Hi,
I am planning to make a cnc plasma cutter. I already have the hypertherm 100.
For now, I am looking at the mechanics firstly.
Due to my limited ground floor space, I am considering making the CNC vertical based, rather than traditional horizontally based.
I am planning to use squar steel tubing for the framework and gantry.
Either 4ft high x 8ft long or 8ft high x 4ft long.
There would be a lightweight grantry style setup.
The part will be clamped onto a vertical base of some sort.
I think the machine would travel easier in the left-right direction, but up and down I think there would be some problems, due to it carry the load of the gantry. But maybe a simple counter weight may remedy this, or maybe not needed at all.
Concerning plasma cutting, well, it would situate the cutting path so that the start and finish of the cutting will happen on the "top" of the part so that it will hold the part in place, as if its hanging, and then it drops to the ground.
This would be for smaller parts and thin sheets. I guess for larger, and thicker parts, they would be oriented more towards the bottom.
Anyway, I am interested in peoples views and comments of vertically based CNC. And any tips or recommendations to watch out for. Thanks.
Also, any comments of what torque steppers is recommended for this applications? I will belt train reduce it.