Good ideas for making a Plasma Table more space friendly???

[bigsub]

I want to get/build one but space is tight. And i don't want a dinky 4'x4' machine. My ceilings are 10ft. Seems like a water table is the way to go so i could build the unit shallow/short and put a a working/storage platform over it. Or maybe i could put a materials rack over it for sheets and tube. How much clearance do you guys think is necessary for handling parts/sheets on a 5x10 table?

I don't think it will see constant use since i'm a one man band. If i was a little more ambitious i'd make it fold up against the wall when not in use.

Has anyone put up a designated building? Seems like a easy/cheap way to do it and contain fumes. Guess a homedepot wood shack wouldn't be the best idea. Maybe a sea container, but then you'd have to endload or add is some side doors.

Any other good ideas/pics?

[Todd W]

You are going to make a 5'10' table and are worried about room?

Keep in mind how much 5'x10' 1/4" weighs... you will need a loading system or a cherry picker rigged up to load it properly... adding storage on top of a plasma cutter just seems like a BAD idea. You need to be able to load the 5'x10' and if you are not loading from the side you will need MORE height to angle load unless you have a nice slide loading system.

[jpmassey]

I would be more worried about wacking my head on it after trying to fish out that small part that fell between the slots in the middle of the table.

I would think its better to put the storage under the table, as long as you have a good barrier for the sparks.

[jpmassey]

I don't think it will see constant use since i'm a one man band. If i was a little more ambitious i'd make it fold up against the wall when not in use.


I added a tone of sheet metal to my table to stiffen it up. One light enough to handle like that would be quite unstable. Changing directions in corners at 100 ipm can't cause any vibration or it reflects in the cut qaulity.

[bigsub]

I added a tone of sheet metal to my table to stiffen it up. One light enough to handle like that would be quite unstable. Changing directions in corners at 100 ipm can't cause any vibration or it reflects in the cut qaulity.

Like i said, i'm not going to do it. But hydraulics would be the only way to go, and it wouldn't work very well with a water table:flipoff2:. But i'm sure it could be done.

I pickup alot of 5x10 surplus, not necissarily 1/4". I think a 5x10 or even 6x12 would pay for itself. I use alot of aluminum. Plus it really pisses me off when i want to do something that i didn't buy a big enough tool for because "oh i'll never need that" Besides, i got forks on my skidsteer or a dedicated loader isn't that hard.

[frankensammy]

I use alot of aluminum.

As a side note you can not cut aluminum with a water table (at least not with any water in it) IIRC Plasma + aluminum + H2O = Hydrogen Gas. I have cut some aluminum and the fumes did not seem to be as bad as with CS. I currently run a down draft table.

[bigsub]

As a side note you can not cut aluminum with a water table (at least not with any water in it) IIRC Plasma + aluminum + H2O = Hydrogen Gas. I have cut some aluminum and the fumes did not seem to be as bad as with CS. I currently run a down draft table.

That should just make it cut faster:flipoff2:

[Black Sabbath]

As a side note you can not cut aluminum with a water table (at least not with any water in it) IIRC Plasma + aluminum + H2O = Hydrogen Gas. I have cut some aluminum and the fumes did not seem to be as bad as with CS. I currently run a down draft table.

The solution to this is to add an aerator to the bottom of the tank. Basically you create a grid of pipe with holes drilled in it at regular intervals. This is then connected to your air supply. What you end up doing is forcing all of the excess hydrogen out from underneath the plate you are cutting. This prevents the gas from building to a potentially explosive/ combustible level.

[frankensammy]

The solution to this is to add an aerator to the bottom of the tank. Basically you create a grid of pipe with holes drilled in it at regular intervals. This is then connected to your air supply. What you end up doing is forcing all of the excess hydrogen out from underneath the plate you are cutting. This prevents the gas from building to a potentially explosive/ combustible level.

Cool, thanks for the info.