I’ve heard that really dry air is critical for plasma, so you may want to plan for a cooling loop, intercooler, or some other way of getting vapor out once the air has been compressed.
That too.
My plasma cutter has a built in filter but I’ve also picked up this filter/dryer as well: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PR8ZXK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I’ve seen some crazy copper cooling systems plumbed in that would make a moonshiner jealous but I haven’t tried anything beyond the linked filter.
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I doubt I’ll ever get to running a plasma cutter in my basement shop, but I’ve got an airbrush I’d like to start playing with, and I’ve been intrigued by the idea of media blasting, which is another area where I understand that dry air is critical. I’ve got the cheapie Harbor Freight auto-drain on my (also cheapie) Harbor Freight 12 gallon compressor, and a basic water glass on the filter/regulator but am considering adding a desiccant stage or maybe a little oil cooler-style radiator between the compressor head and the tank.
Too many projects in the “some day” list.
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Plasma’s are quite the rabbit hole. Jim colt has a good straight to the point style. Love it!
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(Warning, don’t listen to me, no real CNC plasma experience yet). For thin sheets you can use “fine cut” consumables (if available for your cutter) that have smaller orifices, which should lead to less air used. How much less? I don’t know.
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v1 purists wont like it but I’ve added screw terminal connectors to my steppers for part of an effort to tidy up my wiring.
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Heresy!
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There are screw terminals all over the place inside my control box. The one place I’ve seen folks soundly denounce them is the barrel connector for the power supply, but I think that’s to do with other aspects of that connector, not the screws. I think anywhere else is fair game.
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Same here
I had to order more ferrule crimps to finish up the re-wiring. Should get here this afternoon. On that note the new motors are installed, it was a pleasant surprise to be able to do that without having to take apart the whole machine (which was why I’ve put this off for so long).
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No fair having a box big enough that you don’t have to layer things! How do you justify spending hours poking around when you can just see everything by looking at it?
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Yeah, the lure of a small box is going to be my downfall, pain to work in. So used to the tiny stuff we have for the lowrider/MPCNC.
I have the opposite problem. I’m lured toward way too big boxes. I’ve shot my self in the foot so many times trying to cram projects into small enclosures that I’ve overcorrected in the opposite direction… Hell, all my mpcnc electronics were screwed to a piece of plywood for a year because I was avoiding an enclosure. “Open concept”
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I’ve been follow with interest for a while now and it’s given me the confidence to go with linuxcad for my next build.
Now that I’ve got my lowrider router up and running it’s time to start a separate new build for a plasma cutter. I’ve bought my Mesa board and THCAD and TB6600 drivers and now need to make some table design and hardware decisions.
Any advice on NEMA23 vs 17 or any things you would do differently if starting from scratch?
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I bought some chunky NEMA 23’s years ago thinking I needed big beefy motors to do “real” cnc work. They’re still sitting in the box they came in.
Following these forums, I see a lot of success with NEMA 17’s including several plasma table builds. Their lower current requirements allows so much “lightening” downstream - parts are smaller, power supplies can be smaller, hardware is lighter (so less momentum to fight), etc.
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17 vs 23, idk. I haven’t really studied the relevant specs to give an educated answer. What I do know is that plasma is about speed. There are no cutting loads to worry about. milling like the lowrider was designed for… Not so much. The low rider gantry is super light weight which is great for making it nimble. If you switched to 23s you would add weight to the gantry, I don’t know the cost benefit analysis.
If I were to start over I would have done an 8’x4’ table and a water pan or downdraft from the beginning. The aerosolized metal dust gets EVERYWHERE… Including my buggers (=> lungs).
Ive got my water pan now, just have to make some adjustments to the table to make it fit and work out a water storage and pumping solution.
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@uthayne , @darxide , et al.,
Do you recommend any particular additives for a water table?
I’ve read up on GreenCut Plasma and SterlingCool Plasma but they’re pricey.
I’ve seen some diy solutions but I also remember reading an anecdote from someone that used a homemade solution for a long time and now their lungs are screwed up…
I’ve always used sodium nitrite powder. Got 1lb off of ebay a few years ago for about $13 and still have plenty. Mixes 4 oz to 75 gallons. I have also heard plenty of people use Borax.
The commercial solutions are nice, but as you said very pricey
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I use borax, quite a bit. Enough to get the ph up to 9 or 10
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Did you prime/paint/seal your water pan?
Do you drain it regularly?