Comments on: PlasmaCAM Video Review – Fact vs. Fiction

By: Richard Barnes

Richard Barnes — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:05:05 +0000

John, thanks for the review. You seem to be right on target. Since your first posting have you obtained any information which might indicate Plasmacam is correcting the connectivity issues or as you indicated they’re doing no software updates at all?

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:11:23 +0000

I have been comparing and debating on getting a PlasmaCam for about the last 2 years. The only thing that is holding me up now is I would like to see one in operation before I buy. I am located just outside of Louisville, KY. If anyone reading this is remotely close I would like to come out and see it in operation.

Thanks,
Jacob

By: John P.

John P. — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:22:06 +0000

I haven’t really looked at any other units, but I’m sure that some of them use the newer interfaces on today’s machines.

Waterjets are awesome, but there are two problems. 1) very big. 2) very expensive. But if neither of those is a concern then I highly recommend picking one up.

John P.

By: Tammy McCurry

Tammy McCurry — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 03:08:27 +0000

I can not put a piece of one inch under the head of my plasmacam unless i were to remove the grate.

By: Tammy McCurry

Tammy McCurry — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 03:04:12 +0000

Have you found another unit that works better? I too have a plasmacam and I keep praying the old computer I have hooked up to it continues to run. I agree that a tutorial would have been very helpful. It seemed to be a trial and error to figure out what to do. I had previously tried changing to a newer computer and it didn’t seem to work. I was thinking of maybe upgrading to a water jet. Any comments on them? It would be great to not have the huge dust cloud everytime I cut something out.

Tammy

By: Jim Kuykendall

Jim Kuykendall — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 23:06:21 +0000

John
I have been following your post and appreciate your patience and responses. I am researching the possibilities of starting to do metal art in the next couple of years and want to get ready. I too will take some courses such as Dave Edwards has done.

Are there any businesses in the Houston Texas area that does metal art and the type of work that can be done as supplimental income? I would like to visit with them to talk about the processes and business. Also, do you ever have or let visitors stop by your place in the Dallas area?

Thanks to anyone with any info!

Jimkuy

By: Harry Field

Harry Field — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 22:52:00 +0000

I have a PlasmaCam and use a program call Canvas to do all the drawings and they import very well. I have had no success in importing photo or jpeg’s although a freeware called easy graphic will convert almost any file format to a bit map.

The new version of the machine just stops when the nozzles touches any metal.

By: storh

storh — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 04:17:34 +0000

hi John,
just a few questions if i could, lots of great information thank you for that.
how do you think the tourchmate stacks up against the plasmacam, and has plasma cam fixed any of the issues that you pointed out like port hook up and the software updates,also does tourchmate have a good program and do they have the art work like pcam does. thanks Stroh

By: John P.

John P. — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 23:33:10 +0000

Hi Dave,

Given your situation, I think the PCam is perfect for you!

As long as you are getting training on welding and plasma torch operation and you have a little design experience you should be able to work this machine without a problem!

Good luck with it!

John P.

By: Dave Edwards

Dave Edwards — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:45:51 +0000

John,
I have read most of the post regarding the PlasmaCam system and offer this scenario for your comment. I am a 60 year old(today’s 60 is the new 40) non-traditional student enrolled in a 2 year welding program at our local college in Iowa. My plan upon graduation is to open a small shop featuring small welding repairs, metal art, flag poles, and possibly small piece production contracts. I am looking at two machines, the Plasmacam and the Dynatorch. Due to start up costs i would like to go with the PlasmaCam with Hypertherm 1000. Our welding lab has a PlasmaCam that hasn’t been used in a few years but my instructor has agreed to install the new software, get the machine up and running and certify me in it’s operation over the next semester. I am computer literate and very familiar with MS Publisher, but will take Adobe Illustrator course next fall. Does this sound like a workable pursuit? I know I won’t make a ton of money, but the intent is to pay for the shop and supplement SS income.(if it’s still there in a year)
thank you,
Dave

By: John P.

John P. — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 07:04:05 +0000

Martin,

While you could train a 12 or 13 year old how to operate the machine, they didn’t own it and weren’t responsible for installing it and maintaining it.

Also, in your shop class I assume you taught them how to weld, how to use a plasma torch, etc. These are things that require instruction.

So, Michael, you CAN learn to use this machine without a doubt. But there is also a steep learning curve if you aren’t already proficient with all of the parts.

John

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:20:09 +0000

Dear Michael, you shouldn’t believe everything you read, especially on the internet. I was a junior high shop teacher and had a plasmacam in my school shop/classroom. I am here to let you know that even 12 and 13 year olds could run this machine. I would hope that if you are thinking to start any kind of business you have more education and knowledge than junior high students.

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:27:54 +0000

I am a metal fabricator and the plasma cam software was a blessing to me. I don’t have a lot of computer experience, but with a little work I picked up the plasma cam software in no time. Fortunately, I haven’t had any problems with my machine and it did work as expected right out of the box. I am very pleased with it’s performance and I thought that the machine was portrayed pretty accurately.

By: Ian Painter

Ian Painter — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 09:56:15 +0000

Can anyone tell me if PlasmaCam software is compatible with Mac.? I simply want to load the software onto my new Mac so that I can practice drawing at home to get more confident with the commands etc.etc. I don’t require the final cut paths at all. Just for practicing on. If it is possible to do this is someone able to describe the installation steps I need to take. Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers.

By: John P.

John P. — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 06:27:51 +0000

Eduardo,

The PCam will definitely cut 1″ sheet, assuming your torch is rated to do so. And the table is strong enough to support the weight. But I would recommend the Samson instead. Its the bigger brother to the PCam and would give more working room and strength for the heavier material.

http://www.samsoncnc.com/

John P.

By: Eduardo Carrillo

Eduardo Carrillo — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:59:16 +0000

Thank you for the review, I have been looking to purchase a PlasmaCAM table for some time now, I would be using the machine to cut metal plate from varying thickness 3/8″ to 1″, for structural steel buildings ( base plates, special conections, etc…), I have been using AutoCad since forever, so I don’t forsee many problems if i purchase it, the only problem would be if the table isn’t designed to support the weight of a 1″ metal plate, perhaps redesigning a new support table would be the answer, and a system for handling the heavy plates.
When i put it to work, i’ll keep you posted

Thanks

By: PlasmaCAM – Part 2 | One Man's Blog

PlasmaCAM – Part 2 | One Man's Blog — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 17:04:11 +0000

[...] will start seeing photos of new art designs I have in the works very soon!Edit: I also added a review of the PlasmaCAM sales video which many people have found useful for separating fact from fiction. [...]

By: John P.

John P. — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 16:56:07 +0000

David, Glad it helped. As far as the residential garage is concerned, no it doesn't work well. But it works (I've got mine in my garage). There are caveats:

You do need really tolerant neighbors. Mine think my machine is cool, but it could have gone the other way, and I bet the local authorities wouldn't be pleased...
You have to have a 220 outlet in the garage for your plasma torch. You'll need another for your big ass air compressor. I paid over $1,000 to bring these into my garage as most don't have them.
You need a lot of room to store materials and be able to move around the work area. I've got a bigger than normal garage. I wouldn't recommend it for a standard 2 car garage.

As far as cutting sheet metal, I assume you mean very thin material as all the PCam cuts is sheet metal. My experience is that it will cut any thickness you like and do it repeatably and perfectly as long as you have the settings correct. The software does not import things well. It is extremely limited. I normally do all of the image work in CorelDraw or AutoCAD and then only give the PCam software a DXF format that is essentially complete. I use it ONLY to make cut paths. Hope that helps. John P.

By: David Hart

David Hart — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:22:57 +0000

John, your PCam review is a tremendous help. Thanks for the effort!

I have been looking at CNC plasma cutters for about 6 weeks. I’ve been considering starting a small metal fab business. Although I have a lot of computer experience (software development) I have only some high school metalworking experience (and that was 40 years ago!).

I have been favoring the PCam. Your second-by-second review of the video magnified its usefulness and was very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to web publish this info. Many of the issues you mention in the review I suspected such as easy cuts, short demo segments, and post-processed products displayed as if they were just cut. And, there were some issues I didn’t consider fully such as heavy dust/smoke, need for serious ventilation, and possible head-crashes of the plasma torch with teetering material cuts.

I now think that this would not work well for a residential garage (my first thought) unless I lived in an area where neighbors didn’t live too close together.

Can other tools be attached to the PCam (routers or cutters for soft materials, like plastic, wood)?

What are your thoughts using a PCam for cutting sheet metal?

Can the PCam software import a wide variety of image types and convert them to svg images (I assume it uses svg images)?

P.S. Now this may sound silly but it was really quite helpful. I bought a Cricket (inexpensive CNC paper cutter for scrapbookers) and that gave me some insights into how CNC machines may behave if the material is improperly placed, shifts, or pops up while the machine is cutting. I also learned how to design the image to slightly overlap some shapes to make the overall piece stronger and eliminate some cuts.

By: Stephen Wright

Stephen Wright — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:37:31 +0000

Can you let us know if anyone in Australia has a plasmacam or samson 510 model that we can speak to.