I own a 4x4 PlasmaCam DHC machine that I bought second hand. I bought the table because I have experience with the 5x10 Samson table with Design Edge and all the Advanced features, and not knowing the differences of the machines, I purchased the DHC table thinking it would have the same features. I quickly found out that I was wrong however...
PlasmaCam doesnt offer an upgrade for the DHC machines, so I was looking at potentially upgrading the drive system to something like a Bladerunner 300 and ditching all the proprietary PlasmaCam stuff. I have experience mounting a CandCNC kit on a custom table I built for my old employer, so the experience is there, but I am looking to see if anybody has retrofitted the PlasmaCam like this.
Has anybody retrofitted tables out there that use all the PlasmaCam Hardware, but utilize a more open source drive system?
Do the CandCNC kits offer material sensing for Z-axis location (Much like the DHC2/Samson Pcam)?
Essentially what I would like to do is conventional plasma cutting of various materials (Why material sensing is important to me, and why I dislike the DHC table as is), without having to go through the process of setting Z-height every time. Also I am currently setting my DHC table up for a router cutout tool, and if the DHC Z-motor doesnt perform well with the router, I am definitely wanting to upgrade. I would also like to have more Z-axis travel for bigger routing projects.
I went from having a Very Positive view of PlasmaCam in all my experience with the Samson table, to a mildly negative one after seeing my options PlasmaCam saddled me with in buying a second hand DHC table. The Proprietary business practices have left a bad taste in my mouth, and Id rather spend money upgrading the table I have than spending more money with PlasmaCam.