How can I test my thc? Im not sure it's working.

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JeepGuy
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How can I test my thc? Im not sure it's working.

Post by JeepGuy »

I'm also really new to this and bought a used table. Running Mach 4 and I believe a pro cnc thc kit on a avid cnc table , nema 34 cnc system. Thanks for any help.
adbuch
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Re: How can I test my thc? Im not sure it's working.

Post by adbuch »

Those Avid machines are pretty nice! I have several of their cnc router tables and my Pro4848 runs on Mach3 - but I don't do any plasma cutting with it. As far as testing your thc, one way would be to do a test cut on a piece of metal where you place some thin spacers under one end of the sheet of material. For example - if you had a 24' x 24" piece of sheet metal (maybe 14 to 16 gauge, although thickness wouldn't really matter) and place a spacer under one end. You could use a piece of 16 ga or so for the spacer. The idea is that if say you are cutting a straight line - say 20" long - with your cut direction starting from the lower end of the metal and running towards the end with the spacer under it, then if your thc is working - it will maintain a constant cut height along the entire distance of the cut. So if you set your cut height to 0.060", start your cut, and then pause it before gets to the end of your 20" long cut and physically measure the cut height (distance from torch to metal your are cutting). If it is still cutting at a distance of 0.060" away from the material, then you know your thc is working. If it is much less than 0.060" or it runs into the sheet of material, then your thc is not working properly.

On wavy or warped material, the thc should maintain constant cut height and not have a situation where the torch is either too close, too far, or actually makes contact with the material.

David
JeepGuy
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Re: How can I test my thc? Im not sure it's working.

Post by JeepGuy »

Great idea, I have stopped mid cut to measure cut height and it was what it was supposed to be, I have a small piece of 16 gauge and ill put a piece of 14 gauge under one end and see what happens
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acourtjester
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Re: How can I test my thc? Im not sure it's working.

Post by acourtjester »

Here is a video I made many moons ago with a Proma THC, as shown it will follow a fairly uneven slope of the metal.
Also you can see the movement of the Z axis as it cuts.
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adbuch
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Re: How can I test my thc? Im not sure it's working.

Post by adbuch »

Nice video! That would be another thing he could do is to curve a piece of metal as you have shown and run his test. Just in case his thc isn't working, I thought he could test first with a simple slope to his sheet. If that works, then what you have shown in your video would be a great follow-up test. Thanks for sharing that!
David
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