Smooth or choppy radius?

[TheRookie]

Hi all,

I am very new to plasma tables. Also new to forums. Very excited about the possibilities with plasma. Just wondering if radius of cuts are smooth or choppy in general. Can the settings be fine tuned to eliminate the chop? For example when I cut a circle(various diameters) the cut reminds me of a stop sign. (Not as pronounced but definitely some angles instead of radius.)

Thanks in advance
TheRookie

[plasmanewbie]

Hey Rookie, you can obtain very smooth rads with plasma cutting. If your rads/curves are a series of short straight lines strung together then something is wrong with the output settings in the software.

[TheRookie]

Thank you for that. Is that something I can adjust myself or would I need to contact the software manufacturers? I have been told that I will have problems with some fonts over others. Is this true?

[tcaudle]

"corner cutting" or "Corner Rounding" is not the toolpath as defined by the CAM program (G-Code). Its a result of the Trajectory Planner of the software , some settings and (more than anything) the performance of the table/ Tables that cannot cut a shape like its drawn may have low acceleration capabilities . Much like a race car on a winding course, it has to be able to decelerate and accelerate in and out of turns. The tighter the turn the more acceleration it takes to keep the speeds up. Some trajectory planners give preference of speed over tracking (meaning they allow the tool to deviate from the actual path and cut the corner or to swing out and round the corner. The lower the capability of the table the more pronounced the effect.

While its always better to have clean artwork with fewer nodes it won't make the machine follow a toolpath it simply cannot at the speeds called for.

More information about the hardware and software will lead to possible solutions.

[TheRookie]

I am still making adjustments to my table and was able to get very clean circles today. I will continue with adjustments to eliminate operator error befor getting to involved in software trajectory. I will research acceleration and deceleration to see if I can fine tune to my preferences.

Thank you for the information.
TheRookie

[acourtjester]

For testing you should attach an ink pen to your torch or mount and use it to draw on paper. That way you can see the effects of your adjustments with a fine line without wasting metal.
http://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.p ... en#p114899

[TheRookie]

Great idea. I attached a soap stone to the torch to make crosshairs. The intersecting lines checked square but when I cut a 6x6 square I am not so square. Out at least 1/6" in 6"