posted
I fired up the new plasma cutter today for the first time. The results absolutely blew me away!
I must confess that prior to this I had never seen one operate, much less used one.
I finally got the last of the bits and pieces to assemble the air supply system yesterday, and with my hectic schedule this past week, it just sat there until this afternoon.
The directions that came with the unit didn't explain much past hooking the unit up. I had actually learned more about the unit and its use from talking with people, suppliers, and from the internet.
But the learning curve was simple. I did a small cut on a piece of scrap metal which took all of two seconds.
Then it was on to cutting the plate steel for my desk top. What would have been difficult and taken hours with the cutting torch took minutes with the plasma cutter.
And instead of grinding for hours and hours to clean up the edges, the cut pieces needed NO GRINDING whatsoever. And they were cool enough to handle within seconds, even without gloves. No warpage either, unlike cutting with a torch.
This tool is worth the big bucks it costs to get set up - without a doubt.
It will change the way I design and fabricate my work for sure! Expect to see a lot more cut metal in my designs in the future.
I'm excited about the possibilities!
-dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Hey Dan....... Those Plasma cutters are the greatest thing since Bubblegum, if ya do any kind of metel work.. Especially when it comes to cutting aluminum....
I first used one in the 80s, and haven't had my mind right since...... After a very short time....Ya wonder how you ever made it without one......
I can only imagine some of the really kool stuff you'll be doin with your new machine..........
Have a Great, Safe, Holiday Season..........
..........cj
-------------------- CJ Allan CJs Engraving 982 English Dr. Hazel, KY 42049
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Yup, my shop in town is filled with welding equipment and a great Plasma cutter. I work there with a youngster who builds suspensions for trucks and just about anything else. When a lift kit is needed, he builds it. Cutting is easy and a grinder is all thats needed afterwards, ours cuts everything to a 1/2 inch thick. Last night we cut out an 1/8" aluminum panel shape, the tribal-art background for my logo which is on my Astrovan, it will be used as an overhead sign on the building. It took maybe 5 minutes to cut its shape and another 3 minutes to give it character with the grinder. Making metal scrolls, designs and even letters are a snap with a plasma.
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
posted
I was up at Multicam sales office in Chicago a couple months ago snooping for a CNC router, and they had the computerized (CNC?) Plasma cutter up and running.
The system looks like a CNC router except the table looks like metal venition blinds that are open, so slag falls to the floor.
They were cutting "clip art" in metal, and some of it was very tiny, like a rose that could be a belt buckel or anything else one could imagine.
The signs we seen at the amusement parks this last month in Florida are more and more becoming computerized plasma cut creations with digital prints on top, multi layers, and indestructable as far as kids hanging on them, or hurricanes.
[ December 20, 2003, 01:29 PM: Message edited by: Dave Draper ]
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