[lexx]

I have been reading everyones posts for a while now, and have learned quite a bit of information. It seems that everyone has talked about all the different brands except one, "camcut cnc".My company is in the proccess of buying one right now,and was wondering if anyone has any good or bad information about them?[URL=http://www.camcutcnc.com/]

[Torchhead]

They have my vote as the worst web page for a commercial Torch reseller. Lots of blank pages, broken links and virtually no information on anything but their gantry kit. Company info page is blank. They say they have been in business since 93 and building plasma stuff since 2001 (five years!). One would think they might have more information about finished machines (alluded to in the FAQ'a only). I know its hard to judge a company from it's web page but honestly this IS the Internet age.


So what is your company buying? What size table and what do they intend on cutting? Be glad you aren't the guy with the handheld manual Z Up and Down control adjusting the gap as it runs (unless you company splurges and buys the ATHC).

Tell them to go for the DOS control program. I hear it's going to make a come back soon.

[diarmaid]

I agree that the page is not exactly as detailed as it could be......ok.....its not detailed at all!
But those are some very attractive prices.
Id be a bit concerned as their kit only seemed to mention two stepper motors, what about the z axis motor? Is this the lack of THC that Torchhead mentioned above? The info seems to relate to the plasma cnc setup with even less about the cnc router. But regardless of the internet age etc etc, maybe they concentrate on their products and just ain't very computer literate.....

So, have you talked to them or had much contact? Maybe asked for a customer reference so you can see one of their machines in operation, or even to phone one of their previous customers to ask what they think of their machine and the company? A 5min phonecall could either save you some wasted cash, or put your mind at ease.

[Torchhead]

dunno diarmaid. All I know is that with today's modern CNC approach somebody BETTER be computer literate! (:-)

The motor's appear a little undersized. What about drivers and power supply? What kind? A third axis is essential for THC (or even manual Up and Down).

There are a lot of technical gaps in the offering. Maybe they don't want to tip their hand, or again. maybe they really are stuck in 2001. A LOT of change has happened in the last 5 years in this market and it's speeding up, not slowing down.

Tom Caudle
CandCNC.com

[lexx]

Actually we live in Southern Oregon so we did go up and speek to the owner,and looked at an older version that had been his prototype and it had been in general shop use for quite some time.We did talk to him about some things such as the THC and its either manual, semi auto for an extra few hundred dollars or fully automatic with voltage control for about $1500. We also asked about the motor size and gantry design, and bottom line is that it is light enough to not have any problems with heat and wear.

[StealthDumpKits]

...hey torchhead, which plasma table is the best in your opinion, given cost is not an object.

[Torchhead]

Stealth: That's sorta a loaded question. There is a dramatic difference in cost between what I call the "mid tier" tables and the full blown commercial tables like MultiCam, Burndy and Hypertherm tables. You will easily spend 6 figures for those tables and what you get for the 10X price is heavy duty everything. Huge heavy gantrys, huge powerful motors and custom operator panels/stations. These tables are built to run in harsh environments 2 or 3 shifts a day. You are also paying for the vastly increased overhead and infrastructure it takes to build tables like that and support field techs and a full parts and service dept.

Since I don't own one of these tables and have only seen a couple I don't think I am qualified to offer an option based on the "cost is no object" criteria.

I do have a modest amount of exposure to the mid-tier machines. They are built in everything from the owners garage to a full scale mfg plant. While the origin of the machine is important the viability of the company/owner is more so; especially if major parts of the design is proprietary (i.e. the only place you can get it is from the maker of the table). A lot of the table mfg are "Integrators" that take various stock parts from vendors and build up a table. If they choose wisely and use components that are generic in nature then chances you could get service or repair a fault 5 years from now increases. In my opinion what you want to avoid is the "Cause and Effect" syndrome, meaning you have to use a specific piece of software to run with a specific type of controller, meaning you have to have a specific (closed) piece of hardware to run with all of it.

Price is no true indicator of life expectancy of a software or hardware company. Big companies can and do fail but the odds are stacked against smaller companies younger than 3 years old.

I think the less expensive tables are more likely to have design flaws. It's not unusal for a budding owner to build a table, look at it and the market and say "Hey, I could build these and sell them and make a lot of money!". Most of these are one man operations (beginning) and the person is ususally not an engineer or technically inclined. Sometimes the electronics get added as a afterthought. It's obvious that a lot of the companies in question have varying opinions on what makes a good design. It's tough for the potential buyer to slog through all the offerings. Sometimes the basis for comparison is flawed. It's like buying a car based on the kind of tires it has and how wide the trunk is. I have seen guys say "well the software is best" or it "it has faster rapids" as qualifying marks. If you buy a machine that will only run one falvor of software and it's one of those "do everything" versions (draw, setup toolpaths and runs the machine) type solutions then it BETTER be the "best" cause you are gonna be stuck with it.

I know I dodged the original question but okay, if you want to dream with no price limitations, then go with a Hypertherm High Def plasma (30K) and their automated table (80+K) and their high end THC (10K) and their control software and you have yourself a nice commercial setup. (Prices are estimated). Throw in about 20K for delivery, setup and training and then make sure you buy a support contract.

[diarmaid]

Writing that down now.....'Hypertherm.....High Def Plasma' Im going to order one tomorrow.....I WISH!