If you actually watch the video, you’d have your answer. You’re welcome!

Good question regarding stepper vs servo drives (motors and electronics) as used on Maverick CNC plasma tables. Stepper drives are lower in cost due to simpler technology and less sophisticated electronics used to control speed and direction of the x and y drive motors, Servos are more sophisticated and cost more as compared to steppers. Here are some comparisons: Steppers rely on software and electronics that control speed and coordinated direction of the motors in order to maintain the best possible speed (necessary for plasma cut quality) and accuracy. Properly matched to the moving mass of a cnc plasma machine you can expect steppers to provide acceptable accuracy at required cut speeds for most plasma cutting applications up on 3/16" and thicker, and with excellent accuracy at speeds up to 150 inches per minute or so (this will vary depending on machine design, gear reduction, motor size, etc.). Plasma cutting is a very speed dependent cutting process and it requires relatively high speeds as you cut thinner materials (as an example the best cut quality on 16 gauge steel with a Hypertherm 45 amp plasma is suggested to be done at 350 inches per minute.) Most stepper drive machines can go 350 inches per minute in a straight line (true x or y direction), but will typically not be able to maintain that kind of speed when cutting diagonals, small holes, fine features etc.....and the stepper electronics and software will slow the speed down in order to accurately stay on the cut path.......slowing the plasma down below its recommended best quality speed can result in cuts with dross, warpage and a wider kerf. Servo motor drives by design have more useable power at higher speeds, higher acceleration rates, and used an encoder feedback device to accurately indicate to the software and electronics its real time position while cutting. Servos will typically produce better cuts as the material being cuts is thinner.......as these drives can maintain the required plasma speeds even on intricate features and small holes. Interestingly....as the material being cut is thicker, and cut speeds are slower, both servos and steppers will produce essentially the same cut quality. So if you are always cutting materials at under 150 (or so) inches per minute you can expect the same parts from a well built stepper or a well built servo machine. Accuracy of a stepper or a servo will be similar as long as they are operated within their speed / acceleration range for the material being cut. On lower cost, lighter weight entry level cnc tables you will see some very small stepper drive motors......in comparison the the Maverick stepper motors. Many of these extremely low cost machines have very poor acceleration capability, and struggle to provide good parts on thin materials (where best cut quality is at high cut speeds!). So plan to pay a little more for the Maverick machine that has properly engineered power / moving mass design with its large steppers if you are looking for good cut quality throughout the thickness range. Or step up to Mavericks machines with servo drives for best performance on thinner materials. I have a Maverick stepper drive machine in my home shop. I am perfectly happy with its performance for my use.......I am not a production shop that needs to cut a wide range of material thicknesses and heavy volume. If I was looking for production work and wanted the best performance on gauge through over 1" thick then I would definitely have a servo driven machine! Hope this helps! Jim Colt

Glad you enjoyed it!

First, keep in mind that accurate control of torch height is critical to good cut quality as well as to consumable parts life on any CNC Plasma cutting application. Most cnc plasma machines use an arc voltage feedback "torch height control or THC" system that monitors torch to workpiece voltage in order to maintain the correct torch to workpiece distance. This device uses electronics and software to maintain the torch to work distance within +- .005" of the torch manufacturers suggested height during steady state cutting. Generally, if the torch is set too high (too much distance from the workpiece) you can expect excess dross, warpage, and severe cut edge angularity. If set too low, there is a high probability of plate collisions and torch dragging which will affect your cuts, will affect consumable life and could cause torch damage. If you height appears too high....then you should lower the arc voltage pre-set in your software until the torch maintains the correct torch to workpiece distance for the material being cut. If the torch is too low, then you need to increase the arc voltage pre-set. With the Maverick CNC machine the recommended height, voltage, cut speed (and other critical cut parameters) are all stored in the CAM software, simply choose the material and thickness you are cutting, ensure the correct consumables are loaded in the plasma torch, and start your cutting process. Keep in mind that if you change any parameters (such as cut speed or amperage) you will have to reset the pre-set arc voltage. Slower cut speeds will require a higher voltage to maintain the correct physical cut height, faster cut speeds require lower voltage settings. Happy cutting! Jim Colt

@@MaverickCNCPlasmaTables my problem is, where do u find the proper volt to begin with related to material being cut?

I'm not completely sure what you mean by probing, as the term is used for a few different functions on different CNC machines and software. Arc Voltage Feedback is the most common method of controlling and maintaining the distance between the front most part of a plasma torch and the surface of the workpiece. The correct torch height is necessary in order to control cut quality (angularity, dross formation) as well as to minimize the possibility of the torch dragging on the workpiece, causing a bad cut and possible damage to the torch and consumables. All plasma cutting torches have arc voltage, which is a DC (direct current) voltage that can be monitored between the torch electrode (negative polarity) and the workpiece (positive polarity). During steady state cutting (with the torch at a known physical distance from the workpiece) a steady voltage reading can be observed. If there is any warpage in the workpiece this steady voltage will change as the torch gets either closer or further distance from the workpiece, with the voltage becoming lower when closer and higher when further from the workpiece. So, a torch height control system (THC) uses software and electronics as well as a z axis motor drive to monitor this feedback voltage and will automatically move the torch closer to the workpiece if the arc voltage increases, and further away if the voltage decreases from a known value. So, arc voltage control improves cut quality and minimizes the chance of plate collision, and is only functional once the plasma establishes a cutting arc between the plasma torch and the workpiece (metal being cut). Note that the other primary z axis and height control function is to locate the surface of the workpiece accurately before the torch fires so that the torch height can achieve the recommended (by the plasma cutter manufacturer) pierce height. Pierce height is always higher than cut height to protect the torch consumables from being damaged during the initial pierce at the beginning of each cut cycle. Different height control systems use a few types of measurement techniques to locate the surface of the workpiece with the two most popular being "ohmic sensing" and "limit switch or floating head" sensing devices. Often this initial surface sensing is called "probing", and it occurs before arc voltage sensing even starts. I hope this answers your question! Jim Colt

Please don't hesitate to reach out to Mark at [email protected] for prices. He will answer your question better than me ;) Jim Colt