Experiences with Plasmacam

[plasmanewbie]

I have owned my Plasmacam http://www.plasmacam.com machine for 4 months now. I am finally getting the hang of it and it's issues and it has been working out OK for me for the last month or so.
A lot of my problems were related to the computer I was using, but after uninstalling some programs, processes and cleaning up some Windows Xp issues the Pcam finally runs smooth.
Overall I am somewhat happy with it, and it was all that I could afford to buy. I would consider it better suited to a hobbiest who has some time on his/her hands to work through the issues.
I am confident it will take my business to the next level, at which point I will be buying a more industrial plasma cutting table with a heavier build and better manufacturer support. If you plan to buy a Plasmacam, make sure you order spare belts when you order the machine. The belts are small for the amount of weight they move around and prone to breaking.

Plasmanewbie

[plascutart]

I have a plasmacam 4x4 table with a powermax 30 cutter, had it shipped to australia and love it, had to work it out myself as when I use it, usa is sleeping, only issue was with my pc being the onboard parallel port(not enough power) so I installed a pci card and all is fine. Just use it as a hobby in garage, I do not know of anyone else with one here, unless commercial, but it seems to be very common for guys to have a cnc table in America.
cheers
plascutart.

[bigcreek]

I have a Plasmacam DHC2 model that I love. I have cut miles and miles of metal on that thing and it has and continues to work beautifully. Will be upgrading to the Sampson next and cant wait.

[plasmanewbie]

I hear ya...moisture is a big problem for me. This time of year it is very humid and I go through consumables like crazy.

I just picked up a PCP Group air dryer and it works AWESOME. I had a Motor Guard unit and I was going through 2 filter elements a week ($20 per week)

This new one has a prefilter inside it in addition to the main element which is 2 times the size and lasts all more than a week. The best part is that when it's time to replace the element it is less than $3 dollars. Dryer cost me $200 on Ebay and I bought 24 elements which should last me a long time. Awesome buy!

Plasmanewbie

[Ironman]

I have a PlasmaCAM DHC and have operated it for 2.5 years. I use a Hypertherm 1250, a desiccant air dryer, then into a Motorguard filter, and 18cfm compressor. I have a 12" 1hp vanaxial fan to vent out dust.
Alot of the problems people seem to have, including me, are self inflicted wounds. It took me a year,(and I am very familiar with metalwork and machining)and I can look back and see that if I had understood what people were telling me, and why, then the learning curve would be less bumpy. The PIG (Plasmapig@yahoogroups.com) is an invaluable source for Pcam owners, with Pcam and Hypertherm techs online with you.
In my case the only problem I had was getting to make sense of the height control. All other things are flawless and the software is great.
One day the light went on in my head, and I have had no problems since. I can finally get 2-3 thousand inches of cut out of a tip. I am upgrading my carriage and gantry to the DHC2 model this week, for the ohmic sensing, which is just like the big boys use.
IMHO,this machine is the 900lb gorilla of hobby machines and can be used as a industrial machine, but it's small footprint makes it able to be used in a small space. Alot of others, and any 8 ft machine take up too much space to justify itself.
The bottom line, would I buy another one, or get a Tracker? I'll buy another Pcam in a heartbeat.

[jayp]

I've had my plamacam for right at 6 years. Probably one of the oldest DHC machines out there. Would I do it again? probably. Would I listen to PCams tech people? Nope. The tech service sucked. I got promised all kinds of things by the Mfg. but they never came through. Hopefully it got better later on, but when I started I bought the table and a Lincoln plas cutter from the Mfg. that they used as a demo. They screwed me on the cutter and couldn't or wouldn't tell me why the cutter didn't work with the table. Took me a year to finally buy a hypertherm and rewrite most of the programing to get the worst of the bugs out. I've got PCam owners and operators that call me with tech questions and op problems because they can not get strait answers from the factory techs. I did send my controler in for a upgrade about 3 years ago on a recall (only cost $200). I now cut my own grids and have found sources for most of the drive stuff just so I don't have to deal with the BS the factory puts out. With the hypertherm, I'd recommend using the fine cut cups but don't buy the kit. everything else is the same. and upgrade to the machine torch if you can afford it.

[Loyd]

I have had a plasmacam for approx. 3 years in an industrial setting. www.weldreel.com
I have had more problems with my hypertherm 1250 than the plasmacam. I had to replace one drive motor on the PC.
My manual torch head has had to be replaced 2 times.
The tech service at PlasmaCam has been outstanding. The tech service at hypertherm has also been outstanding.
I cut thousands and thousands of inches of steel and aluminum and I love it. I too had a pretty steep learning curve
as the software and manual for the P.C. is lacking and their "hollywood" production sales cd is full of a bunch of
misleading and heavily edited hype. (Kinda like our present administration). All in all I am pleased with the P.C.
I have a long background in electronics, machining and manufacturing and I enjoy my off time playing with the
plasmacam doing artsy stuff and one off things.
Just my 2 cents.
Loyd



Don't wish ill on your enemies, plan it!

[Russ K]

RE. PlasmaCam.........I have had a DHC model pcam for about 4 years now. It is paired up to a hypertherm 1000. When I built my shop I did so with the pcam recomendations (grounding, circuit seperation etc) in mind. I have had only minor problems, almost all caused by yours truly. My experience with tech support was entirely satisfactory. The drawing software is very intuitive. You can import and export in DXF format which is a must. The bitmap import functions could use some improvement but most people use adobe, corel or other programs for bitmap cleanup. I have cut a lot of extremely intricate art work and find the machine to be easy to use and quite profitable. I have never replaced a belt (that was a problem on earlier machines) or any other parts. It is not a perfect machine or the best machine out there but I believe it is a "best buy" in it's price range. My DHC is up for sale now and I plan to buy a DHC2 in the near future...................Russ K.

[Complete_Loser]

We've had a DHC2 model for about exactly one month now. Its a bad ass little machine.
The tech support has been outstanding (only needed to call twice). They were offering more information/help than what i called for.
The small footprint of the machine is priceless! Space is rare in my shop.
The machine functions flawlessly. Any errors are caused by us users. We have slapped a router on there and went to town with it also. Maintains very accurate depths.

The only Con i can think of is the drawing software. Very outdated (archaic) imo. Functions perfectly. Just seems to me it was only designed to be a 'nesting' program. And they jambed some drawing features into it. ?But i guess im used to much newer, more powerful software.

Not a major problem. I have vectorizing and drawing software for my vinyl plotter that i use to draw in and convert.

Im super happy with the machine. They could drop the price on the machine a tad, or drastically drop the price on the art discs!

All in all, i would recommend one to someone.

PS.
One of the most valuable things ive found lately is this site.

[cutterguy]

Great site fellows-
What is the value of a 1.5 year old 4x4 PlasmaCam. It is used very little. I am thinking of selling mine and getting a bigger machine. Anyone in Canada wanting to puchase one?

[AnotherDano]

Parrotlady might be interested.
Send her a PM.

[Russ K]

I have an earlier post concerning my previous table, a DHC model. I sold it and have had a DHC2 for the past 3 months paired with a hypertherm 1000 and a new refrigerated air dryer. PCam has addressed almost all of the shortfalls of earlier models. This is a MUCH easier machine to use
than the DHC. While I loved using the old unit, this new one is a breeze in comparison. The ohmic sensing has solved the warping metal/pierce height problem as well as difficulties with tip ups. I can actually be removing and cleaning parts while the machine goes about the job of cutting without me hovering over it. I have always had a high opinion of PCam and it is even better now. My only wish is that it had a better method of importing bitmaps and perhaps a better nesting program. A very good machine and a great value......................Russ K.