start looking for this?

The MP3000 varies from 625 to 900 depending on which DTHC and if you want the new Ether-Cut (no more parallel port) You have to add in the cost of the cable (little over 55 bucks) and your stuff to hook up
the G540 (power supply , AC components etc) Plan on a 4 motor system with dual drives on the gantry . Keep the gantry as light as you can. Put money in a GOOD Z with the Floating Torch holder like the ones from VeloxCNC.com

3. I am considering using geared pulleys/toothed belts to accomplish the relatively rapid linear motion; any plasma specific problems with this, seems most I have browsed use r & p?

The bigger the final drive component (gear , pulley , sprocket) the lower the resolution and the less torque (acceleration) you will have. So a 2" pulley moves the gantry move 6 per rev. you need high ratios of reduction back to the motors to get the speeds down and the torque/resolution up. long belts are hard to keep tight and tend to flex.

TOMcaudle
www.CandCNC.com

[billcat]

Thanks Tom,
very direct answers....most likely I will be in contact with you sooner/later.

I plan to build a very small table, I simply don't have room in the garage for yet another cnc machine, and I think I will be ok with the size...maybe 2x3 or thereabouts even though I know many folks would advise going big as possible, just in case. Big is simply not in the cards for me, which is why I have entertained the stretchy belt idea(and small pulleys) with the expectation of a lower gantry weight and reduced moment arms.

You DO NOT have to have a machine torch to use the 45 for automated cutting.

Hmmm, thats interesting, I was curious about that. I imagine you must have a way to tell the torch to turn on and off, and frankly I don't even know how thats done with a hand torch( I assume maybe a trigger?), no experience with it...(well once at work.......too many years back to remember). I'm not afraid to look into a little light diy electronics, opening up the box, soldering a relay, etc if I could save a little. But no intention on settling for marginal cut quality after all thats why CNC and not hand.

I will check out your site in greater detail, time permitting, and try to make sense of some more of the info there. Been there once and left with more questions than I started with, no offense intended, just indicative of my lack of experience.

Maybe you could provide a direct link to a drawing/website/forum post explaining typical point to point electrical, mechanical,etc. connection between torch height controller, mach3/BOB, and plasma machine, surely that drawing is out there somewhere?

and Thanks for the input!

[Torchhead]

Maybe you could provide a direct link to a drawing/website/forum post explaining typical point to point electrical, mechanical,etc. connection between torch height controller, mach3/BOB, and plasma machine, surely that drawing is out there somewhere?

Here is a 60 sec video of how to connect a Hypertherm 45 to our BladeRunner with the DTHC Torch Height Controller. Torch firing is done via a simple switch closure across the "Start" pair on the CPC connector

60 sec video

[billcat]

Ok, sorry, still lots of confusion:

It looks like your bladerunner system, hardware-wise, includes steppers, integrated drivers, a BOB, power supply, etc.from what I can tell.

I already have a power supply, stepper motors, a G540(also a C-10 BOB from CNC4PC and separate motor drivers which I am considering using instead of the g540) so it looks like all I need is the torch height control and any peripherals associated only with it. Now, I am looking at the MP3000 and it looks like it has "modules" for several things, one of them being the torch height control, and others that I am not sure what they are for. It also mentions things about a router/mill and I don't need that. Do I just need the torch height control module, or do I have to have the entire MP3000 system, which to me also looks like it functions as a PC to machine controller BOB. But the G540 already handles the BOB portion so I am unclear on the connection from one BOB to the other.

I'm still not picturing the entire connection scenario and the minimum additional parts I need:

Mach PC to G540(or separate BOB and drives) to ATHC to Powermax45

could have sworn I read somewhere on this forum that the CandCNC ATHC cost about 300$(maybe an old post) but I think what I need is the MP3000 which looks like >600$?

Additionally, is Sheetcam required for your ATHC to function, I have been using CamBam for my routers, and figured it would work for Plasma as well, something else I may be mistaken about.

[jimcolt]

In order to make the Powermax45 work with a "single cable connection" as Tom states.....it will require the use of a machine torch. If you use the hand torch for machine cutting you will have to make some modifications to the torch trigger wiring circuit, which means pulling the cover off the power supply and doing some cutting and splicing. The machine torch operates off the rear panel CPC interface connector, a hand torch is designed to operate from a torch mounted trigger switch.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

The MP3000 thru MP3500 with the DTHC has a single cable connection to the 45....nothing to open, splice or solder. Click, twist . DONE. It also has a direct ribbon cable connection to the G540
You DO NOT have to have a machine torch to use the 45 for automated cutting.


The MP3000 varies from 625 to 900 depending on which DTHC and if you want the new Ether-Cut (no more parallel port) You have to add in the cost of the cable (little over 55 bucks) and your stuff to hook up
the G540 (power supply , AC components etc) Plan on a 4 motor system with dual drives on the gantry . Keep the gantry as light as you can. Put money in a GOOD Z with the Floating Torch holder like the ones from VeloxCNC.com


The bigger the final drive component (gear , pulley , sprocket) the lower the resolution and the less torque (acceleration) you will have. So a 2" pulley moves the gantry move 6 per rev. you need high ratios of reduction back to the motors to get the speeds down and the torque/resolution up. long belts are hard to keep tight and tend to flex.

TOMcaudle
www.CandCNC.com

[Torchhead]

Lets take this off line. Either email me direct (tom at candcnc dot com) or give us a call (we actually have humans that answer phones!) You are also welcome to join and post on our Support Forum. The DTHC is a module for the MP3000 (advanced Breakout ) and the units listed on the website are the COMBO. (thus the name MP3000-DTHC) The MP3000 comes with a card that is for motor driver interface via screw terminals OR direct connect to a G540.using a Db25 ribbon adapter cable (list on the same page as the MP3000 units)

TOMcaudle
www.CandCNC.com

[billcat]

Hi Jim, thanks for chiming in........I would be interested in both the how-to of making the hand torch machine operable, and to the exact model of machine torch that fits the powermax45. Do you happen to know of a link explaining in detail the conversion, and I must presume you can provide a link to the machine torch for this model. I haven't been too good at navigating the hypertherm website so far.

@ Tom, I will contact you via phone or email later on after I get the powermax and get some familiarity with it. I am planning on picking it up tomorrow.

Thanks for the help guys