[ny_racer_xxx]

I've had the machine up and running for a while with the router, the intended plan was to build it for CNC Plasma.....

I bought a cheap pilot arch plasma, and I finally got around to setting up the machine for it...

I used the same solid state relays that are opto coupled for torch on and to turn on and off the Ohmic sensing...

It took me a while to figure out how to turn Output 2 on and off for the Ohmic, but I found some good info on the Mach3 forum about writing a macro and creating M Codes...

The next problem was setting the CAM up to run a plasma routine.... I'm still using a demo version of CamBam, it's probably one of the easier programs to use, but not very robust and you're kinda stuck on how they want you to do things... You have to download a Plasma profile and copy the files into the correct folders for it work, then open a Plasma drawing that's a square box, delete that and copy your drawing in... There's no real easy way to edit the parameters for changing from one size plate to another other than feed rate and everything is in metric....

I guess mostly the pierce height and cutting is about the same for most plate thicknesses, they use 5mm, and 1.5mm respectively... There's no easy way to add a pierce delay other than changing the plunge rate from pierce to cutting height...

It has a touch off cycle just for the first cut, at least that's what it looked like from the first file I did for a test coupon, it didn't generate any more touch offs.

I don't have a torch height setup yet, next on the list, but I did find a program they use for building PC boards called auto leveler. What that does is probe the work piece and adjusts the the X value to the actual plate height. That should keep the torch fairly level but not compensating for heat warpage... Good enough till I get a Proma in there....

I haven't burned anything yet, if the roads clear up, I'll head to the shop to mess with it...

Also a picture of the PCB I etched for the relays.... Next time I'll do them with the router...


Attachment 305254