Plasma Cutting Table

On this Plasma cutting table you will have 3 distinct parts .

- The plasma generator ( I use an Hypertherm Powermax 45 or a Esab CutMaster A40 )

- The Frame ( build with vslot rails and xtrem solid wheel ) , based on an OX CNC from vslot-europe

- The Water pan ( Martyr , waterpan ... )

For the plasma generator , you have 2 choices .. if you want a nice cut , cutting thick sheet of steel and that you build worked on the first try .. that have a price .. buy an Hypertherm or Esab generator .

I tried with low cost chinese plasma generator but i never achieve to have a good result .

Working size is around 130cm x 130cm

Frame take around 1 week to be build and wired correctly .

And the water pan was made localy by a friend ( you can work without it , but you will have to use a smoke extractor .

Step 1: The Frame

The frame of this plasma cutting table is based on the OX CNC from vslot-europe .

Some profiles were added to rigidify the build and support the machine .

Step 2: Add a THC ( Torch Height Control )

A THC is a nice tool who can help you if you cut big parts .

The THC adjust the height of your torch above your material .

I bought a low cost THC : a Proma THC SD

There is 2 way to do the THC connection

.1 / using a plug on the back side of my hyperterm .( with 1/50 scale )

2 / Directly on the row voltage of the arc I try both , i had some trouble with de 1/50 divider ( voltage was not correct ) so i 'm now using the raw value of the arc and it is much better .

Step 3: Electronic

3 Nema 23 steppers ( 2 for Y axis and 1 for X axis )

1 Nema 17 stepper ( z axis )

4 stepper drivers

1 Mach3 compatible controller board ( USB )

1 THC Proma

Step 4: Floating Head VS Inductive Sensor

On this build i choose to use a floating head instead an inductive sensor because I was afraid that the parasites created by the plasma arc pertube the operation of the inductive sensor.

You can see above some pictures of the floating head

Step 5: Some of My Works

Some of my works made with this plasma cutting table .

Step 6: Software

Create you parts :

I use autodesk autocad or solidworks or google sketchup (free )

Create your gcode file :

I use sheetcam for this operation ( specialized for plasma , milling , laser cutting )

And finaly send your gcode to your machine :

Depending of your electronic board , you can use universal gcode sender ( forg GRBL controler ) or MACH3 if you have a mach3 compatible board .

Step 7: Some Files

Those are some files who can help you in your build :

Coming soon ..