Squickmon Engineering Table

[Overkill.Garage]

I came across Squickmon Engineering over on the FB "Plasma Good, Bad and Ugly" group.

Initially I put in on a pre-order for the new Langmuir Pro, but have since decided to go with a 4x8 or 5x10. STV initially seemed like a very good value with their 5x10 offering, but after talking with Simon at Squickmon their soon to be released machine sounds like it could be a better option.

Do any of you have experiences with them or possibly have one of their tables?

[acourtjester]

the term "soon to be released" is one of those Pie in the Sky deals. no firm date or actual customers to talk to run away.
Check out some of the other post here about deal gone bad.

[Overkill.Garage]

They have an existing line of equipment, and they are tentatively releasing another offering in 8 weeks. It sounds like they have been around longer than most of that have popped up in the last 2-3 years.

[OffRoadDevilDog]

100% agree with acourtjester. If you need to buy now, skip the "upcoming new releases" and find a manufacturer that sells off the shelf.

I didn't consider Squickmon's because they never answer their phone and don't put their prices on the website. I still don't know how much their tables are lol

[robertspark]

Something tried and tested is better than the latest and greatest given you'll be the one finding out the issues and working with technical support to solve them....

I have a philosophy with all technology..... You buy it as it is now..... As it arrives in the box at your doorstep..... Not for what it could become or is a work in progress to become with ongoing updates etc

A classic one for me was a motion controller I bought.... That ran mach3 (and now mach4 too) where everything was always in development.... From probing to thc to M11/M10, threading, mach4 etc etc.... And the development took years if not more than a decade...... by the time I ditched it 10 years after I'd bought it I had to upgrade as the thc features were not available on the usb one.....I bet stuff is still in development on the forum and website....

Really good platform and hardware.... Only one problem... There seemed to be only one developer who could programme the FPGA chipset..... Always consider if it landed tomorrow on your doorset and they shut up shop the next day what would you do?

My suggestion for anything is ask them to send you a copy of the installation manual for the table and instruction manual for the software and consumables parts list .... (If) When they land print them out.... Read them twice.... The second time with a highlighter to identify anything you are not clear about..... Do they give you a parts list of consumables (bearings, stepper motors, belts, rack and pinion specifications, etc)..... If not ask for them.....

Is there a wiring diagram? Even if it's a basic block one showing maybe wiring colours and squares for the components would be way better than nothing....

If they don't provide or the info is not that great then you have two choices.... Walk away or offer to buy but by knocking a bit off to account for your risk (10%? Or anchor hard.... Start at 20% and give reasons why... And offer to maybe soften to 15% because you like the machine and their approach)

Also shop around.... See if the other manufacturers you like will provide you with the same info.... Or better or none...

In the end you may get 5% or 10%..... When they say no discount.... Respond with how can I accept that without the missing information..... Remember that missing information or gaps in information is at your expense when the guy won't provide you the technical support later... And you have to find out how it works, goes together or have to fix it)

I built my own table and if I did want to do plasma cutting as a main source of income I would build a bigger one, I know every component in it (that includes the CNC lathe, converted milling machine, router and 3d printer too)

To give you an idea...... Below is a link to ONE of the manuals of information for my CNC hobby lathe that was provided with the lathe that lists all of the part numbers for bearings, stepper motors, pulley sizes, belts nuts bolts etc.... Yes they are expensive to buy new (and mine is old... Nearly 30 years).... But without it you have a boat anchor possibly at worst and at best a lot of headscratching and downtime to locate a belt or bearing that requires replacement and time is money.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... -AdPNORuZU


If I was to buy a commercial table I would expect the same or it to be heavily discounted

That's why I swear by hypertherm.... I've not seen another manufacturer yet of plasma cutters provide as much and detailed info and the service manual as hypertherm do for all their plasma cutters old and new... But there is a premium for them and I'm happy to pay for that info as it will be there when I need it

[Overkill.Garage]

I did an excel price sheet comparing what I would need to build my own and at the end of the day, I decided to go with the STV 5x10 table. Arrival is tentatively the first week in July.

[OffRoadDevilDog]

I did an excel price sheet comparing what I would need to build my own and at the end of the day, I decided to go with the STV 5x10 table. Arrival is tentatively the first week in July.

STV gave me a 3-4 week window and mine was ready yesterday, 4 weeks to the day. I'm happy with them so far. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll have some feedback on the machine.

[crbills]

I have a 4x8 squickmons water table for 4 years now and love it. Any issues I call or email and he gets back to me thay day. He'll stick with you until its resolved.

With so many electronic components there is a lot that can happen so its nice to have that lifetime support for things you just can't figure out on your own.