Spend my money

[OgieOgelthorpe]

Was a previous poster here years ago but forgot my login and no longer have access to whatever email I may have used. In any event, I currently have a dynatorch 5x10 xlr8 table. Was the actual table they had at Fabtech Chicago one year. Drove my truck inside McCormick place to pick it up after the show and spared them shipping it home. With a Cutmaster A120. Its done most of what I want...but...I'm ready for more. And ready to get away from thermal....victor.....esab. 3 power sources since we've owned the table. Board issues. First time was just before the warranty expired. Last time was faster and same price to buy a new power source than to get a new board and repair the broken one.

We're a metal fab shop. 12' Cincinnati shear, 12' Durma Press, Geka, etc. We do a lot of railings and staircases. But we also repair a lot of heavy equipment. Or modify large John Deere loader buckets where the dealer supplies us 2" thick coupons to contour and weld to the buckets. Built 2 blast rooms with 1" thick plate so a company could pressure test large valves to point of failure. So...I'd really love to get into a 6x12 table with an xpr170. For the capacity as well as cut quality improvement

But...doing so many railings and staircases, I've been thinking on how could I expedite that fabrication process. Measure. Cut/miter. Measure. Notch the Railing pipe. Stringers its layout. Drill. Miter Etc. It's labor intensive. So I was thinking maybe that high def machine could take a backseat for now. My problem is, I'm not really finding a rotary machine that can do the small 2" railing pipe, but then able to cut a 12" stringer channel. The JD2 XR12 might fit the bill... But its so new I'm hesitant. EMI has the ACPC...but I don't think it can cut small pipe. The Bend-tech a400 would work...but it can't process channel. Then I got to thinking about how much dross would be on a conventional air plasma...especially if it's a stainless railing. Maybe laser would be the way to go. Then I remind myself I didn't win the lottery. Processing channel isn't an absolute, but it sure would be nice!

We're currently a few months from breaking ground on a new building and until then can't really fit any more equipment in the shop. But I've been trying to floor plan. I'd love to go Fabtech this year and shop since I'm an hour from the city. But the folks at Fabtech didn't talk to me when they announced the dates and scheduled it right in the middle of elk archery season. The middle of September is booked out for at least the next 30 years.

[plasmanewbie]

Welcome back Can't say that I have any experience with the JD2 machines but their XR12 tube cutter looks super impressive, I checked it out a while ago when it came out. Being such a simple piece of equipment and with their long standing experience in the business I expect it is a winner. Would certainly be nice to see one in action before pulling the trigger. Curious to hear what you end up going with!

[adbuch]

Welcome back Ogie! I will look forward to seeing pictures of your shop setup and some of your projects. I am using the Hypertherm cutters and have had great luck.

David