[Beefy]

Hi Everyone,

Slowly putting together a CNC plasma table. Will use a Hypertherm 1250 with hand torch, plus a MP3000 torch height control system with initial height sensing for piercing.
I'm getting close to starting the table build and I'm a bit undecided as to what size table to make. I'm in Melbourne, Australia. I've been told that standard size sheets of steel here are 2.4 x 1.2 metres then the next size up is 3.0 x 2.0 metres. It also crossed my mind that I could consider building a table which can take the full 2.4 x 1.2 as well as half of a 3x2, i.e. 1.5 x 2.0 So in effect a max. cutting area of 2.4 x 1.5
Is it wise to take the attitude of something small can be cut on a big table but something big can't be cut on a small table. Then what about steel prices. Is it more economical to buy big sheets as opposed to smaller ones.
I have a few of my own things I would like to cut out, none of them requiring a large table (at this point in time). However I would like to try and make a back yard dollar here and there too from being a cutting service. I'm not exactly expecting to quit my present work with what I'd make from doing plasma cutting. I realise there's a lot of high class plasma and laser setups out there operating professionally whereas at this point in time I'm just a back yarder with a basic plasma setup using just air. I imagine the only advantage I may have is lead time and maybe price. Someone I know had to wait 3 weeks to get some small brackets laser cut. He said that plasma would have been perfectly OK though. Would I significantly increase my chances of picking up some pocket money if I had the capabilities of the bigger table. Would businesses shy away from me due to me being a back yarder or would they be more interested in lead time and / or price providing the cut quality and accuracy were acceptable to them. I wouldn't dream of looking for any work before I'd confirmed the accuracy and cut quality were consistent.
Regarding handling 3x2 sheets, I could set something up to take care of this, perhaps a small gantry crane on wheels or something to transfer the sheet straight off my trailer and onto the table.
Any feedback is welcome guys. Am I making a mistake or being sensible thinking big.
Also something I think a lot of people with this hobby would be wondering is where would they start looking for work (just pocket money remember at this point). I also have a 1.5m between centre lathe, Bridgeport style mill, 330 amp mig, decent size press, horizontal bandsaw, pedestal drill and a general assortment of tools. I'm an industrial sparky by trade but for the last ten years I've been into excavation and it hasn't been nice to me at all. So I'm trying to get out of it and do something where my heart is. At least in engineering you shouldn't have someone standing there watching you telling you how to operate your machinery.

[Benonymous]

If you're going to make a large format machine, the costs are going to be relatively high. This is especially true if you're going to accept paying work as the machine must be capable of reasonable accuracy/repeatability. Most people considering a large format machine seem to be going with rack and pinion drives, the affordable hardware to do this is almost all imported so you'll have to keep an eye on the exchange rates.

I'm sure there's loads of ideas you can pick up from the forum and generally if you ask a question some kind and knowledgeable soul will provide an answer. I agree with your plan of not wanting to go full time with a plasma cutter, I think you'd find that you've got lots of competition from other workshops who have commercial machines.

A friend of mine who has been in the machining business since he was an apprentice (many moons ago) said something to me once that made perfect sense later on. If you open a "job" shop, you're going to struggle to get work through the door, mainly because the world is swimming in workshops that do one-off and custom work and they're all prepared to undercut each other. A better idea is to have a product that you can make and sell. This will keep the wheels turning, you and your machine employed. Then you can take on other work to slot in between production runs of your product/s. Just a thought.