If you are in the market for a CNC Plasma cutting system then you should read my review of the Plasmaroute CNC Blaze2.
I own a successful fabrication shop in Campbell, CA. where we build and maintain race cars. I had always wanted to have a CNC cutting machine in the shop as it would open up 1000's of new possibilities. Everything from cutting out simple tabs to manufacturing entire products for resale. It would give me the opportunity to be on a whole other level than any of my competitors shops!
The cool factor was always appealing as well.
Like most of you I began to research which type of system I would like to purchase. A waterjet seemed ideal but was still out of my price range. A Laser would prove to be out my budget as well. The plasma seemed like the best choice but definitely left me with some concerns.
I had seen a few of these CNC Plasma tables in action and it seemed like the mess to productivity ratio made it hardly worth the investment. A shop in my area had purchased a Torchmate system. The Torchmate seemed like a nice machine. Well made, good parts, nice results. But after 2 months the entire shop was covered with plasma cutting dust. Even after they cleaned the shop extensively it was still in every nook and cranny of the place! This was a major turn off to the whole CNC plasma process. After some research I found that there are ways to properly control the dust output. Most common are either a DownDraft system which uses ducting, fans, filters, and a dust collector, or a water table. I was drawn to the water table method as it required less space and seemed the most efficient. The Blaze2 came equipped with a water table at no extra charge. That was shocking since most companies charge an extra $2500 for the option.
The next concern was durability and longevity. Let's face it. Our tools get used hard, and when they break down we loose money!
The Plasmaroute immediately caught my attention with the massive completely welded steel box construction. The Blaze2 is built like a tank and is sturdier than our fabrication tables at the shop! No lego style extruded aluminum here. All solid American steel! The gantry was also extremely sturdy with dual linear guide rails, steel boom, and substantial torch holder assembly. Really nicely made billet aluminum construction was also a nice surprise.
My last major concern was support. The last thing I want is to make an investment on a machine and not be able to get parts, support, service. I can honestly say I will never buy a complicated machine like this from someone out of the country. After calling Plasmaroute a few times and dealing with Steve and Nikki all my reservations were put to rest. They were never too busy to spend time with me or to answer any questions I had. They have even offered to give me some late night support when I was first trying to figure out how to run the machine.
Now that I had decided that Plasmaroute was going to get my business I had other small questions such as which Plasma, torch style, options, ect. Steve and Nikki were very helpful with helping me determine which options to get. I ended up going with the Thermal Dynamics Cut Master A40 with full machine torch, Stepper motor drive as I would not be doing full production work, and their awesome little air scribe attachment.
Upon placing the order I was immediately emailed the invoice, and sent an email from Nikki with the status of the order with the options listed.
Now that's service!
Fast forward a few weeks.
I had been receiving status updates from Niki via email every week and it was finally shipping time. To be honest I still had no real idea on if I would be able to operate this machine when it arrived. I had no real CNC experience and am not great with computers.
When the machine arrived I was in shock because of the size of the crate. It was about 10ft x 8ft x 4ft. Wow!
After we removed the crate it was nice to see the level of detail that Plasmaroute put into packaging everything neatly and securely.
The Gantry was already attached along with the great little scribe. It was a nice surprise to see that the entire assembly was billet aluminum!
Once we attached the legs, and filled the water table we were ready to cut! No adjustments needed. Everything was already adjusted and ready to go!
After a quick setup of the computer, wiring, and some air hoses we were cutting parts the same day!
Here is josh cutting out something.
I was surprised at how easy the design, programming, and operation of the machine is. Anyone can do it once they learn a few easy steps. It has really helped my business grow. The quality of our work has gone up tremendously. We now make all of our roll cage mounting plates, gussets, control arms, gauge panels, brackets, seat mounts, and everything we can with it!
The air scribe is in one word "Awesome". We can make sweet little gauge panels and engrave labels, switch panels with all the markings. We even layout our sheet metal pieces with all the bend marks scribed right onto the metal!
I hope my lengthy review of the Blaze2 CNC machine has been helpful to other people here who were in my same situation. Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you guys have any questions. Or I'm sure if you give Plasmaroute a ring they will be happy to help as well.
Thanks.
Luke
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