Combining plasma cut panels into one

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Gogo
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Combining plasma cut panels into one

Post by Gogo »

Need to cut a panel larger than my table, I am assuming I just split the drawing in a few places and weld it together clamped down on the table. But that is just an educated guess, My google seek is not working well on this topic,.

any tips for stitching two panels together into one? 14 gauge mild steel. I was planning on mig tacking it, or TIG to assemble back to one. Thanks,
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SegoMan DeSigns
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Re: combining panels into one

Post by SegoMan DeSigns »

Are the ends open on 2 opposite sides? index cutting can work on some projects..
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ROKCRLER
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Re: combining panels into one

Post by ROKCRLER »

Here are a couple methods



What size table are you working with?
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adbuch
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Re: combining panels into one

Post by adbuch »

Gogo wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 1:06 pm Need to cut a panel larger than my table, I am assuming I just split the drawing in a few places and weld it together clamped down on the table. But that is just an educated guess, My google seek is not working well on this topic,.

any tips for stitching two panels together into one? 14 gauge mild steel. I was planning on mig tacking it, or TIG to assemble back to one. Thanks,
You don't necessarily need to split and weld back together. If your table is open on both ends, then you could "Index" it thru your table. This means cut the first half, then slide (Index) your sheet thru under the gantry, and them cut the second half. The "splitting" is done with your software, and not physically with different sheets.

David
Gogo
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Re: combining panels into one

Post by Gogo »

Thanks all, I guess I did not know the right term to search on. Been mostly internet taught on this, I would say self taught but that is not true as I have gotten a lot of help from reading this and other forums and tutorials. This has been an interesting journey and I am still finding out what I don't know. This is super helpful, thanks for setting up my next learning course.
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acourtjester
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Re: combining panels into one

Post by acourtjester »

GoGo many of us have moved along the same path, the volume of information the internet has opened up to all of us is fantastic. First step is the learn how to find what you are looking for, then how to us what you find. Plasma Spider is a great site for a large combined knowledge base to search. Many member here are happy to share their knowledge, sharing causes thought and that can cause learning more in itself. :Like
Have fun Tom At 80 I am still learning. :Yay :HaHa :HaHa
Last edited by acourtjester on Sat May 06, 2023 9:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Gogo
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Re: combining panels into one

Post by Gogo »

Giant Light bulb. I get it now, I knew those limit switches would come in handy for something. And I chose sheetcam for my post so I guess I set my self up by accident to have the right tools. Thanks again!
Gogo
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Re: Combining plasma cut panels into one

Post by Gogo »

this finally came up on my due date so I made the cut today. Thank you all for your help. It was actually quite easy once I got my head around it. I made a fence for the plasma table out of scrap/extra and that made things super easy, I may just leave it on there as it blocks a lot of the sparks from the rail. I am only familiar with sheetcam and fire control for post but could not use lead ins on part of it as it would have cut into the other part so watch out for that. But the fire control allows you to set the origin point easily and once I had everything zeroed in it was cake. I zeroed in the middle third and moved it on the fence and it was almost perfect. You can also mark the fence with a sharpie so that is nice. the outline was off by a couple thousands but a touch of the grinder and that is gone. Very happy with it but I took my time and visualized all the cuts beforehand.

Study your cut file very closely for possible issues that only your eye can catch. The fence makes a big difference, you can shim with a dot or two of weld and shave it and have pretty darn close and then you have it for the next time so it is a breeze.

Thank you all again.
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Re: Combining plasma cut panels into one

Post by adbuch »

Gogo - thanks for the update! Please share some photos of your finished project when you get a chance.
David
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