I just cut the custom gantry plates with my cnc router (OX based). Is a slow process as I am alone. The good news is that I have solved all of the problems, I just have to document it now, and confirm that it actually works. Feel free to ask any questions if you are in rush (until I update the build)
Now that I re-read my build, I realized that I have made a lot of changes. The frame is lighter (1"x 3" rectangle tubing). Also the cut-50 plasma cutter is replaced with the Harbor Freight Plasma cutter, for a good reason. No High Frequency pilot start! It removes lots of headaches on crazy grounding and shielding
Updates guys, the machine is up and running! We are updating the CAD files for now, and soon we are going to take lots of pictures (yes!) and videos (yes²). If anyone wants to contribute feel free to do so. Its on github. In the meanwhile if you have any questions let me know. We will have a nice presentation soon!
How is the HF plasma cutter performing? What's your max thickness? How fast cann it cut? Have any feeds and speeds?
I am building a air dryer now before i waste all the consumables. I will do some testing this week. I know I have cut 3/8" thickness easy. No speeds yet.
I am interested in how you are going to avoid electrical interference (noise) between wires without using shielded wire or other noise canceling devices.
I do not need any shielding because there is no noise created I only got a false trigger on the Z probe a few times but I moved it outside of the cable chain and it works fine. The truck is to use a plasma that does not have a HF pilot arc
It is my understanding that all electronic devices create electrical noise that vary in intensity. I am not an engineer, I am not an expert in the field,so I ask questions especially when I am perplexed. I would like to explore this no electrical noise further, perhaps you could share your information in more detail. Please and thank you.
I have not knowledge in that field. I know that when people mention noise and interference in plasma systems is because of the High Frequency (about 3Mhz) high voltage ( a few thousand) pilot start of the plasma. Now without being an expert, the 24V-36v that go through the motors, the 5v that go through the probe and the 200-300V max that the plasma electrode carries are not enough to cause any interference to the wires next to them. Sorry I cannot analyze this matter more, but if you have questions about the system I will be glad to answer them all. The project is already public on github and it’s open source for non commercial reasons to anyone. Feel free to ask anything and I will try my best
I also use a pilot arc start (not high frequency start) and have also had ZERO issues with interference. I also have my controller mounted inside of a computer case, about 10 feet away, inside a cabinet. When I was using the tinyg controller, I had some minor issues, but only if the plasma arc ran off the metal (causing random arcing). I would not want to try to use a HF start plasma, it just sounds like a nightmare from what I read from other people. I would like to see some more pics of your set up!
Some very rough pics of my so far setup are on the git. I am almost done building an air drier, after that I will start on videos.