[dthompson]

Hey guys.

Im a total noob to CNC plasma and in fact I don't even have a table yet. I do however own a thermal dynamics cut master 52 that I intend on using for the table I acquire. I recently have found a plasma cam 98x for sale locally that is is cheap. I don't have too much info on it at this point but I do know that it is an old style plasma cam machine and was wondering if its a wast of time and money or if it would serve as a decent hobby style set up to get my foot in the door? Is their any way to upgrade this thing with some torch height control and modern software?

Thanks for any replays in advance.

-Dane

[jimcolt]

The Plasmacam 98Z is the first Plasmacam machine. It uses a drag style height control and older technology software. I believe that some of the parts, including software and cnc control boz may no longer be supported.....and some of the replacement parts may no longer be available. You could call Plasmacam directly and ask them.....I'm sure they could verify this. The height control as used on their newer systems is not available as an upgrade for the 98Z model.

Jim Colt

Hey guys.

Im a total noob to CNC plasma and in fact I don't even have a table yet. I do however own a thermal dynamics cut master 52 that I intend on using for the table I acquire. I recently have found a plasma cam 98x for sale locally that is is cheap. I don't have too much info on it at this point but I do know that it is an old style plasma cam machine and was wondering if its a wast of time and money or if it would serve as a decent hobby style set up to get my foot in the door? Is their any way to upgrade this thing with some torch height control and modern software?

Thanks for any replays in advance.

-Dane

[dthompson]

Thanks for the reply Jim. Yeah it is cheap but if it brakes or anything its still a waste of money. Ill just keep saving up.

Thanks

-Dane

[plasmaMac]

Hey Dane!

The 98-z is that original machine developed back on 1998. Remarkably, this machine is still used in many shops to this day. Unless something changed yesterday, you still can buy replacement parts for it (which is nice compared to a lot of other products in general out there), even though plasma cam stopped selling these back in 2001. There is no doubt that a new DHC2 is a substantially different and much better than the 98-z, however if you get a good deal on it, it wouldn't see anything wrong with that.

Upgrades to ohmic sensing technology HC found on the DHC2 isn't never wasn't available. There was a trade in program for the old machines for about 5 years though. You can use the DesignEDGE to export out into the 98z file format, however, the DesignEDEG wasn't developed to control the machine (after 5 years of trade ins, very few remained on the market, so it probably didn't make very much sense to develop the designedege upgrade for this particular model.The DHC systems & older DHC2 models are fully upgradable to the DesignEDGE software).

An excellent hobby machine & low cost "get your foot in the door" machine is Go Torch (gotorch.com). It's an online only company, but uses plasmacam's DHC2 components and comes stock with a rudimentary version of plasmacam's control software (it can be upgraded directly through PlasmaCAM). This might be a better low cost solution for you if your are in the market for such. I think Jim has one of these in his shop if I'm not mistaken.



Thanks!

- J

[dthompson]

Thanks for the reply plasmamac. Yeah I did see the gotorch and I also looked at the torch mate 2x2. It seems like the torchmate price when up since last time I looked? I do agree that the go torch wold probably do what I need it to do, Im also working with limited space in my garage so being able to move the thing around would be a plus as well. Ill do a search on the gotorch and see what other have to say about the machine.

-Dane

[dthompson]

What about this machine anyone use one or own one? They have a show room rite by where I live so I could go check it out in person if they have one on the floor. Its over 5k tho.

Plasma Table PT-22 | Baileigh Industrial

[plasmaMac]

I have known a few folks that have tried the larger Baileigh models, but not the 2x2. The biggest complaint was that the machine was difficult to use because of the design and control software. They also did not like the fact that they are Chinese made and that they had to call China to get support instead of being able to call someone within Baileigh in the U.S. (this was about 2 years ago, so I am not sure if things may have changed). I believe that they have a show room in California, and one in Wisconsin. I do admit that they are nice looking tables, though. However, even the nicest looking tables can be hard to use if the software isn't adequate.

I did get to mess around with the software (very briefly) a few years back, and it was not the easiest to use and definitely not exceptional in any way (plasmacam's software is by far much better and easier to master) and although the prices on the Baileighs seem decent, I think of the old saying that my grandfather use to tell me: "what seems cheap...turns out to be expensive". Needless to say most of the guys that I knew that purchased the bailey equipment (3 of them) have since moved one to other tables now. As for actually using the tables for work, I honestly wish that I had more of my own experience with them other than just messin' with the software.


Here is a video:

Baileigh:




Good luck,

- J

[plasmaMac]

Here is a video for the gotorch: