trying to find the right plazma cnc machine

[biltor57]

Hello im actually brand new to all of this cnc plazma tables I have never owned one or used one . I own a small fabrication shop in ny.
I am driving myself crazy trying to figure out which machine would be best , I have single phase electric most of my material will be under 1/2 ''.
I need to have user friendly and be up and running when it hits the ground , and has to be affordable ,I was looking under the $20,000 range and it should be a 5x8 table turnkey the better the price the more I can pay for it in cash.
I've heard probably every sales pitch and BS you can come up with.
If anyone has some real good solid advice please let me know
Thank You

[acourtjester]

HI
Welcome aboard
There are users of many different tables here and they will give you feed back about their tables. From a long process post it seems LDR is a very good one to look at and I think they are near you too.
One very important thing I would say is no cash deal use a credit card that way if something comes up you have a third party in your corner if a problem comes up (missing parts, damage, missing software, ect.).
Just my 2 cents worth.

Have fun
Tom

[biltor57]

I actually spoke to Dan at LDR
What a nice guy he is actually my # one choice so far, my only problem is that he has a 10 week wait, and I have a job I need to start cutting in about 3to 6 weeks,
and I actually got his number on accident but he sound like a stand up guy his prices are awesome and his products don't look like a toy.

[acourtjester]

depending on the job size maybe you could find a local DIY guy to cut for you to buy time.
He might like the extra coins

[biltor57]

yea I usually do that but that's one of the reasons im buying my own machine

[tnbndr]

my only problem is that he has a 10 week wait

It will be worth the wait.
I would just keep using your other guy for one or two jobs till you get your new LDR delivered and set up.
I was up and running within one week of getting the table home.

[biltor57]

yea they sound like a bunch of real people no BS I was thinking of going to his shop to see it running next week .
I have no one in my area with one that I know of.
So I take it your very Happy with there Machine , My one real concern was that it be user friendly
I liked the way he built it looks like a hi end machine with a low end cost

[dhelfter]

Tnbndr,
thanks for the complement. It is easy do be a good company, when you have customers like we do!

Biltor57,
I am so sorry about our lead time. Being a small shop and doing 50-60 flat tables a year plus 3-5 "special" machines really takes a lot of time. I would love to promise you a machine quicker, but that means others would have to wait. As we spoke about yesterday, the fact that you need it to cut parts asap I highly recommend you look for a cad program and start learning it. It has been our experience that cad is the learning curve. Regardless of what or who's machine you buy you have to at some point get the idea in your head in to the computer! This is typically (not always) done with some sort of cad. Many machines use a specific cad, others such as ours allow you to use any cad program you are proficient in. If you have your need parts in cad, you can be cutting real quick once a machine arrives at your location. I would check out arc light, I have heard many wonderful things about their machine. Also did you check out precision plasma for their gantry kits? That may be your quickest way to get a table. As they say in performance engine building "Good, Fast, or Cheap Pick any Two"!
Dan
LDR Motion Systems

[plain ol Bill]

Some advice - do your due diligence in researching the equipment. Remember what your Mama always told you "you get what you pay for" IE: cheap ain't cheap in the long run. Look at the specs for the machines you like, talk to other owners (a company building quality equipment should be more than willing to provide references). As said before get all the financial protection you can and using a credit card is a good tip. User friendly is going to depend a lot on how much CNC experience you have. If you are a complete novice I don't think any system is going to be too user friendly without some training, head scratching, liberal amounts of bad language and letting your scrap pile grow higher by the day.
Pushed for time? Again good advice in this thread is to let someone else do your cutting before rushing into something. If you were close I would help you out but I think freight might be just a tad too much

[dhelfter]

Great point. People need to find the machine that fits their needs. And cheap is not always cheap in the long run, but then again just because something costs more does not always mean it is any better!
Dan
LDR Motion Systems

[biltor57]

If it a matter of freight I might be able to pick it up were are you located
And I understand it's a learning curve I think what I mean about hittin the ground running I mean I get the machine and am able to hook it up and start
Not having to build myself , that I have no time for
And if you could help me It would be greatly appreciated
Thank you

[muzza]

Tnbndr,
I would check out arc light, I have heard many wonderful things about their machine. Also did you check out precision plasma for their gantry kits? That may be your quickest way to get a table. As they say in performance engine building "Good, Fast, or Cheap Pick any Two"!
Dan
LDR Motion Systems

A comment like this also is clear evidence of the type of people you would be dealing with at LDR, it's not often you will see a manufacturer recommend opposition companies to help solve your delivery time problem, and to see how far beyond that Dan and his crew have gone to help Travis in his unfortunate situation demonstrates what sort of service you will get down the track.

Yes it may cost you a little in freight and lost margin in the early part but that could be recuperated fairly shortly rather than buying a compromise for the sake of a few weeks. If it can't, you don't have enough in it to justify the purchase.
While on quotes from our parents, one of my fathers that always stuck with me

"Better to pay too much and lose a little than to pay too little and lose a lot"
Murray

[tnbndr]

10 weeks is not that long of a wait and you are wasting time if you are not on LDR's build list right now. With them being so close you will save shipping and handling costs and have support and training locally.!!!!
I know there are guys on this forum located in NY, PA that I would think would cut for you if the return is right. You stated in an earlier post that "I usually do that" so I assumed you already had someone plasma cutting for you but now wanted to do it on your own. What kind of parts are you cutting? Art? Auto?
If you can't work something out with Plain ol Bill, I might be willing to cut for you if it is within my capabilities. I am located in Wisconsin. If the parts are small Flat Rate USPS is reasonable.
Good luck and to answer your questions, YES, I am quite pleased with my LDR table and the service from Dan.

[plain ol Bill]

Plain ol Bill is just about 3000 miles away - don't think the delivery charges would be nice.

[btburn]

I looked at several and decided on my Dynatorch Super B 4x4. They have larger sizes and I believe it should be right around your budget with everything. It will be hard to find anywhere that doesn't have at least a month wait plus shipping.
I love mine. I had absolutely zero experience with CNC anything and it was pretty straight forward after learning a few basic things. Every one at Dynatorch was awesome as well. Great service a an excellent machine.

[biltor57]

I looked at several and decided on my Dynatorch Super B 4x4. They have larger sizes and I believe it should be right around your budget with everything. It will be hard to find anywhere that doesn't have at least a month wait plus shipping.
I love mine. I had absolutely zero experience with CNC anything and it was pretty straight forward after learning a few basic things. Every one at Dynatorch was awesome as well. Great service a an excellent machine.

I was actually considering dynatorch but I also like the Bultear and ldr

[acourtjester]

It has not been said what size the parts you need cut are but I have been cutting parts and shipping them in Priority mail boxes. Remember their ad states if it fits it ships I have Medium boxes with over 25 pounds no problem. I am not soliciting your business but others here have like I said before it may buy you time.

[biltor57]

thank you I appreciate the offer

[jessechop]

LDR was my first choice also since they are close-ish to me. I could of picked it up myself and did the training. At the time he had a 12 week lead time and I just couldn't do that. I tried to spin it every which way I could but it just wasn't going to work. Thus I went Arclight.

However, LDR was very promt. He actually responded to an email, on a Sunday following Christmas. That really said a lot to me. But like I said, I just couldn't make the 12 week wait work for me.

[tnbndr]

couldn't make the 12 week wait work for me

So what is the lead time at Arclight? Delivered to your door?

I am sure you won't be dissapointed in the Arclight, they were originally my first choice for a table. Then I researched LDR and they became my first choice with Arclight coming in a close second. I wasn't worried about lead time (12 weeks also) as I had spent almost 2 years researching tables, what the hell was a couple more months going to hurt.!

[jessechop]

couldn't make the 12 week wait work for me

So what is the lead time at Arclight? Delivered to your door?

I am sure you won't be dissapointed in the Arclight, they were originally my first choice for a table. Then I researched LDR and they became my first choice with Arclight coming in a close second. I wasn't worried about lead time (12 weeks also) as I had spent almost 2 years researching tables, what the hell was a couple more months going to hurt.!

3 week lead time , so probably 4 weeks total I am guessing. I am getting laid off from my job and have vacation, severance and sick time to pay me for a few months. I was hoping to take that time to set up everything from the business side, thus when I go back to work all will be set with the table.

[cstroke]

What did you end up doing?
Curious minds want to know LOL..

[Diesel]

What did you end up doing?
Curious minds want to know LOL..

Ask and ye shall receive...

Thus I went Arclight.

Arclight was (is?) in the running, but I'm still saving my lunch money for an LDR 5x10.

(on edit: Precision Plasma gantry kit was in the running, but I want to cut parts - not learn how to assemble and maintain a table. I'm interested in all of that, but the need to plug-n-play overrules the need to tinker. Also, Dynatorch is still in the running. Used ones come up for sale from time to time and they're solid machines.)

I can buy an LDR table now, but I'm still saving for the Powermax 85...

Patiently waiting,

Matt

[keldanmedia]

Hypertherm is the way to go along with THC torch height control system.

One thing I took for granted was my compressed air delivery system - make sure you have plenty of bone dry air. Assuming you have a spot cleared out out for the machine, get all your power in place including a properly installed 8 ft. copper ground rod as part of your tables Earth Ground system for managing plasma RF/HF.

I'm located in the Poconos, Pennsylvania and can cut 4 x 4 sheets of 1/2" if your still in need.

As others mentioned, take the plunge into the Design > CAD > CAM workflow.

$15K will get you into a very nice table. Hypertherm is the best chance any novice has at getting quality, predictable results from the get-go.

Best,

Steve Keller

[superdutypower]

I just jump into plasma cnc world and pick mine up 3 weeks ago from ldr.Great price,customer service and a very well built table you can not go wrong