holy sheet! expensive!

[markfrewin]

Hi, Ive been running plasmas for over 15 years for my job, esab, farleys and mostly kinetics up to 400 amps. Lately here in Australia there has been a massive downturn in mining work resulting in me bieng made redundant twice in 12 months.
I was looking at getting myself a small cnc plasma like a plasmacam 1200x1200 dhc2, just got off the phone to the business selling them here in Queensland, for what i wanted, a single phase machine including the plasma, pc software etc was about $27000, wasnt expecting that!!!!!
What are you guys in the states or the UK paying?

[cbassjr]

Don't know if arclight is over there or not but have been really been pleased with mine not only price but tech support and the videos they do. Uploaded mine off the truck and followed the quick setup and was test cutting in about 30 minutes. Not sure what the exchange rate is but mine with shipping was around $17,000.00 US. But I also upgraded to a larger plasma cutter and also ordered the tubing cutter.

[markfrewin]

Cool ill have a look into that

[motoguy]

In August, my Bulltear/Starlab 6x12 was $16,400 for the table, and another $4100 for a Power max 85 with 50' machine lead and CPC serial port. Right around $20,500 combined. Mach 3, sheetcam, bobcad, CandCNC controls (ethercut, ohmic sensing) etc.

[jimcolt]

A 4 x 4 DHC2 with advanced Design Edge and Advanced height control is around $14,700 here in the USA. A Hypertherm Powermax65 with machine torch is around $3400. Add a good torch mount (www.snapncut.com) and interface cable for about $325 more and you come to about $18,425.

Factor in shipping to Australia, Exchange rate (bad right now) as well as any duties and that is the reason for the price. I like to think back just a few years when the lowest price cnc plasma table was about $60k in the USA. The PlasmaCam is a better machine and has better software than those earlier machines and at a bargain price.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

[muzza]

Even when the dollar was at parity Metalform (the Australian Plasmacam distributor) were quoting that sort of price for the same thing. When they got the distributorship of Plasmacam the price of owning one in Australia doubled overnight. About that time we were looking at upgrading from a 4x4 Plasmacam and their pricing combined with the problems we had with dealing with Plasmacam saw us go in a different direction and we haven't regretted it one bit or looked back in any way.
There has never been more options for setting up a cnc plasma cutter, check a few out and you will discover that you can buy a lot of table for your dollars.
Murray

[beefy]

Even when the dollar was at parity Metalform (the Australian Plasmacam distributor) were quoting that sort of price for the same thing. When they got the distributorship of Plasmacam the price of owning one in Australia doubled overnight. About that time we were looking at upgrading from a 4x4 Plasmacam and their pricing combined with the problems we had with dealing with Plasmacam saw us go in a different direction and we haven't regretted it one bit or looked back in any way.
Murray

I know of a guy who got a 4x4 plasmacam with a 1650 Hypertherm and he imported it himself from the US. Let's just say the savings were substantial. It didn't have that "C" approval sticker or whatever it is but he doesn't care and it does the same job.

One thing I've experienced way too much with businesses here is greed, dishonesty, shit service, and not honoring warranties. I've been bitten more than once by them and I'll happily buy from overseas until they get their act together. I have a lot of respect for companies here that don't operate that way.

But the climate is great

Keith.

[Mtw fdu]

I got my table from the USA from Camcutcnc. I paid probably between $12,000 and $14,000 to set my 2 x 2 machine up. That includes everything I needed but it did take a bit to get things done.

Now the table is working like a charm with it doing everything it is suppose to do which helps.

Mtw fdu.

[PlasmaMac]

I've used countless other machines and have seen many in operation. Out of any of them, Plasmacam has by far been the most straight forward, easy to use out of any of them.

The software is a huge +, over many of these other systems.

Definitely worth every penny!

[hsolve]

Good morning markfrewin
I had previously gone down the same root several years ago. I wanted a plasma table. After about 6 months of searching finally settled on getting a plasmacam. Contacted the companies concerned decided on who would supply the machine, packed the truck and left. Now from Wollongong to Melbourne is 9hrs+ in a truck. No point going for a demo, without the ability to bring the toy home. Arrived at their office and the person who was going to do the demo was far to busy to do the demo. I was handed over to other staff, which cut a long story short, required 4 hrs to produce a exhaust flange, to suite the gasket I brought. Now the machine did the job no question but the process required and the compentancy of the person doing the demo was not up to scratch. When I left was told we give the best backup service. It was then that I realised the 'hot' air that is produced and the 'bullshit' that flows. I was lucky to see this prior to purchase. It became obvious that they considered this sale a done deal and that any form of demo would suffice. I did not want to know about the decorative shapes library or the metal art files. I wanted to produce a part to suite a application without it taking 4 hours. At the end I was told that this could have been sped up by some one with autocad experience, that could produce the dxf file in about 15 strokes. This pissed me off even more, they they did not suggest this in the begining.
I have frends in the engineering drawing field, I took this gasket to him for the dxf file to be drawn and without any dimmentions it took him 1 hour to complete. This is some one who does this for a living in autocad. This angered me further, the bullshit that you get told, as we don't know any better.
I finally got the flanges cut in sydney. Following all this bullshit I went through I decided f@&k it I will build a plasma table my self, which have done so. I now have a plasma table, router table and flat bed milling machine with much more capability that the plasmacam. The company I went to is mentioned in the post above!

[beefy]

Good morning markfrewin
I had previously gone down the same root several years ago. I wanted a plasma table. After about 6 months of searching finally settled on getting a plasmacam. Contacted the companies concerned decided on who would supply the machine, packed the truck and left. Now from Wollongong to Melbourne is 9hrs+ in a truck. No point going for a demo, without the ability to bring the toy home. Arrived at their office and the person who was going to do the demo was far to busy to do the demo. I was handed over to other staff, which cut a long story short, required 4 hrs to produce a exhaust flange, to suite the gasket I brought. Now the machine did the job no question but the process required and the compentancy of the person doing the demo was not up to scratch. When I left was told we give the best backup service. It was then that I realised the 'hot' air that is produced and the 'bullshit' that flows. I was lucky to see this prior to purchase. It became obvious that they considered this sale a done deal and that any form of demo would suffice. I did not want to know about the decorative shapes library or the metal art files. I wanted to produce a part to suite a application without it taking 4 hours. At the end I was told that this could have been sped up by some one with autocad experience, that could produce the dxf file in about 15 strokes. This pissed me off even more, they they did not suggest this in the begining.
I have frends in the engineering drawing field, I took this gasket to him for the dxf file to be drawn and without any dimmentions it took him 1 hour to complete. This is some one who does this for a living in autocad. This angered me further, the bullshit that you get told, as we don't know any better.
I finally got the flanges cut in sydney. Following all this bullshit I went through I decided f@&k it I will build a plasma table my self, which have done so. I now have a plasma table, router table and flat bed milling machine with much more capability that the plasmacam. The company I went to is mentioned in the post above!

Can't help repeating me words about my experiences here

One thing I've experienced way too much with businesses here is greed, dishonesty, shit service, and not honoring warranties.

Unfortunately it seems your experience is way too common. I would contact Plasmacam in the US and give them a detailed explanation of what happened.
I did that with a software company that is based in Russia. The Australian reps were absolutely useless and got everything wrong all the time. That wasn't helped by the typical shrug of the shoulders attitude which is so rampant here. So I emailed the human relations department in Russia and next day all the problems got sorted out and the reps got quite a talking to it seems. Then the rep was dumb enough to call me and say I didn't have to go to the HR dept in Russia, and I should let them help me. Idiot, as though I hadn't tried.

Keith

[jimcolt]

Definitely a poor demo on their part....and I don't blame you for leaving empty handed and building your own machine. In reality, cutting a part as simple as an exhaust flange....including making a CAD drawing of the part should not take more than maybe 15 minutes....this of course is somewhat dependent on the complexity of the part.

A number of years ago I would have used SolidWorks to CAD draw this type of part, then it would be imported into a CAM software to post process the drawing (compensating for cut with, adding lead ins, lead outs....and generating the machine code.....then input into the cnc for cutting.

Today I use my Plasmacam software (Advanced Design Edge)......which has CAD, CAM and CNC machine control all in one package. I could scan the associated gasket then import the scanned bitmap into Design edge......and after some slight tweaking (adjusting hole diameters, smoothing wiggly lines from the scan, etc.) I would select "convert to cut path".....then set the plasma parameters for height, amperage, speed, etc.....and push the cut button. Or....I could take measurements of the gasket and completely draw it in the Design Edge drawing section.....A typical 3 bolt with center hole exhaust flange should not take more than 10 minutes if you have some experience, maybe an hour if you were still within the CAD learning curve.

CAD is the hardest part of any of these machines. If you have CAD drawing experience before you buy a cnc plasma...then you are through about 80% of the learning curve, if not...then plan on either getting some training from someone that is fluent, or take a CAD course at a local college. The more you practice and use the software....the more intuitive it becomes. No one is an expert in the first week, trust me.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

Good morning markfrewin
I had previously gone down the same root several years ago. I wanted a plasma table. After about 6 months of searching finally settled on getting a plasmacam. Contacted the companies concerned decided on who would supply the machine, packed the truck and left. Now from Wollongong to Melbourne is 9hrs+ in a truck. No point going for a demo, without the ability to bring the toy home. Arrived at their office and the person who was going to do the demo was far to busy to do the demo. I was handed over to other staff, which cut a long story short, required 4 hrs to produce a exhaust flange, to suite the gasket I brought. Now the machine did the job no question but the process required and the compentancy of the person doing the demo was not up to scratch. When I left was told we give the best backup service. It was then that I realised the 'hot' air that is produced and the 'bullshit' that flows. I was lucky to see this prior to purchase. It became obvious that they considered this sale a done deal and that any form of demo would suffice. I did not want to know about the decorative shapes library or the metal art files. I wanted to produce a part to suite a application without it taking 4 hours. At the end I was told that this could have been sped up by some one with autocad experience, that could produce the dxf file in about 15 strokes. This pissed me off even more, they they did not suggest this in the begining.
I have frends in the engineering drawing field, I took this gasket to him for the dxf file to be drawn and without any dimmentions it took him 1 hour to complete. This is some one who does this for a living in autocad. This angered me further, the bullshit that you get told, as we don't know any better.
I finally got the flanges cut in sydney. Following all this bullshit I went through I decided f@&k it I will build a plasma table my self, which have done so. I now have a plasma table, router table and flat bed milling machine with much more capability that the plasmacam. The company I went to is mentioned in the post above!

[Metriccar]

After using my PlasmaCam for a year now, it is the only kind of table I would buy if I were to buy another. I had a Mach 3 machine for a while built by another company popular on these boards, and there is no way I'd go back to it.

It is simply too easy to use and offers too good of cut quality to do anything else. Sure, every once in a while it will quirk up on me but it's not like a Mach3 wouldn't.

My only issue is the closed proprietary system that I cannot use things by other companies, namely the Scanything by Sheetcam. I'd love to have that and was considering buying a small mach3 table just for scanning things into a DXF file.

[_Ogre]

I finally got the flanges cut in sydney. Following all this bullshit I went through I decided f@&k it I will build a plasma table my self, which have done so. I now have a plasma table, router table and flat bed milling machine with much more capability that the plasmacam. The company I went to is mentioned in the post above!

and probably a better understanding of cad.

going to a demo without any understanding of what you need to know, is a fools errand
before we chose a machine i had a basic understanding of cad, mach3 and sheetcam,
enough to be able to hit the ground running when it came into the shop and got it setup (thanks mc )

[PlasmaMac]

After using my PlasmaCam for a year now, it is the only kind of table I would buy if I were to buy another. I had a Mach 3 machine for a while built by another company popular on these boards, and there is no way I'd go back to it.

It is simply too easy to use and offers too good of cut quality to do anything else. Sure, every once in a while it will quirk up on me but it's not like a Mach3 wouldn't.

My only issue is the closed proprietary system that I cannot use things by other companies, namely the Scanything by Sheetcam. I'd love to have that and was considering buying a small mach3 table just for scanning things into a DXF file.

You can scan, covert, vectorize and export out DXFs all day long with plasmcam's designedge (advanced). I can even export g-code for use on other NC machines. You might want to look into the advanced designedge, it is worth every penny and is absolutely killer for a number o other reasons as well.

I hear ya on the Mach 3 controlled machines...gives me an absolute migraine thinking about it!

JAG