PlasmaCam Pricing Not Complete

[scootergeo]

Thanks for all the valuable information guys.

I am in the market for a plasma table and was wondering if anybody would be able to compare to ShopSabre's latest sidekick offerings that come with ClearPath servos, Enroute and WinCNC by default?
I do like the solid construction of the ShopSabre and generous gantry height but also like all that I have heard about PlasmaCam. However, I do find the added costs for all the PlasmaCam software upgrades to be a bit excessive.

I do also like the ability to add routing functionality to the ShopSabre.

I am also looking at StarLabs, ArcLight, Westcott and TruCut, JD2.

I have scoured the forums for reviews, but much of the information is old and the CNC plasma market is evolving quickly with many new player coming to market.

Regards,

[dcwelds]

I am in the market as well. looking at the Plasmacam and ShopSabre
i Need to cut 1" mild steel and thinner aluminum
I would need all the options on the 4x4 table.
I would appreciate any input

[abmetal]

We have a Plasmacam (Samson) and our friend recently purchased a ShopSabre. NO COMPARISON! The build quality far exceeds the Pcam's. BUT the Pcam is much more user friendly. For somebody that knows cad, I'd go with the ShopSabre. It wouldn't work for me cause I'm a dummy!

Allen

[Jbkemplin]

There's plenty of comparable or better machines at 1/2 the cost of a loaded Plasmacam. I paid $6k for my 4x8 setup, and it does everything the Plasmacam machines does, without the concerns about bearing needing adjustment or wearing out from running up and down a painted steel tube.

@Bobkovacs, what machines do you suggest at half the price of the plasmacam option? I have looked at so many options and don't want to throw money away. I am new to cnc plasma... But currently own / use a CNC router table.

[DXF]

The first and most important item you should look at is the software. Is it intuitive? I just sold a PlasmaCam machine I've had for 18 years and it is still running strong. I did sand the rails where the bearings roll because the paint will ball up and cause problems and also did it to my upgrade to a PlasmaCam DHC2 machine with Designedge. I wonder if they could epoxy some strips of hardened metal where the bearings ride to eliminate the problem. Are you willing to learn several different programs or would you rather have some intuitive software that my 8 year old granddaughter could use easily. I have never had a problem with my 18 year old PlasmaCam machine and the company has been very helpful even when I didn't buy my latest machine upgrade from them they called me right back with answers.

Dave Hanks

[see&see]

I always see discussions regarding how solid a table is or build quality akin to comparing a Sherman Tank to a Corvette. When was the last time a plasma table has buckled under the weight of metal?

As a negative to PlasmaCam I've noticed the management has been doing everything they can to drive customers away lately IMO...

[Joe Jones]

As a negative to PlasmaCam I've noticed the management has been doing everything they can to drive customers away lately IMO...

They've certainly destroyed any respect I once had for them. I am washing my hands of PlasmaCam and not looking back.

Joe

[see&see]

There certainly has been a very carefully calculated PlasmaCam forum endeavor using one credulous moderator along with a scheming agitator to rid their forum of certain people who dared to speak out regarding certain PlasmaCam business practices..

[Joe Jones]

I am putting everything 'PlasmaCam' up for sale on eBay. It is a shame, because I have invested a King's ransom into PlasmaCam's tables, software, parts, accessories, and all of the things that go along with their use; shop buildings, Forklift, compressors, tools, material racks, a retail store on the Square, etc.

I am going to lose a lot of money by selling it all, but what other choice do I really have? I cannot RELY on the company to back me, or even back their own products or software.

I cannot DEPEND on my software to work EVERY time I turn on a PC. I could boot my computer one day and see a message about a corrupt Config File or some other B.S. It all boils down to, "You MUST connect your PC to the Internet so DesignEdge can PHONE HOME and report back to us about what YOU have been doing with OUR software. THEN we will allow you to download the latest update and continue to use DesignEdge ... for now. We are WATCHING you!"

They could reach in deep and pull a new rule out of .. .. and proclaim that "it has always existed", and tell you that it ALSO NOW APPLIES to the Licence Agreement that you read and signed when you purchased the software, and suddenly shut down your DesignEdge PCs because you have unknowingly violated some new wet dream regulation that morphed out of their paranoid delusions of Everyone is out to get us!

I was preparing to purchase six more seats, and set them up on new laptops from Best Buy, for the purpose of spending six months (May through October of 2019) traveling around America this Spring and Summer, to train PlasmaCam owners in their own homes or workshops, one-on-one, on how to use PlasmaCam's software and PlasmaCam's tables.

I was going to encourage owners to go ahead and SPEND the extra money (Read: Give even MORE money to PlasmaCam) to purchase and activate (insert needed but missing upgrades here) so their machines would actually be useful on a practical level, to accomplish the goals they had in mind when they FIRST purchased their machines.

I was going to move forward with my plans to build a shop extension with four tables, and a classroom with eight seats, to run 2 to 4 Day Bed-n-Breakfast type PlasmaCam training seminars right here on my property.

I was going to SPEND THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS completing several projects that would benefit PlasmaCam owners and PlasmaCam itself, such as completing the stand-alone pipe cutting station that would encourage people to actually BUY the nearly useless pipe cutter that is currently ONLY usable when you partially dismantle your table, a $2,000.00 paperweight that you cannot sell to another PlasmaCam owner after you buy it. My pipe cutter is seven years old, and I have not used it YET.

I was working on two or three variations of a rail lift system for people who want that added flexibility. The one on my 4x4 works GREAT, and anyone can make this modification to their tables, because I don't have a childish, "MINE! MINE! ALL MINE!" mentality about things. So I posted photos, and a You Tube video, and sourced the linear actuators, so that anyone could do the same thing to their own tables without putting a single dime in MY pocket. I also have designs for other accessories in the works.

I have a parts drop conveyor belt half assembled for my 510 table. I designed it to catch the pieces that fall through the grate, and transport them on a steel belt to the end of the table where they would fall into a trough at waist level for retrieval. I was also working on a few other things, but they won't be mentioned here, because we all know that PlasmaCam will seize the ideas and run with them, and claim THEY were the originators.

The Full Monty of DesignEdge upgrades is prohibitively expensive. I went ahead and spent the money, and I have enjoyed the capabilities of the software, having every upgrade available to me.

I tried to help people FOR FREE online via TeamViewer, and PlasmaCam killed that capability. Now they are dreaming up new restrictions on the DE license that makes any use of their software or machines restrictive to the point of being ridiculous.

Check out this FREE program on the Net from a reputable company! DesignSpark Mechanical quite frankly blows DesignEdge out of the water with it's capabilities. Just watch their You Tube videos to see how DesignEdge should work in 2019, if it every evolves out of 1980's era coding.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... yS4g_1kknk

I am sad to see my investment into PlasmaCam tables and software crumble to dust in my hands, but I am VERY HAPPY to wash my hands of PlasmaCam. I regret ever viewing their Demo DVD.

Joe

.

[Joe Jones]

I always see discussions regarding how solid a table is or build quality akin to comparing a Sherman Tank to a Corvette. When was the last time a plasma table has buckled under the weight of metal?

As a negative to PlasmaCam I've noticed the management has been doing everything they can to drive customers away lately IMO...

Right! PlasmaCam tables are strong enough.

Their tables move and shake, but that is simple physics. It doesn't matter if the table top shifts to the left a bit when the gantry moves suddenly to the right, because the material moves with the grate, and it is just inertia in action. The tables are accurate, and the design is "minimalist" while still providing a cnc plasma table that will accurately cut whatever is thrown at it.

I like the tables and I REALLY like the software. I have had all I care to endure with the company.

Joe

.

[Ironken]

Sounds like you have a lot invested in cnc plasma.....why throw the baby out. P Cam definitely isn't the only game in town. Divorce P cam and move on with something better. Sell that unit and try to recoup some of your money. Still glad I dodged the P cam bullet....que drama in 5, 4, 3...........

[Joe Jones]

Sounds like you have a lot invested in cnc plasma.....why throw the baby out. P Cam definitely isn't the only game in town. Divorce P cam and move on with something better. Sell that unit and try to recoup some of your money. Still glad I dodged the P cam bullet....que drama in 5, 4, 3...........

I am cleaning up the loose ends. Then I will look at laser machines. The one I want is a bit out of my price range at $270,000.00 but I may be able to put 80% down and finance the remainder.

Joe


.