[kermit582]

Hi I was just looking at purchasing a camcut cnc kit and I was just wonmdering if anyone on here has ever tried one or knows if it is a good kit for med duty cutting. Any advice would be great!!

[kermit582]

Someone must know if these kits are any good I like the price I have a small shop so this looks affordable any advice would be great I still want something that is going to work

[Torchhead]

I would say there is not enough information on the Website to know what you are getting for your money. It could be a great deal, or a box of parts you will have many hours in trying to get it to work.

No technical information on any of the software and scarce on the hardware.

One of the biggest hurdles of plasma cutting (dirty little secret #6) is that the process of drawing and getting viable G-code to the control software is difficult if you have no prior background in computer CAD or CAM systems. What you pick to do that with is important. With no mention of the programs or even any screen shots you have no idea what you are getting.

What happens if the electronics fail? What's in the magic black box? Can you get parts from other vendors or are you married to them for all your support and repair? If you buy the $1000 THC option how does it handle things like IHS? (Initial Height Sensing). How does the THC get setup/adjusted? Does it have the ability to preset the Target Volts (Arc volts you want it to run at)? What do you get for a kilobuck?

It looks like from the one screen shot of the Control Software it's MACH running a custom screen but that is a guess. Otherwise it's a great unknown.

Personally I would never buy a "kit" that appears there is "Some assembly required" and spend several thousand dollars without a least getting the manuals to see what is involved. The nice thing about the web is pictures are cheap to publish so lack of information can't be blamed on cost.

You are going to need support on getting it setup and cutting right. If you can't call and ask questions or get on-line and get answers then it's a poor deal at any price. If they don't know what they are doing (with plasma) you will get left twisting in the wind. Some of the statements on the website (or lack thereof) lead me to question their experience on plasma cutting.

Plasma cutting is (Dirty Little Secret # 2) not as easy as just hooking it to a computer and "printing" out a design. It's actually more involved than most routing.

The lack of any other feedback on the Zone where there are thousands of people that have already been-there-done-that is telling.

It's your money. Sometimes saving a few dollars initially can cost you lots more over time.

In the same price range you can look at something like

http://www.PrecisonPlasmaLLC.com The gantry "kits" are already built so all you do is mount the rails to a table you weld up using their plans and mount the gantry. There are some threads here for guys that are building tables using the PrecisionPlasma modular parts. At least you can see details and get some help if you get stuck.

TOM caudle
www.CandCNC.com

[kermit582]

Thanks for the input Tom I agree that the lack of response tells me to stay away might even be better to just build my own. I was also wondering to Tom which of your blade runner kits would work best for a 4x4 table. I would just like something basic to get me cutting as I have a small shop but demand for cnc plasma. Then if demand goes up maybe upgrade later.

Thanks again
Travis
Hawthorne Forge

[Torchhead]

Thanks for the input Tom I agree that the lack of response tells me to stay away might even be better to just build my own. I was also wondering to Tom which of your blade runner kits would work best for a 4x4 table. I would just like something basic to get me cutting as I have a small shop but demand for cnc plasma. Then if demand goes up maybe upgrade later.

Thanks again
Travis
Hawthorne Forge

The most popular package we have right now for a 4X4 or 4X8 build for plasma is the BladeRunner Dragon-Cut 620-4. If you can keep the total gantry weight below 100 lbs and use a belt reduction to the pinion of 3:1 with a dual drive (2 motor gantry) you can get good acceleration, 500 IPM rapids and enough low speed torque to do light routing. there have been several 5 x 10 tables built with the same electronics.

As long as you are going to spend the money you might as well get something that will give you quality cuts and has the THC built in. While some argue that THC is not needed on smaller tables you will quickly find that thinner metal warps just as much in 12" of cut than it does in 8 ft. Since the gaps you are dealing with are often .063 it doesn't take much warp to cause a tip crash and cost you 10 bucks or more in consumables (every time!)

You are welcome to join the CandCNC Yahoo Support Forum. You can rub shoulders with lots of other builders using the Dragon-Cut as the control electronics.

Starting Aug 30th running to Sept 15th we will have a special in the BladeRunner and larger Plazpak series. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Shipping voucher of from 85.00 to 100.00 on all foreign orders.

TOM caudle
www.CandCNC.com

[J.W Craftwork]

The most popular package we have right now for a 4X4 or 4X8 build for plasma is the BladeRunner Dragon-Cut 620-4. If you can keep the total gantry weight below 100 lbs and use a belt reduction to the pinion of 3:1 with a dual drive (2 motor gantry) you can get good acceleration, 500 IPM rapids and enough low speed torque to do light routing. there have been several 5 x 10 tables built with the same electronics.

As long as you are going to spend the money you might as well get something that will give you quality cuts and has the THC built in. While some argue that THC is not needed on smaller tables you will quickly find that thinner metal warps just as much in 12" of cut than it does in 8 ft. Since the gaps you are dealing with are often .063 it doesn't take much warp to cause a tip crash and cost you 10 bucks or more in consumables (every time!)

You are welcome to join the CandCNC Yahoo Support Forum. You can rub shoulders with lots of other builders using the Dragon-Cut as the control electronics.

Starting Aug 30th running to Sept 15th we will have a special in the BladeRunner and larger Plazpak series. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Shipping voucher of from 85.00 to 100.00 on all foreign orders.

TOM caudle
www.CandCNC.com

Oh yes I have had dealings with CamCut cnc!!!! and I'm still trying to get my THC sent to me. To start with I think its a one man band. They "Andy" replies to emails quite quickly but his service is lousy!!! the product is ok and works well but his delivery times are "S**T" I live in the UK but he said that wasn't a problem, anyway it took 2 months to get everything but the Z axis and software. Yes not much good without everything I know. Anyway about 4 weeks later he sent the rest of the gear. Then stupidly I decided to stick with them so when buying other parts everything would work fine and so I paid for the THC. Well its been just over 2 months now and still no THC and all I seem to get is "I'll send it on thursday" I'll send it on monday" and so on. As I say it does turn up and it all works well and Andy is friendly but there is obviously something else going on for the massive delay in sending things.


J.W Craftwork

[dwdw]

Well I guess I'm not the only person that Andy has sucked in on his sales talk!
It has been a year and have had it it my hands for 5 months then added his THC and it it was down hill from there.
That was in October and now its February and if I do get in touch its we'll ship Monday or Friday.
Andy is an OK guy to talk to but that his word is pooooooooor!
Think its Time to get a Movement to get our money or working machines back.
Thanks for listening.
Also his phone number doesn't work as to save messages.
Please re post this in any site you would.
dwdw

[ayer1719]

Oh yes I have had dealings with CamCut cnc!!!! and I'm still trying to get my THC sent to me. To start with I think its a one man band. They "Andy" replies to emails quite quickly but his service is lousy!!! the product is ok and works well but his delivery times are "S**T" I live in the UK but he said that wasn't a problem, anyway it took 2 months to get everything but the Z axis and software. Yes not much good without everything I know. Anyway about 4 weeks later he sent the rest of the gear. Then stupidly I decided to stick with them so when buying other parts everything would work fine and so I paid for the THC. Well its been just over 2 months now and still no THC and all I seem to get is "I'll send it on thursday" I'll send it on monday" and so on. As I say it does turn up and it all works well and Andy is friendly but there is obviously something else going on for the massive delay in sending things.


J.W Craftwork

How did you ever get the machine going with the software he supplied? We bought from him last year and have not been able to cut out a single thing yet!