CNC Torch

[Mike@Accurate]

Best way to slow down building a buggy.
I've been putzing with this for a few months.









I just couldn't grind off the slag from my hand torching in my garage. Things are dirty enough.



This is what I was trying to avoid. (Sorry for throwing AZ under the bus, he does SUPER work) I can finsh parts out of this with a file. Capacity is 29x30.5. I can cut parts from a .dxf drawing (if anybody is interested in making this a business venture). Enjoy, MIKE

[Rockrat]

Mike is that a torch mate table, We were looking at getting one with a hypertherm 1000 plasma torch with an adjustable x axis.. what are your first impressions. of the quality of the cuts you get and how is the kerf

[zukzilla4x4]

aw comeon guys thats old school i will post some pics of what we use in the morn.

[bgreen]

Originally Posted by zukzilla4x4

aw comeon guys thats old school i will post some pics of what we use in the morn.

Ya, it might be old school, but its fawkin bad ass for a home shop. No reason to rain on the guys parade.

[Mike@Accurate]

The table is scratch built. And I did all of the work in my home shop. Let's not forget, I too work at a machine shop. The plasma cutter we have at the shop cost 2x more than I have in the whole ball of wax. I could always hang a plasma torch on it, but why? My kerf is .050" through 3/16" & 1/4". The cuts are clean. And this one is 70' from my shitter, 3' from my little fridge and I made it without any plan. Torch Mates start at about 4x what I have in this one. I looked at them, nice machine. I am also space challenged, hence the smaller size. Tonight I cut 8 shock mounts, rubbed them on the floor and they came out better than my finest hand work (job? not that good, but close) after a half hour of grinding. I thought some of you folks would like seeing a different tube frame than usual. MIKE

[Rockrat]

Ya I looked at the basic you build kits. vs. the out of the box set it up and run, lets just say we have been saving our pennies, for the $16,000 purchace, that includes the plasma 1000 with it. Just dont have the time to spend putting something like that together or the brain power to figure out all the wiring on top. Hats off to you that table is pretty cool.. We wanted to get one to offset some of the work we do on the mill, but since the mill is getting older and I have had some problems with it lately we are going to be getting another (20HP)full cnc center before the table purchace.

[wheelsup]

that is nice. I have been wanting to cnc my 100amp plasma torch, just challenged in the cnc department. Any other specs on what you used? I have a small machine shop setup already, just like to cut stuff out that all is the same size.
the table looks real good.
brian.

[jeeppartz]

Nice work , now figure out a water jet and show us how to make one

[Azrckcrawler]

That's pretty cool. If I had access to something like that I'd be dangerous We build automated equipment like that except we have to put tons of safety stuff on (enclosure, interlocked doors, etc).

[OKIE ZUK]

We have a simple set up nothing special about it with plasma and torch for the thicker stuff

[OKIE ZUK]

the plasma and torch heads
The table is able to accept up to 24 ft by 8 ft sheets if needed .the water table will hold an 8x12 sheet

[zc911]

that is too cool nice work
wanna make me one

[GRW]

I could have fun with one of those.

[Rockrat]

So what is all the fence railing and gates in the background for?? You building gates at the MALL LOL..

[Mike@Accurate]

As far as where to get pointers on this stuff: I read DIY-CNC, TurboCNC (software) and Xylotex (driver board) groups @ Yahoo. Most everybody has big and plasma on the brain, but the info is there. All of the sources, you use for everything else, supplied the guts (McMaster, Surplus Center etc.). I have a bunch of new catalogs too (DigiKey, All Electronics etc). I'm actually glad to be done with it. Welding and .001+ accuracy don't necessarily go hand in hand. TorchMate uses "cam followers", gear rack and a gear to drive the axes. Some cam followers are $17 ea.(you probably need 16 or so). That is why I used ball transfers and such. I have to make parts 8 at a time too, same size (after grinding I'd have 8 different ones) and grinding grit (my garage is like Dad's den) is why I did it. Using the mill was an alternative, but steel chips are the worse. Plus, converting the home mill to CNC (so I could do curves etc.) would cost more than the table. (I'll do it someday though)
Water jets require a huge amount of HP (amps) to make the necessary pressure. If a shop doesn't have sufficient amps from the pole, you get a big Cat diesel to run the pump. Some guys are cutting foam (for R/C planes etc {pansies}) with pressure washer pumps though.
I don't even have limit switches or a shutdown yet. You know "Safety Last". Gotta stay awake while you are running it 4sure. And I think Azrckcrawler's stuff looks good enough. You would make us all look like dicks if you had more tools.
A 24' table !, my garage is 20'x20'. This thing is too big as it is. (I have a mill, lathe, powder coat oven, gantry crane, 210amp Miller, 60 gal compressor, 3 benches, drill press, bench grinder, band saw, belt/disc sander, office desk, all of the Accurate Power inventory, a ton of used 4.0 engine stuff, parts washer, a couple of Jeep motors and a buggy project in there already). As far as size, the table could be scaled up as big as you can get Acme screws and steel.
When I started, I thought I could sell these. The labor is far to great though. I'd be as expensive as everyone else (if I wanted to make money anyhow).
I do have fun with it. When it made the first cut, I think my feet were a foot off the floor.
If you are looking at my garage, the only fence-like thing is a new, short, tailgate for my utility trailer. The ramp sucks sometimes. The orange thing is the gantry crane (Jeep 4.0's are 450#, I'm way to old for that). Okie Zuk must have used Moto's camera. I can't tell if there is any gates in there. But if the mall would pay me to make 'em, I'd be building gates. (I've done gates and carts before).
Thanks for the Kudos. It is a great tool for a buggy builder, and I am kinda proud of it. MIKE

[fabricator]

nice
what kind of hours you got in it
and
how much cash you got in it

[UZI 9mm]

Damn.

I thought I was bitchin for using my 225 stick welder turned up to "melt" amps, or 3 dozen 4.5" cut off discs in my $29.95 angle grinder, to cut thick stuff instead of a hacksaw.


Oh well.

[Mike@Accurate]

I started research in January. I bought my first stuff in March. I worked on it on the occasional weekend, maybe 40-50 hours total. There were a few binges in there, but mostly I didn't want to spoil the low trauma build. (After all, it is a toy. Doing work on it will be a bonus.) I have not added up the box yet. I think I spent $700 or so in hard parts. Maybe a few hundred more on the endless details. (About the same ratio as a buggy, R/C boat or garage. Hmmph....) I had the torch & tanks, I remember them being $500 ish (with the details). I was looking at $4-7k for a home assembled kit, before the plasma/torch. (I'm sure that is before the same details)
UZI, you have to get the $50 HF cut off saw. Not only can you use it as designed, but you can take the head off and go at big stuff. We put a door in a block wall with one at work.
MIKE

[UZI 9mm]

Originally Posted by Mike@Accurate

get the $50 HF cut off saw. Not only can you use it as designed, but you can take the head off and go at big stuff. We put a door in a block wall with one at work.
MIKE

Genius!

[rezuked]

Way cool! ...
I just wonder how hard a homebrew CNC pipebender would be...

[Rockrat]

Originally Posted by Mike@Accurate

If you are looking at my garage, the only fence-like thing is a new, short, tailgate for my utility trailer. The ramp sucks sometimes. The orange thing is the gantry crane (Jeep 4.0's are 450#, I'm way to old for that). Okie Zuk must have used Moto's camera. I can't tell if there is any gates in there. But if the mall would pay me to make 'em, I'd be building gates. (I've done gates and carts before).
Thanks for the Kudos. It is a great tool for a buggy builder, and I am kinda proud of it. MIKE

Not your pics i blew up and brightened up Roberts pic.. looks like large gates in the back ground so i was just poking fun... I like the ingenuity, like I said would love to do one my self but Just dont have the down time to do it. Most likely we will just purchace the Torch table kit complete, sometime after the new mill comes in.

[zukzilla4x4]

Those are hand railings for a bridge ,just a little project 60 sections 60 ft long

[Mike@Accurate]

Originally Posted by rezuked

I just wonder how hard a homebrew CNC pipebender would be...

[Mike@Accurate]

Originally Posted by UZI 9mm

Genius!

Be sure to wear your shop goggles.

[fabricator]

I have cutting access at work
way better than i have at home
but i do have a " bug-o " at home
with a torch on it that you should incorporate...
table type torch , straight up and down
with the hi pressure lever on the top
sure you have allready checked them out

again NICE table