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CNC Plasma Cutter Vote 2022 (view source)
Revision as of 15:00, 26 October 2022
, 15:00, 26 October 2022no edit summary
== Sponsor ==
== Sponsor ==
Ron Olson
Ron Olson
James Lamken
James Lamken
In November of 2021 the control box, essentially the core part of the machine, shorted out due to being splashed with water and coolant when the table was being filled. Due to the homemade-nature of the machine, as well as its age, certain parts were no longer obtainable, necessitating the entire controller to be replaced. I had made what I believed to be cheaper decision, to try to replace the controller, using some money from my 2022 Hot Metals budget, and keep the table basically the same.
In November of 2021 the control box, essentially the core part of the machine, shorted out due to being splashed with water and coolant when the table was being filled. Due to the homemade-nature of the machine, as well as its age, certain parts were no longer obtainable, necessitating the entire controller to be replaced. I had made what I believed to be cheaper decision, to try to replace the controller, using some money from my 2022 Hot Metals budget, and keep the table basically the same.
That idea hasn't worked out. 2022 has had a number of challenges and it wasn't until late summer when I was really able to start to work on this. After doing some research I purchased some equipment from [http://www.mesanet.com Mesa Electronics] that burned out. When I contacted them for replacements, they indicated they had no inventory and would only know when they had more boards when the truck backed up to their dock.
That idea hasn't worked out. 2022 has had a number of challenges and it wasn't until late summer when I was really able to start to work on this. After doing some research I purchased some equipment from [http://www.mesanet.com Mesa Electronics] that burned out. When I contacted them for replacements, they indicated they had no inventory and would only know when they had more when the truck backed up to their dock.
Also, one of the main issues with the existing machine is that its cuts were not fantastic; everyone who has used the machine has likely noted that the edges are generally wavy. This is as a consequence of the table being insufficiently stiff allowing wobble, especially when doing curves at higher speeds. The thought is that this ''may'' be mitigated by adding some crossbars underneath, but this is not certain and when I investigated how much the metal would cost this past summer, it was ridiculously expensive.
Throw in that I just don't have the time to cobble together a control box, weld the supports, etc., with no certainty that the cut quality will improve, or for that matter, that it will work at all; I have been very public about my lack of experience in this area and while it's fun to learn, and just in the bit I have done I've learned quite a bit, there's no certainty the machine will be up and running anytime soon.
=== TL;DR You Deserve Better ===
The CNC plasma machine gets a ''lot'' of use; when it was running it was probably getting similar usage as the ShopBot. For the year the machine has been unavailable, I have been either emailed or DM'ed generally polite versions of "Is it working yet?" and I totally understand that there's a number of folks with projects that need this machine; it's an invaluable asset and, honestly, should be treated as such, and not as a cool Hackaday-Science-Fair project where there's no expectation that it should actually be usable.
Thus I essentially am saying that we should give up on the existing machine, in total, and replace it with a new one.
=== Have a Particular Machine in Mind? ===
=== Have a Particular Machine in Mind? ===
====Wait, why this machine?====
====Wait, why this machine?====
=== Why Should We Get This? ===
=== Why Should We Get This? ===
=== What Are the Plans For the Existing Machine? ===
To help put the scrapper's kids through college.
== Language ==
== Language ==
