[Handi-andi]

Hi

I am a newbie to plasma cutters and I am in the market for a CNC Plasma system for 8' x 4' sheets in the thickness range 2mm to 10mm typically and need a high degree of accuracy. I have been looking around and doing as much research as I can and have narrowed it down to three potential systems:

1. CNC PLASMA CUTTER 8X4 HYPERTHERM POWERMAX 125amp 0.5-25MM CUT THE BEST THERE IS | eBay but with a Hypertherm 65, which I see as reasonable grade hobbyist or low grade comemercial

2. Esprit Arrow CNC Plasma Profile Cutting Machine with Hy which appears to be a solid CNC system but the Hypertherm 1000 is long in the tooth now and would be better replaced by a Hypertherm 65 complete with digital height torch control but they are quoting £4000 for each of those options, which brings it in to the territory of a new 8' x 4' Swift, which is over our £10,000 budget. Now I could try and sell the Hypertherm 1000 to part fund a Hypertherm 65, which should plug straight in (to a certain extent), but without digital torch height control am I going to get a good finish?

3. ESAB CNC Plasma Cutter,With HP PC,& all Programmes | eBay which again is an older machine, but potentially not as old as 2. The fact it comes with a spare plasma is a bit of a concern along with the drive gear change out. The Hypertherm 100 is again an older machine and I have no idea how it compares to a Hypertherm 65, so I would welcome input.

Given these options and a £10k budget, what advice would people give me and if none of the above then what would you recommend?

Thanks

Andrew

[Diabolical]

If I had to choose between the 3 options I would go with option #2
The PowerMax 1000 is not a bad plasma machine by any means. You can buy fine cut tips for the torch and cut remarkably well.
The controller looks like it can work with different software as where the ESAB is most likely proprietary. The Esprit looks like it could be easily retrofit to newer motors and hardware at a later date.
It's just my opinion but, the Esprit looks to be the better buy with your budget. This is viewing the purchase as a long term investment with the ability to upgrade the components at a later date without much hassle.
The difference between option 1 and option 2 is the frames.. The Esprit is just more robust.

Make some money with the PowerMax 1000 then upgrade at a later date.

[Handi-andi]

Thanks for your analysis Diabolical. We decided to go for option 4, which came up since the original post, which was a three year old Mk 2 8' x 4' Swiftcut machine with a Hypertherm 105 on it, complete with breakway head and digital torch height control, see Industrial zz_DISCONTINUED SwiftCut Plasma | Metal Cutting Machines | CTR Lasers . This came in under budget and should leave enough int he budget for a decent generator given that the required generator size has gone up substantially. The solidness of the frame had also attracted us to the Espirt Arrow machine, but the required upgrades over time had put us off, given the issues we are seeing with upgrading our CNC lathe. Where as the Swiftcut machine, although the newer ones have slightly stronger motors and a more robust frame, we felt that the three year old motors and control system, which we believe is Mach 3 based, should make upgrading if required a lot easier. Plus we know the machine has been in daily use without issue, as we are buying it direct from its first owners. Thanks for your help and I hope I have made the right decision.