Longevity

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kol80
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Longevity

Post by kol80 »

Need some advice . I am looking at the longevity brand plasma cutter. anyone has had any experience with this brand? here is the machine that I am interested in:

http://www.longevity-inc.com/plasma-cutter/forcecut-40d

they offer a good warranty and its in my price range for the playing around that I will be doing with it. what you guys think?
suttoncnc
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Re: Longevity

Post by suttoncnc »

I run a 42i Longevity. I could not be happier with my purchase. But, this is a new design for them and greatly improved over the older previous models from what i have been told. The 42i series plasma cutter integrates very well into CANDCNC controls and THC system using a 14 pin CNC connector. I am not sure how you might go about integration of an older Longevity plama cutter with a CNC table without a pretty good hack job and buying other modules to get the signals that you will need. I can run my longevity all day cutting machine parts with it and it has not even hinted at a failure or reaching the duty cycle limit. I know that others here have tried the longevity plasma cutters in the past and the feedback that I picked up was not very positive?

Scott
weldor2005
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Re: Longevity

Post by weldor2005 »

Search youtube for the channel weld.com and search that for longevity plasma cutter, he does a demo.
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jimcolt
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Re: Longevity

Post by jimcolt »

My suggestion for you is....especially if your budget is below the going price for major brand plasma cutters......look at the low cost plasma cutters (all imported, usually Chinese) that come from established suppliers like Harbor Freight, Eastwood Co., and Northern Tool. These companies all have far superior service, after sale support and established warranty coverage as compared to the online only suppliers like the system you mention. Many of the import Chinese units look very similar to each other but have different brand names. There is no factory support....so you will need to rely on the seller to back the product up if there are issues after you buy it. The torches are sourced separately from the power supply (unlike the major companies that design and build and support the entire system)....and are generally of older technology with shorter consumable life.

Still, if you are a part time hobbyist that needs a plasma cutter....these units do cut metal.

Another approach to getting into plasma cutting is to be patient and watch craigslist for second hand major brand units....often they will be the same price or cheaper than the import...yet they will definitely cut better and will provide longer consumable life. Further, a used major brand will have factory support for many years...tech service phone lines are free, internal parts are available for many years, and there is a huge difference in performance.

Good units to look for are: Hypertherm Powermax30 (can be bought new for under $1000), Powermax600, powermax1000, Powermax45. I recently saw a 3 year old Powermax30 on the NH Craigslist for under $600.

Jim Colt
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yeomansjon
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Re: Longevity

Post by yeomansjon »

jimcolt wrote:...Another approach to getting into plasma cutting is to be patient and watch craigslist for second hand major brand units....often they will be the same price or cheaper than the import...yet they will definitely cut better and will provide longer consumable life. Further, a used major brand will have factory support for many years...tech service phone lines are free, internal parts are available for many years, and there is a huge difference in performance.

Good units to look for are: Hypertherm Powermax30 (can be bought new for under $1000), Powermax600, powermax1000, Powermax45. I recently saw a 3 year old Powermax30 on the NH Craigslist for under $600.

Jim Colt
I second that, wait for a deal on a brand name setup and it will be the biggest avoided headache and aggravation you'll never know you might have had.

I watched Craigslist for 3 months and found a used package deal, Plasmacam 4x4 DHC and Hypertherm Powermax 1000, and rolling toolbox with computer and monitor mounted all for $5k. Its an older setup, but in my opinion it works fantastic and I'm now (after 9 months of playing) am producing metal work that compares to big name brands and stuff you see at Cabelas and custom shops that have been in the business for years. I've seen other non-brand name hobby plasma's and they do not cut nearly the quality that a good system does. And again, a used brand name system costs the same or less and is higher quality... if your patient. If I need parts (which I haven't yet) or consumables for the HT Pmax 1k, I drive to the local welding place and get whatever I need. If I need parts for the Pcam, I order online and have within a couple days. Can you get that with the Chinese stuff?
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suttoncnc
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Re: Longevity

Post by suttoncnc »

These companies all have far superior service, after sale support and established warranty coverage as compared to the online only suppliers like the system you mention

At this point with my purchase I will have to respectfully disagree with Jim. I have been in touch with the president of Longevity via emails and he seems accessible and helpful. Granted I have not had any problems directly related to the plasma cutter yet and time will tell. The torch off issues that I had early on turned out not to be the torch as several Hypertherm guys have had and continue to have the same problem. The issue was wire routing/grounding causing noise on the torch control signal wire. One day I will probably move up to a Hypertherm unit as I am confident that they offer a superior product, but with my 1 datum point of reference all has been well so far with Longevity.

Scott
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Re: Longevity

Post by Metriccar »

It would be interesting to see a side by side comparison of a hypertherm and longevity. I'm sure the longevity can cut thicknesses it advertises and I saw a YouTube video by chucke2000 (I believe that's his name) cutting thick metal by hand. I'm interested in what bevel and edge finish one could expect with a longevity. I looked at their 14 page instruction manual (makes hypertherm's manual look like a bible in comparison) and I think there is only one nozzle available. The tech to have multiple amp nozzles can't be that difficult? I know with my hypertherm there is a big difference in edge finish depending on what nozzle I use. I couldn't imagine not having this capability.
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