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Posted on Feb 07, 2007 - 1:31am by John P. in Computing, Reviews, Tools
This site has been getting a lot of visitors from the search engines due to my previous posts about the PlasmaCAM CNC Plasma Cutting Machine.
These visits have translated into quiet a few questions coming in via my contact form. Several people considering the purchase of a PlasmaCAM have received the DVD from them and have been asking me how much of it is true. After all, Stan makes it sound so easy to start creating anything you can imagine from metal with this machine. ;-)
As a result, I’m going to walk you through the video step-by-step and provide analysis to help separate fiction from fact.
If you’d like to print this out to keep handy while you are watching the video use the Print this Post feature (also at the bottom of the article) to format it a little better for that purpose.
For convenience I’ve embedded an excerpt of the video from the DVD.
If you would like the full DVD please contact PlasmaCAM and I’m sure they’ll be happy to ship you one out.
Let’s Get Started!
Below you’ll find the time marker in minutes and seconds, followed by my opinion on the issue presented at that time.
0:00 – 1:00: The DVD starts off with some shots of a wide range of parts and completed projects all cut by the PlasmaCAM.
Yes, it did cut all that stuff, though the pieces you are seeing have also been welded, finished and powder coated.
1:15: We first hear Stan Ferris’ voice asking:
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you could make these kinds of products with only a small amount of effort?”
Well, yes Stan, that would be nice! But frankly you can’t. Most of the projects shown required a considerable amount of artistic creation, which translates into hours and hours of digitizing followed by a considerable amount of cutting, welding, grinding and powder coating.
Metal fabrication is a dirty, sweaty, hot, dangerous, capital intensive business and should only be attempted by people who have adequate training.
Personally I’m a trained welder, blacksmith, bladesmith and power hammer operator. I had over a years worth of experience operating a plasma torch before I ever purchased a PlasmaCAM, and without it I’d have had major problems getting this machine to operate at times. I’ve also taken college level AutoCAD courses and am an expert with CorelDraw for graphic illustration.
1:51: Stan introduces himself as a:
“…nuts and bolts kind of guy…” who “…under normal circumstances I would not have tried to operate a computer controlled machine….”
Well, here are a couple of comments to get us started:
If you are not computer savvy, do NOT purchase a PlasmaCAM. There is very little instruction regarding the use of the actual software, and the info provided comes in the form of a written manual.
There is a small amount of video instruction, but PlasmaCAM desperately needs to create video tutorials on how to use the features of this product. There is simply nowhere near the amount of training material available that I think there should be.
You are not going to want to use the PlasmaCAM software to create designs unless you absolutely have to. Think of it just as a clean-up and cutting package.
2:57:
“The robotic cutting table plugs into your computer just like a printer.”
Not true anymore.
100% of the printers sold today plug into your computer using either a USB, Ethernet, or Wireless connection. The PlasmaCAM plugs in using the old style parallel port connection, and when I was setting my machine up this was the greatest source of issues. I had to call and get support from George (who is awesome!) to get mine working.
This is a bigger problem than you might think… Since the machine requires a parallel port you have to use a computer that has a parallel port built in. This will exclude many of the PCs available today and all of the laptops.
You cannot use a USB to Parallel port converter as it won’t work. If you purchase a PC without a parallel port then you’ll have to order an add in card, and these are almost impossible to find now days as well.
Make sure you have this covered before you purchase a PlasmaCAM!
Commentary:
PlasmaCAM is well behind the curve in the connectivity arena. Not only should the machine offer USB connectivity, it should really have a wireless NIC installed that allows us to control the machine over 802.11x.
Either of these would bring the machine into the modern age, but wireless would be vastly preferable.
3:00:
“The machine uses your ordinary plasma torch to do the cutting. It’s easy to remove in case you need to cut by hand.”
Well, kind of. If by “easy” you mean “possible”. But it involves disconnecting cables, cutting plastic tie downs, plugging in adapters, remounting and calibrating things… You’re not going to really want to remove the torch unless you absolutely have to.
3:32: What Stan is demonstrating is not something you’re ever going to see happen in the real world. He’s taken a perfectly printed photo of a single leaf, on a completely white background and scanned it. He is then converting all of the colors except the white background to black, essentially creating a single filled in shape.
Let’s look at a more realistic example. Here is a little key shaped bottle opener that I designed by sketching it on drawing paper with a pencil.
Next, you select the size of “holes” for the software to try to fill in, and the size of random “speckles” for it to delete.
Next you choose the resolution and smoothing for the image, which in this case won’t make a bit of a difference.
Finally you have the imported image which, in this case – and most others, is going to require a LOT of editing before it is even close to ready to cut. We’re talking about hours of editing.This whole process can be completed in 1/10th the time using CorelDraw. So if you don’t know how to use it go find a graphic art course at your local community college and learn Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw.
3:55: Scaling, rotation, cut path creation, copying and moving the image are actually as easy as they say. That is not to say they couldn’t use some improvement…
Commentary
One of my biggest disappointments is that there hasn’t been a single software update since I purchased the machine, despite the fact that there are a number of areas that could be improved.
This fact, combined with the lack of USB or wireless connectivity support leads me to believe that software development at PlasmaCAM has ceased.
And this is one of my greatest sources of concern for the longevity of this product. All of PlasmaCAM’s competitors release frequent updates and improvements to their installed user base.
5:10: Frankly I do not believe that they were able to cut that entire sheet of leaves out automatically and unattended.
5:17: Interestingly, I can’t find Cash Metals on the Internet anywhere. I must have Googled for 15 minutes with no luck. I even paused the video on the pages of their catalog and searched for product names, but nothing turns up.
Despite that, I believe that everything John Cash stated was accurate.
6:35: It’s really a shame that they don’t have a video library that shows how to use all the features they are demonstrating here. It would have made learning how to use the software so much easier…
9:05: Ok, this is important to note. Between the times the machine cut the sign out and Stan picked it up, it was obviously moved from a production area machine to the machine in the video.
The plasma cutting process spits out dust and smoke in copious quantities! The floor beneath the machine would be burned and filthy, and there is no ventilation system present. Finally, without gloves, Stan would not be able to pick up that metal seconds after the machine finished cutting.
Commentary
You need to be aware that any plasma cutting process, including the PlasmaCAM, puts out a ton of airborne particulate matter that requires adequate ventilation.
When I went to the PlasmaCAM headquarters outside of Denver and got a demonstration of the machine they had it in a really cool little room that had ducting which vented the machine to the outside of the building.
If you are going to get a plasma cutting machine you need to plan to put it in an area where you can blow all of the smoke and dust either outside or through an expensive air filtration system.
9:10: Here’s a link to find more info about Dan Romano. He’s a metal artist and the things he makes are close to what I do. I agree with everything he said.
11:22: This is the best example in the video of what I was talking about when I said that small or unusually shaped parts would not quite fall through the grates. Notice that the piece which was just finished tilts up and is sticking up above the surface of the original material.
If the machine attempts to move over that area, which it might well do on its way to cutting something else, it will collide and screw everything up royally.
A collision of this sort will bend the piece that is sticking up, knock the torch head out of alignment, move the base material -making it difficult to line back up and restart cutting, and potentially even ruin the torch tip ($15 wasted instantly). I’ve also had the entire torch head assembly pop off the unit during one collision with thick material.
Bottom line, this is not good… the only way I can think of to solve this issue is to have a tighter mesh of grates to hold the material, but neither PlasmaCAM nor anyone else I’m aware of have yet solved this problem.
11:39: I’ve not yet tested the indexing of parts longer than 4 feet yet, mainly because I’m scared of ruining a large, expensive piece of steel. Whenever I do test it, I’ll post about it, but if anyone else has tried please provide some comments below.
Remember, you can cut things longer than 4′ but not wider than 4′! So, a 3.5′x7′ sign would work, but a 4′2″x 5′ would not. The table is a square 4′x4′.
13:21: Stan claims,
“This part is being drawn to exact dimensions in only 14 seconds.”
There is something strange with the video here, because Stan claims it’s just 14 seconds, but when I play it back it’s more like 11 seconds. This makes it seem as if the video has been time compressed.
Additionally, they would have to be typing in lengths – while creating the part – in order to make it “exact”, so I just don’t see anyone being able to go that fast.
11:15: Some people have asked about the thickness capability of the PlasmaCAM. Here we see it cutting 3/8″ thick material. Later you’ll see 1″. The thickness of cut is going to be determined by your selection of plasma torch, not the PlasmaCAM.
I use a Hypertherm 1000 which will cut at least 1″ thick material. But keep in mind that the thicker the material, the more it weighs. And you have to be able to load the sheet on the machine…
14:02: Jim LaTour from Turbo Engineering Corp provides good examples of what the machine can do. For his type of business the machine is perfect.
Conclusion
There is far more content on the DVD that I’m not going to go through. But if you are interested in seeing it, by all means contact PlasmaCAM and order the DVD. They’ll be happy to send it to you.
Now, I know this review comes across as being fairly harsh on the PlasmaCAM video, but please keep a few things in mind:
Frankly, there is a short list that will let you know if a PlasmaCAM is right for you:
I hope that this information was useful. If so, please drop me a comment below to let me know. :-)
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ps….. also looking fr a key board that dnt have a sticky “O” buttn
regarding the marketing video, its like watching an ad for a brand new car,,, it shows it cruising down the road at a distance,,,, looks so simple,,,, but if you couldnt drive, you wouldnt be jsut jumping in and be flying down the road,,, you have to learn to operate a car,,, and also learn the car itself, before you would be cruisin…..
John,
I know what you mean about a sales video. I used to run the PlasmaCAM machine our company had. We bought it for the same reasons… compact. After getting the machine, I was extremely pleased with how easy it was to set up and use. I did have an advantage though. I had taken CAD courses in the community college long before I ever got the machine. To this day, I am still happy with that machine. Like you , my only drawbacks are the lack of USB support and software upgrades (although the software is very easy to use as is!). I have a friend who is thinking about buying a PlasmaCAM and I am trying to sell him on it as hard as I can. (Hope you are listening PlasmaCAM!) Smoke is definitly a problem that has to be solved by the user as well as the size of the Plasma Cutter.
I now operate an OMAX waterjet and a large Multicam Plasma cutter. The OMAX is truly a great machine to use. The MultiCAM… well lets just say I was much happier with the PlasmaCAM!
Tip ups are always a problem with cutting machines. The best solution is to add small tabs to hold the pieces in until all the cutting is done (by now I a, sure you know this). This is not always necessary, but good planning can prevent wasted materials.
Just keep communicating with the user groups and they will teach any new user a lot.
In conclusion,
For the money and size, The PlasmaCAM is the best choice!!!
Richard
John you did a good job with the review. I have had a PlasmaCam for 3 1/2 years and have done some complex shapes. I have been very happy with this machine. I import my stuff from cad program. I have done a small amount of drawing from within the program it leaves much to be said. I think it is about the same as AutoCad which is hard to learn. My machine has saved me time and money i use to buy all my cutouts from the local steel warehouse and had to wait a week. Now i do it all myself. As for cutting thickness PlasmaCam says 1″ is the thickest yuou can cut. I have a Miller Specturm 1000 80 Amps i can cut 1″ but the machine will only pirece 5/8 materail so you have to keep that in mind.
I would really like to see this product functioning before I consider moving to the next stage of my research.
Can anyone provide a name and contact method for a PlasmaCam owner/user in the Reno, Nevada area?
I agree that the machine is great, The people a plasma cam are helpfull.
The manuel is almost useless. I have the machine in my high school metal shop and trying to keep it going in that enviroment is difficult with the level of students. If you want to cut out an piece that is already on file its great. Try and draw something and your their for hours.
I was initally struggling with the software with regard to doing drawings, i actually prefer to use the plasmacam software as opposed to solidworks, once you have figured out ways to size or make some item to particular shape you have to approcach it methodically and by using lines and midpoints with circles, copy lines etc you can draw pretty quickly, i would use solidworks if i was making a machine or item that needed to bolt or weld together as a assembly, but for one off odd brackets the plasmacam is pretty good.
I’ve had a Plasmacam for more than 7 years. In reading this review I can remember back to my own learning curve. Owning a PC can be very frustrating at first but the is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s my 2 cents: Join the Yahoo PC group and read read read. Insist on being able to visit w/a present owner to speed up the initial learning curve. If you call PC for help, speak w/George only! As frustrated as you might be, don’t be a whiney dick to him. He’s a very good guy who cares. Make friends w/aPC owner like me and ask lots of questions.
I do welding and fabrication. For me the software is awesome. I use a Hypertherm 900 and I’d strongly recommend this company for product quality and cust serv.. There is not such thing as “set it and forget it” you baby sit these things and that’s the way it is. Don’t use drag tips. They don’t work. Most of all, you have to understand that these machines (like so many other machines) have a marketing “sweet spot” where they are of the most value to potential custs. Your job is to find a version that fits your style and go with it.
I would sell every other piece of my welding equipment before I sold that PC.
First off, love this blog. I am a metal shop teacher and looking at buying one of these machines. This website is the most useful one I have found so far. If you wouldn’t mind, I would appreaciate you emailing me so I can ask you a few questions. If anyone else has opinions on this machine rather positive or negetative, please email me as well. mstauth@usd266.com. Before I spend this much money, I want to make darn sure this is a wise investment. Thanks, Mark
Well I must be the only one who has had problems with this piece of crap; in the two years I’ve owned this thing I have had to replace the control box twice ($500 a pop). I had to buy a new computer, parallel port cable plus the new 1.2 version, even after all this the first time I try to connect I get an error signal from the Plasma-cam software. I have struggled for two days after my regular job to troubleshoot this thing so I call Plasma-cam to ask for tech help I am told that I have to pay $200 for tech help for 90 days. What a load of SHIT!!. I have had enough. I am looking for someone to help me get this thing running so I can sell it. I can be reached at MillerWeldMach@aol.com
I must agree with you miller!,
After i had plasma cam send me a video on how it work’s & how simple it look’s to use, i purchased this machine. Let me say to you all out there before you buy. This machine is very complicating, you need to have experience in computer skill’s & cad drawing. There is also alot of problem’s with this machine. You can be hour’s & hour’s on this thing, let alone the money you will be spending on sheet’s of metal just to practice on. My machine is sitting here doing nothing & will be putting it up for sale, it’s still new & only done demo time. Thanx. Nick.
Thank you for all the info. I am just getting started and I have no plasma cutting experience or welding experience (my hubby does). I have taught myself quite a bit but I know I have tons to learn. I will be visiting your site often and posting my questions. Thanx again. Karen
I just started cutting and I’m having a prob. with slag in some spots, clean cutting in others on the same piece. Also, I can’t figure out how to connect the start and stop point. I’ve changed some settings but one piece cuts out fine and another piece won’t. Can somebody give me some pointers? Thanx. Karen
So I have seen the PC 180/mo pricing scheme but i can’t find the bottom line price on it. How much do one of these cost?
Hey John P., I may have some helpful information to keep the pieces from falling in or sticking up. I ran and programed a waterjet for a few years, and it has the same problems. However, the parts just don’t fall on the floor, they would fall into a three-foot deep tank of water, sand, and other sharp cutouts. To solve this problem, we set the lead-in / lead-outs a 1/16th to an 1/8th inch apart to keep the parts from falling in or out. Later, we would just by hand break the parts loose and finish the edges, since you have to anyways. I thought this might help. :) -Jesse J
OK, I’ve done some MIG welding in the past and would like to purchase this machine. I have taken a business program at the local college and would like to start a home based business. I’m not looking for exact figures but would like to know how long it took plasmacam owners to get a full time business established and approximate incomes to look forward to.
Is this better suited as a hobby, part time, or full time business.
Any and all experiences with the plasmacam, good or bad, would be appreciated!
I can be reached at: predatoryarcher@yahoo.ca Thank you for your time!
To anyone who is thinking of purchasing a plasmacam, might want to do there home work very carefully.
I can think of alot of other thing’s where you can spend your money on than this machine. If you live outside of the USA & somthing break’s on this machine, you are up shit creek, cost you & arm & a leg to replace part’s. When your warranty run’s out, you are on your own, or if you call plasma cam they charge you a ridicoulous fee, what a joke!!
Just a quick thank you for your time and effort. I am in the beginning stages of looking at these machines and the information you have provided is incredibly helpful.
I am looking for someone in North Carolina or surrounding area that has a plasma cam that I can come watch and learn. If anyone can help please email me at rfarrington@triad.twcbc.com
HOWDY, HAVE PURCHED A USED PLASMACAM , LIKE NEW , NEED HELP , ANYONE INTERESTED IN A BARTER, LESSONS FOR A VACATION IN PUERTO VALLARTA,MEXICO , MAIL ME —-RON
I’m in Denver and I’m a customer – not a buyer. I need to have shapes cut out of approx 3/16 steel for a prototype I’m working on
If you can help or direct me please email Peter at Finboats@Gmail.Com
Thanks!
Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your comments and input about the PC Table and it’s Demo Video. I sold my older PC unit a couple years ago due to relocating across the States. However, I just purchased another used but newer model PC DHC table and believe me, I find it a bit more time consumming and fustrating to get started up and cutting. Looks like one has to set the metal thickness into the program setting and then do alot of additional checking and setting insertions just to get the machine to start cutting. Believe me when I say that my older model table sure didn’t take so much wo get started and I’d be willing to trade this newer table for the older model anyday. And yes John, you are so right about the flaws and hidden scenes in the video, but just remember everyone, it’s also just a sales pitch and one should view the PC Table in action before purchasing one. But I must add, that I do enjoy and would prefer the PC over other models. Now that I said this, I would like to add that I am a bit confused on inserting the new settings needed to get the right commands to make the newer model table to cut, or should I say “continue to cut”. I am using a Miller Spectrum 2050 cutter on a 2 yr. old table. It makes the first cut just fine but the torch does not drop back down to the correct Peirce Point Height on the following cuts, and I have to return to the settings and redo the settings. This newer model needs “Arc Voltage Shift’ settings, ect. that are confusing me. If anyone out there is using the PC table with the Spectrum 2050 cutter and can advise me with a few hints, I would deeply appreciate it. Having a printout chart of the material thicknesses and the settings I should be using would be a great help for me to get used to the new program. Please email RWARDLL@dobsonteleco.com for your information. Thanks to all & may God Bless.
Correct me if I’m wrong , but I believe they use a parallel port because it is capable of high speed real time BI directional communication without buffering. If they used usb and most certainly WIFI there would be information buffering that would cause the system to either stop or get lost while cutting.
Much the same as trying to play a game online like Call of Duty, by the time you decide to shoot the guy in front of you you were already dead 2 seconds ago.
USB uses the same 2 wires to send and receive information, there for does not do both at the same time. The PlasmaCam system probably does not store any movement commands in the PlasmaCam controller it relies on the computer for that.
i have experienced everything you have commented on in the blog. my problem at hand right now is that i installed the new software update and now my serial port will not communicate with the controller. any ideas?
I have a friend that bought a pc because of the video. He no’s nothing of computers so he has asked for my assistance.
I am learning the ins and outs of the program and have enfoyed reading all the comments on this blog.
My question is on setting cut speeds and torch heights for different metal thicknesses? If anyone has a chart or anything that would help I would appreciate any help or advise, contact me at davidmichel06@charter.net
Thanks in advance.
I have a Plasmacam I bought used. I have never been able to make it work on a consistent basis. Usually it doesn’t work properly. It consistently forces the torch head up because the z-axis goes too far down. Then it wont cut or the bottom of the carriage drags the work around. Or worse it pulls the carriage off of the gantry. The software is garbage and the manual is a joke. In short the machine is piece of junk. I hate it and I’m sorry I bought it. One more thing I called plasmacam to get some info and they wouldn’t even talk to me unless I paid them $500. I would never recommend this thing to my worst enemy. DON’T BUY ONE. If you want any more info from me please don’t hesitate to ask. Jim
Jims comment made me chuckle as I bought used and went through the learning curve. I did not give up.
The best resource out there is the “owners only” well moderated site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Plasmapig
Jim’s problem is the Curse of Zed as I call it. For a year I cut with the DHC box unchecked and manually set the height Do not use “sense material to set height” at all. Bring the tip down to contact the plate, lower slowly using the rotary knob, and click the “Z shift” button. You will get a number like .432
Then set your “arc voltage shift” number at 1.6. NOW INITIALIZE THE TABLE.
When you start to do a test cut it will pierce and then the torch will pull up and away from the work.
Now go back and change that number from 1.6 to 1 or .87
Initialize, and do another test cut. Your torch will pierce, and pull up a little bit. Now you know you are on the right track. Keep lowering the arc voltage shift until the cut height is correct for you. Always initialize after every change of arc voltage or Z shift change. Record that number and it will be a starting point for you every time you cut that thickness of metal.
Would I ever buy another PlasmaCAM?
Yes. Would I steal or kill to get the money to do so? Maybe….
Gerry
Hello Folks
We have a Plasma Cam which is up and running fine, their many tricks to learn and we have some tricks of our own, which you have to learn on your own, we can help with what we know everyone take care and happy cutting
Ty