Hello all,
I have a Torchmate 1 Plasma system I built quite a few years back. The signal generator died about a year ago...And much like many others on this forum, my jaw hit the floor when I got the quote to replace the part. They are telling me that the cost of replacing the signal generator alone is about half the cost of what I originally bought the ENTIRE torchmate system for. I am largely a hobbyist and can not justify those costs. Of course, when I first bought the machine, the hobbyist / small busines was the type of customer that torchmate maketed themselves toward...I think they are an entirely different vision now.

My question is: Is there any alternatives that I can use to replace the signal generator? Can I just use a breakout board for that?

My system is the old school one where the signal generator was a stand-alone box connected to the PC via serial port and then a cable to the torch on/off control... The step drivers (Applied Motion #2035's) and power supply are in a separate box connected to the signal generator via DB25.

I would like to use my existing step drivers and motors since they are still good, but I understand I will probably need to change to a different control software since the torchmate software wont recognize other devices.

Please provide some suggestions...I have been without an operable table for about a year now and my own research has only turned up discussion on motors and drivers, i have not found anything on replacing the signal generator. Any and all feedback is appreciated.