Will I Regret Buying Older Plasmacam?

[goodhue1]

I am looking to buy my first CNC plasma machine and I have considered many options. First I looked at new 5x10 and 4x8 tables and I think I have decided that I don't need a table that big. I have recently found a plasmacam for sale locally on Craigslist. It is an older DHC2 made in 2008. The seller did not use it much and he does not know much about it.
From what I gathered:

it does not have digital torch height control (so no advanced height control).
-I understand that would be a nice feature to have but is it absolutely necessary?

It has the basic design edge software
-will I be dramatically limited in design capabilities compared to the advanced version?
-how much does an upgrade cost?

The only reason I am considering this machine is because I think I can get it for less than half of new price fully set up with computer and plasma. Feel free to shoot my idea down. I don't want to spend money on an outdated unit if I am not going to be satisfied with it.

Thanks for reading!

[tnbndr]

When I was starting I almost did the same thing. Call PlasmaCam and talk to them.
The upgrades are costly and you think you don't need height control until you start cutting and having problems. Also when you upgrade from basic design edge you lose some functions like exporting dxf files, then to get that function back they charge you! Ask them!
I ended up with a new machine, not PlasmaCam and have never looked back. Do your homework.

[jimcolt]

If you can get it for a good price the DHC-2 is a bargain. Immediately upgrade to advanced height control....it is one of the best height controls in the business, the key to excellent, repeatable cut quality and consumable life is with the height control. The height control will pay for itself with better cut quality (less labor cleaning parts after cutting, longer consumable parts life in the plasma torch).

- Many say upgrading on Plasmacam is expensive. If you had a Torchmate machine without height control....the upgrade used to cost $4200. The Plasmacam height control upgrade is $1900. Compare with other brands and you will find that the Plasmacam upgrades (comparatively) are a bargain.
- If you were looking at the older model 98z or DHC, I would recommend against the purchase. The DHC-2 is a good one! I have owned a DHC-2 for 10 years, and upgraded to Advanced Design Edge and Advanced height control when it first became available.
- There are a lot of good entry level machines out there. Plasmacam's advantages are: servo drives (not steppers), excellent easy to learn, easy to use software, height control that is easy to operate and works very reliably.
-You can export and import .dxf files easily with all versions of Design Edge. I use mine to draw files for a number of other brand machines....and export as .dxf . Why do I use the Plasmacam software to draw?......because it is one of the only CAD software packages that was designed with Plasma cutting in mind, extremely easy and intuitive.

Jim Colt

[goodhue1]

Thanks for the input guys. I think I will go ahead and buy the table and get the upgrades too.

[PlasmaMac]

If the machine was from 2008 and was never upgraded to the designedge, then it had the older version of plasmacam's software (ie3.11)and did indeed have height control. In 2008 designeedge options did not exist, Nor did any of the "a-la-cart" options exist. Prior to designedger, Plasmacam machines came with one software platform which included height control. On a 2008 machine, there would be no such thing as "basic" software. If he did happen to upgrade the older dhc2 to designedge software platform, there would be only one package that is offered to the older dhc2 machines and it comes with the following designedge modules: advanced height control, advanced design and advanced machine control.
This special bundle is only available for older machines that were originally purchased with the older version (non-designedge) of plasmacams software. Upgrading a new machine is a completely different deal. When you buy a new machine the advanced software levels of the software can be purchased individually. All newer dhc2 or 510 plasmacam machines ( even at the most basic level and without any of the advanced software upgrades) will at minimum come stock with the standard (basic) version of the designegde software platform and you can add any of it the advanced options "a-la-cart".

If I were in your shoes, I would highly recommend that you get the machine serial number from the seller and actually call plasmacam in order to avoid any confusion of what you will be getting. They can actually look up the machines history and tell you exactly what that machine has in terms of software and options (if has old software, or if it has been upgraded) and they can also tell you what your options are for that particular machine. Giving them a call will help you out immensely and could spare you from a disastrous situation.

Good luck brother!