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Author Topic: Physical buttons for plasma  (Read 154312 times)

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Offline Davek0974

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Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #40 on: January 19, 2016, 03:19:53 PM »
I started off with a water tray on my first machine, PITA TBH.

I only cut occasionally 2-3 times a week. On the new table i fitted a large (350mm) duct extractor under the table making it a down-draught one. The fan exhausts through the garage wall, I have to open a window when cutting or the vacuum makes your ears bleed (well not quite but you get the idea), even with he water before, I would end up with the black-snot at the end of a day which was pretty worrying from a health point of view. With the extract, I can cut all day and not even smell it :)

If you do go with extract, make it down-draught as fitting the extract above is not as good.
Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #41 on: January 19, 2016, 04:04:16 PM »
For any draft... Go with the direction of flow... Which is generally downwards for a plasma (only ever seen one vertical plasma table). 

If you do go for a fan ... Look for something like a mixed flow fan and not just an axial fan as they have a higher discharge pressure for ductwork (flexible or ridgid)

(Dayjob tips)

I did sandblasting in the garage once upon a time... Best thing I ever did was build an enclosure using PVC drainage pipes with 1000 guage plastic sheeting and a 12" vent axis powerflow fan.... No dust ever escaped the enclosure (I used an air fed blasting helmet whilst sat in it for the time it takes to discharge a 50 litre pressure pot blaster full of 60/40 garnet... Vaccumed up using an old dyson for reuse as the cyclone separates out the fines....  Sorry off topic more to give an example of fan flow.

If you want to make an angled chute below the table for iron filings collection, need to consider the angle of response for iron filings... Which I think is about 45 degrees, hence I would split the underneath of the table in two and create 2 4' chutes, with an easy to empty iron filings tray at the bottom of each chute set as a drawer and a 12" extractor fan connected near the bottom of each chute, except you want the chutes to decrease in size to a sort of cone shape, then have an abrupt expansion where your drawer is, so that the air velocity drops off drastically and any suspended particles in the airsteam loose suspension and end up in the drawers.

Just another option to consider.

What I did with my slats is I got some 15mm SHS, and welded it to the end of some wide flatbar 50x3, which was cut in a chopsaw about 3" longer than my bed gap.  On the table railsi welded a 50x50 angle iron at either end and then aload of 15x15 SHS teeth vertically which had a gap between them of about 20mm.  Then I force and bend the slats in and they interlock, and they snake across the bed in a curved profile.  They can be removed, flipped over, swapped or put closer together or further apart as nessesary.
« Last Edit: January 19, 2016, 04:06:15 PM by robertspark »
Rob

Albert Einstein ― “If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”

Offline BR549

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Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #42 on: January 19, 2016, 04:04:50 PM »
HIya Hood did you realize that that controller has a real analog THC function built in and you don't need an outside THC controller (;-) You just input teh divided voltage under 10V and it can do all the THC work realtime.

There are a ton of really cool things you could do with it for plasma. I have been wanting to test one but am too cheap to buy one to test(;-) They could capture a HUGE share of the CNC plasma market with that controller IF it actually works well.

Are you going to run it with Mach3 or Mach4 ??  (;-)  

(;-)TP
« Last Edit: January 19, 2016, 04:21:51 PM by BR549 »

Offline Hood

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Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #43 on: January 19, 2016, 05:55:19 PM »
Ok thanks for the info, looks like the water table is out, especially after reading the links provided by Robert. Never even thought of the hydrogen issue with Alu and water. I will be cutting  mainly Alu and Stainless seeing as I do marine stuff.

Will just go for the sliding rack so that I can push it back against the wall when not in use, will free up almost 1 meter x 3 meters.

Will have to look into the fans, don't have any experience at all, may initially use a fan I kept from a Kemppi Mig welder as it is lying about doing nothing.

TP
Yes I did know the CSMIO had THC but my Plasma doesn't have a divider in it, it was an option but as the plasmas are built to order it would have added a day or two onto the delivery and I was really needing it ASAP.
I decided to go with the Russian THC as it has the Arc OK board and the Divider so I still have the option of using the CSMIO THC if I want/need.

Robert,
 I think I am doing something similar to you re the slats, will just have angle with bits of flat bar 90mm or so welded to the angle with a 3-4mm gap between them so the slats fit in.

Hood

Offline Chaoticone

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Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #44 on: January 19, 2016, 08:44:27 PM »
Quote
I already have two units and the only other 2 are occupied and anyway not everyone is a rich kid like you and Brett, so wouldn't be able to afford it even if empty Cheesy


Tweakie, don't believe everything you hear. I'm so poor I can't afford to buy fruit. The only way we get any fruit to eat it is to peel it off the wallpaper.   ;D
;D If you could see the things I have in my head, you would be laughing too. ;D

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Offline Tweakie.CNC

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Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #45 on: January 20, 2016, 01:56:52 AM »
 ;D ;D ;D

Tweakie.
PEACE

Offline Hood

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Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #46 on: January 20, 2016, 03:31:24 AM »
Wallpaper?
Your just showing off your wealth there.

Hood

Offline Hood

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Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #47 on: January 20, 2016, 03:31:57 AM »
TP,
 forgot to answer you earlier, it will be Mach 3.

Hood
Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #48 on: January 20, 2016, 05:46:32 AM »
Can I ask if anyone is using Mach4 for plasma?

The only screenset I've seen for Mach4 is from vital systems for their Hicon controller, and presume it can be adapted.... but it would require a compatible motion controller.
http://www.vitalsystem.com/portal/cnc/motion/plasma.php (screenset download link in top RHS list, copied below)
http://www.vitalsystem.com/portal/cnc/motion/ArcPro_Plasma.zip

I'm awaiting Warp9 to release their updated M4 plugin to hopefully turn on the THCUP, THCDN, THCOK functionality (M62 and M63 wiould be helpful for me too [as a quick THC ON / THC OFF toggle via relay + routing the THCOK signal back to the ESS]) hence can't do anything until this point unless I change motion controllers.

Does anyone believe that M4 is missing something that won't work with plasma or wont work well, or could do better?

50Hz script loop (adjustable) has got to be better than the 10Hz brains or macropump.

A plasma screenset would be nice from Artsoft to get us started.

The use of the Analogue Input on the CISMO for THC with Mach3 via THC Plugin, what loop speed does it run at?  (10Hz for THC at high cutting speeds may be a little slow to correct?)

Rob
(always here to learn.... thanks)
Rob

Albert Einstein ― “If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”

Offline Hood

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Re: Physical buttons for plasma
« Reply #49 on: January 20, 2016, 07:02:58 AM »
The THC in the CSMIO would be done within the motion controller I would think, so would be extremely fast, probably in the high KHz if not MHz.
Regarding Mach4, not tried it for a long time on anything but from what I saw it was years away from being capable of what Mach3 is now.
Maybe I am wrong and it has taken a giant leap in the last wee while, hope so.

Hood