Hello. I wasn't sure where to post this as there are an incredible number of subcategories to post in.

I have a Laguna Level 2 plasma table. It came with a Starfire controller (will add more details of that at end of post). I've been having problems with it for the entire time we've owned the machine. It doesn't do conversions between standard units and metric very well, as the machine does everything in metric. So part sizes aren't incredibly consistent. Not the biggest issue.

Biggest issue is that it will occasionally ignore a curve and cut straight across a part. Since we mostly use it to cut out signs for people, you can imagine the frustration with all the ruined signs when the machine randomly (I've tested for randomness) decides to cut straight across an arc. At first, Laguna kept telling us it was a software issue. I ruled that out. Since then, Laguna has admitted that it is a common problem and their solution is to buy a new Starfire controller and install it. I would rather do something else.

Laguna has switched to using a Flashcut controller on their machines that they now call a SmartCut+. I contacted both Laguna and Flashcut separately. Laguna offered to reconfigure the table with a Flashcut controller for $15,000, which is a large chunk of change. Flashcut offered to do it for $10,000.

Here's the kicker: one of the reasons I originally ordered the Laguna machine is that it came with servo motors. The last machine we had used stepper motors and we had a lot of ruined parts from the machine 'crashing' during a cut and losing its place. Since servo motors don't lose their position, we haven't had that issue since switching to the Laguna with its servo motors.
Flashcut is telling me that I have to convert the machine to use stepper motors and stepper controllers instead of the nice Panasonic servos that are on it now. Obviously that's a big downgrade and I told Flashcut I didn't want to do that. After arguing with me for a while, the Flashcut rep stopped communicating with me.

Since I really don't have the budget to spend on this, and I'd rather not replace a Starfire with a Starfire, what are my other options? It seems to me that I should be able to buy some kind of interface board that lets me use Mach3 to run the table. Is that an option? I have no idea how any of the interfacing works. I'm considering building another plasma table from scratch, so I need to learn this stuff anyway.

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Irrelevant information: I was looking to upgrade our older hobby-grade 4x8 plasma table to a 5x10 commercial-grade water table. There were two machines that came close to my budget. Laguna was the only one that actually fit my budget. To this day I regret not spending the extra $10,000 and buying the Victory that was just outside our budget. At the time, Laguna had just released the Level 2 plasma table. It had adjustable water level, it was marketed as having a custom-designed European controller, and was hinted at being made in Finland. The rep was very cagey about telling me where the machine was actually made. After delivery, I was disappointed to find an off-the-shelf Chinese table with Chinese controller. It's the exact same machine that you can buy on made-in-china.com for $20,000 after import fees. The only "upgrade" Laguna seems to have really done with the table is they installed Japanese servos and servo controllers in it. So the stuff that drives the table is pretty high quality. The table itself is very robust and is built fairly well. The water level doesn't come up close enough to the plate level though. I may fix that problem later, as I'll be stuck with this machine for a while. I've had it for 2 years.