Not the best business practice.....

[rdj357]

A little disappointed in PlasmaCam today. I have one table that I've had for years that I use daily. It's a 5x10. I also use seats on that license for teaching my workshops. I have Advanced Design, Advanced Machine Control, Advanced Height Control, Nesting, 3D Capability, and Customizable Size.

I have another table that I purchased used a couple years ago but haven't used much. It has 3.11 software and is also a 5x10. I already have all the parts to use it as a 2x2 and to extend the Z travel to 6" which I can easily do with 3.11

I called them today to upgrade that table to Design Edge to make things easier when I set it up here in my retail store. They said it is no longer their policy to 'comp' customizable size if a customer has changed the size/travel of their table because 'not many people needed it.' REALLY!? Because you didn't have to give something away very often you're not going to make the upgrade apples to apples anymore so I LOSE functionality if I upgrade.... Hmmmm....

[tnbndr]

Yep, heard it all before!!!

[adbuch]

Perhaps there is a "work-around".
David

[robertspark]

You would think that they would keep an advocate and trainer of their systems sweet even if it was a small cost.... In the scheme of their potential sales it would be a small loss leader.

I'm sure any potential customer of a plasmacam reading this will be going elsewhere....

[rdj357]

Yes, it is disappointing. I'm not looking for a handout from them, what I want is for the upgrade for the software that runs the table that I purchased used to have the same features that it has before the upgrade. The fact that I purchased this table secondhand does NOT negate the profit they made from the original sale so why should the upgrade not apply equally to my machine?????

I will pay their ransom because I love the machine, I love the software, I love using the table(s) every day, I love teaching the software to other owners. I love being able to fix files for people with other software/table systems when their software can't get it done.

I have done everything I can to help educate owners and potential owners about the software levels needed to run their machine. The model of having the software in levels isn't new nor is it any different than other similar programs. This allows new owners to get started for less money and work their way up to a full-featured setup. What IS different is the difficult to find comparisons of the levels so people can make a good decision about what best to get at the start and in what order to add upgrades if not all are purchased at the start.

I am a full disclosure person. I will tell anyone who will listen and any future students in my workshops (I've had well over 100 owners through my classes already) to be very wary of their sales tactics and potentially unethical behavior and in the same breath tell them that if they enter into ownership of a PlasmaCAM with eyes wide open, they will be very happy with the quality and function of the table and software.