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?
Raw steel, and very rarely. Just to clean out.
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Bryan, do you try to maintain a particular pH with the sodium nitrite solution or just stick to the recipe and replace as needed?
Thought I’d quickly mention the Welding machine currently up on KickStarter called
“YES Welder”
It’s a 4 in 1 machine MIG / TIG /PLASMA / ARC
That’s right a plasma cutter as well !! Please disregard my post if already discussed here.
I backed it… 
That thing looks cool, but no way in hell I’d trust it.
I notice it’s DC only so no pulse setting for TIG. Also no aluminium… but hey for that price with Plasma MIG TIG… its a no brainer. The company has a really good rep. as well.
I’ve never measured the pH while using it. Typically my tank will run low on water due to splashing/evaporation and when it no longer fills the pan I just flush it all out and start fresh.
I am on my second water pan because the first one was almost exactly 48" square which doesn’t help when you’re trying to load the same dimension stock. Especially when the torch head is near the edge, it will hit the pan. My pan now is 50" square, and I experimented covering the bottom and sides in flex seal. Some areas have started to peel off but it does help some. Still undecided if it was worth it, but it hasn’t seemed to make things worse. About once a year I replace the slats and scrape the pan to get most of the sludge out. However it depends on how often you cut.
I have intentions of draining it every time I go more than a few days between cuts, but I usually seem to forget to… That reminds me…
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