£150 CNC Plasma table build - Easy, Quick and cost effective

[@joshuadelisle]

Click bait? So when I got quoted for a 20k table the plasma and compressor wasn't included. Its very dependent on your needs on which plasma and compressor to get. It's still a plasma CNC as it's modified to do so. However I only payed £235 for my plasma and my compressor was only £100. So still a good deal in my opinion and I hope the contents of this video has value to you. I recommend Veritasiums video on click bait if you're not comfortable with my video. All the very best. Cheers J

[@jafinch78]

Wondering if you can make a little Faraday Cage for the controller? Maybe some sort of decoupling connectors... opto-couplers maybe or am I overthinking and filtering using a capacitor or inductor is all that's required? Thanks for sharing! I've been collecting free home gym equipment to make mine eventually some day.

[@joshuadelisle]

@@jafinch78 thank you. It's working well as I have it but having shielded cables would definitely help further. Cheers J

[@jafinch78]

@@joshuadelisle Wondering now if tinned or plain copper braid cable sleeve would be more cost effective to wrap what you have? Not sure what the latest prices are now days compared to the shielded cable needed. All the best! Kind Regards

[@joshuadelisle]

@@jafinch78 I've seen some people wrap aluminium foil around their cables and earth them. Cheapest way to do it. Conductive tape would work too. Cheers J

[@bigrednick100]

Prices do vary based on the machine and compressor and refrigerated air dryer that you’re running. For example I meant to mine for about 25,000.

[@HamiltonFord]

The format and content of your “DIY” videos is top-notch. You’ve inspired me to stop dreaming and build one of these for our Men’s Shed.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I like simplifying complicated things and I hope it serves you well. Cheers J

[@toddmiles1724]

He inspired me to make a pneumatic power hammer and I have the steel but I need to clean Myspace out and get a better welder

[@joshuadelisle]

@@toddmiles1724 nice! All the very best Todd. Cheers J

[@TroyCroatto]

This is the first video I will watch of Joshua's, it popped up on my feed, I got 3 seconds in and paused it to check the comments. These 3 comments alone have gotten me to hit the subscribe button before even watching the video. Sounds like a quality channel already.

[@joshuadelisle]

@@TroyCroatto you're very kind Troy. That's exactly what I do on long videos on channels I don't know. Well I hope you enjoy the rest of my content. I recommend my old forged stags video if you find it. I hope to do more forging like that again soon if I can get the time. All the very best. Cheers J

[@stephenwgreen78]

Great to see this can be done by people with normal shop budget. Home manufacturing is really game changing. Thanks for the video

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. Lots more coming soon. Cheers J

[@alwayscensored6871]

Been 15+ years since I have done any of this stuff. Binge watching is bringing me up to date with current stuff which is so much easier and cheaper than it used to be.

[@C.A.40]

Thanks for the help, everything works now, greetings from Bavaria 

[@joshuadelisle]

Excellent news and thank you so much for your support. All the very best. Cheers J

[@joetkeshub]

You're a genius Joshua! The most effective and affordable diy CNC plasma on youtube! Great pedagogy as well! Thank you so much. Incredible...

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much for your kindness. All the very best. Cheers J

[@robertharley4518]

Sir, i am just sitting here after watching your video twice, and am gob-smacked at the simplicity and ingenuity of how you put together a DIY masterpiece that anyone would love to have. Now I know the price will vary as to where you are and where you shop, but who cares! The money saved from not having to purchase commercially far outweighs the little white lie, (but isnt) that you used to get people to watch. Thank you so much and if you ever start a design page for your work, let us know. Bob

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much Bob I appreciate your support and encouragement. I've got an upgrade to do for this coming at some point so I can cut larger pieces. If you build your own and you encounter any difficulties just let me and help as best as I can. Cheers J

[@sedulousdabbler5468]

This is quite brilliant. I’ve been wanting one of these machines for years but could no way merit the cost. I know nothing about technology but you, as always, make it accessible even for a Luddite like me. I can’t thank you enough. Top man 👍

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much and I hope this information becomes very profitable for you. Cheers J

[@woody2woodster]

Thanks Joshua. Top bloke in my opinion. Get’s stuff done without blowing a ton.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you Andrew. Slowly built up over time. I think now some people think I have too many tools to be relatable. I'll have to try and do some minimal tool projects in-between testing new tools. Cheers J

[@EastLondonKiwi]

Joshua this is an awsome project and a great path for a new cnc owner to take. Each version of the machine will teach you something different and give you more and more capability. What's also great about this approach is that you can have the older iterations of your CNC making parts for the new version. Some points to consider as to why more expensive machines exist. 1. the environment matters, cheap electronics are not meant to operate under extreme conditions (a plasma table or a CNC router or Milling machine are extreme conditions when talking about electronics). variables such as heat and dirt kill them, so you may get an amount of decent use our of a cheaply built machine, but eventually, you'll start to have to either repair or replace electronics which are dying. So commercial machines are built or meant to be built with minimal down time in mind. 2. A rigid machine is an arcuate machine. This matters more in a router because the spinning tool is trying to vibrate the machine to death. If you stick to simple shapes with good tolerances for error then a small cheap machine may be ok. But as soon as you move to complex parts or nested operations, having a machine loose its place by even a mm to 2 can be a big deal in a production run of hundreds of parts. That means you will not be able leave this machine alone to work on other things (which in a production shop is half the point of a CNC, increased operator capability), as you'll need to hover over the E Stop in case the torch heads off in a direction you were not expecting. 3. Power or torque. The more rigid your machine the heavier the parts like the gantry will be, so to run a heavier machine you need bigger motors. Bigger motors need more expensive motor drivers etc, etc etc. Basically you build a machine, understand its limitations, use that with in its capability, and when you grow beyond those, you'll build a bigger more capable machine that will cost you more money. Its a bit like owning Motorbikes, you have one and get the bug and that's it from there on out. You tell yourself and your wife the one you have it fine, knowing that little voice in the back of your brain is saying, "But if we had X we could do Y". Good luck and I am looking to Blacksmith build V2.

[@joshuadelisle]

These are very good points to consider. Thank you so much for spending the time to share your wisdom and experience on these points. I'll certainly will reflect and refer back to what you wrote. All the very best. Cheers J

[@danielreborn4707]

Inspired by this video I did build my own.Following upgrades are necessary to prevent gantry racking ( and risking part not being square):Second stepper motor on Y axis and 2nd home switch.I would also replace P80 torch with P60, with smallest nozzle diameter, as P80 affects speed and depth of cut .Chinese Cut55 plasma is simply to weak to use P80 torch.Also water tray is a must, to prevent warping and catch most of nasty fine dust.Worth to note: if You don't plan to cut anything less than 3 mm , THC and Z axis is waste of money.

[@mytview8862]

Cutting less or more than 3mm??

[@onomatopoeidia]

Less than 3mm for sure because the heat warp on thickness below that means the z height needs to constantly change with the warping metal.

[@pyrofool123]

Awesome build, I did something similar with my first cnc plasma. The thc will be a game changer if you install one, a water table also does a lot for material warping.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I'll consider those. Cheers J

[@johntenhave1]

That was a most insightful and valuable post. Thank you. You demystified a great deal of the questions I had. Never mind the critics, what you did was perhaps not perfect, but anyone who has ever made anything knows nothing is perfect. Kudos to you!

[@ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННАЯКОВКАТЕРЛЕЦКИЙСЕ]

I'm a blacksmith. I have been dreaming about a CNC plasma cutter for a long time. But the price is big for me . And now , for the first time , I regret that I don 't understand English well . Dude, you're cool! You broke the system !

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I'll be building a large one next year. Cheers J

[@mattivirta]

blacksmith and all normal men can build cnc or plasma machine DIY in own garage easy, my cnc machine (can use plasma machine too, cost 1200x1200x300 size less than 1000$ SBR rails 50$, Y axis 20$ , mgn15 rails X and Z axis nema 23 470 oz motors 30$/pcs , linuxcnc free, need only plasma or spindle have at home,

[@farscape3100]

so one of the best things about you building such a cost effective machine is if you hammer it you dont have to worry, you can replace the parts cheaply or upgrade them in the future to better parts, its such a good idea i love it simon

[@joshuadelisle]

Totally and I don't need to rely on another company for any faults. Like I said my friends have one that cost £40k and getting engineers out to fix it is a problem. All the very best. Cheers J

[@OwensEngineering]

Great idea! I've been looking at building something along the same lines as what you are thinking for your bigger table. A few comments based on my research so far. Flex of the extrusion will become a problem, you really need to bulk to extrusion size up or support it with other framework. Anything over roughly a meter long belt flex becomes a real problem, particularly if you are cutting thin material which requires quick moves and changes of direction. This is why nearly all professionally and homebuilt tables use rack and pinion. On shorter lengths, belts are actually more accurate than rack and that's why the really high-end machines use helical rack with zero backlash. Lastly your long axis will require dual drives to stop the bed getting itself out of square. I think it's possible to build something very usable, with some out of the box thinking for a fraction of the cost of a commercial machine. Keeping things lightweight but strong is the key I think!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. That's great information and I'll certainly give it some thought before attempting my big build. Cheers J

[@fredblair8694]

Andrew owens waste of time giving advice he's allready built it bet you haven't built a single thing

[@OwensEngineering]

@@fredblair8694 you obviously didn't watch the whole video or read my comment correctly 🙄 Go back to sleep.

[@fredblair8694]

@@OwensEngineering lol

[@smallgarageworkshop6119]

🤣🤣

[@marcins5584]

This is zhe easiest DIY plasma cnc what I seen in internet! Brilliant idea thx!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Cheers J

[@springwoodcottage4248]

Fabulous! So interesting how this technology is advancing & how you have adapted it to suit your needs. I am in very early days with a hand held torch, but this now gives me a potential upgrade path to something super useful which is so exciting & I just need to organise my time to accommodate it & still keep up with other jobs. Thanks for sharing!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. All the very best. Cheers J

[@mmazz30]

New here…..Joshua, you are great at explaining things the easy way without rushing. When I thought “what does that or why you did that….bang! You answer it. I came, I saw, and I’ve subbed…..looking forward to bingeing on your videos.👍

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Cheers J

[@jamesdonnelly8888]

Just wow! Only two videos in, and you are now firmly my out and out YT fav, and I have 100 subs on various accounts. Was going to try to add a plasma to my mpcnc, but this is more appealing. I look forward to working through your material, outstanding stuff.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I hope to keep bringing lots more. Cheers J

[@h3avym3tals69]

By far the best DIY plasma table video Ive seen so far and Ive watched ALOT! I finally just decided I'll buy a table (langmuir systems) for my shop but Im already a 3d printing veteran and the only reason I havent bought a CNC laser like yours is theyre pathetic when it comes to metal. Now I have a. reason to buy one and not absolutely destroy it but also be able to cut metal. Damn fine job sir and a big thanks from the states!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. All the very best. Cheers J

[@chrisgenovese8188]

this is so rad! i cant believe how mobile it is. my jaw dropped when you picked it up. i'll save this video for when i have the space to use one of these. the PAPR i built from watching your video has been going strong and is really a blessing to have around! the quality and depth of your tutorials is top notch.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I'm really glad. Lots more to come. Cheers J

[@garethevans9789]

Every building site should have one of these.

[@dan1694]

Absolutely fantastic! I've been wanting to learn how to make one of these for a good long while now. Don't have the space or the need for one yet but seeing that this isn't an insurmountable project makes me think that I need to have a go at it and just have some fun.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Have lots of fun with your build. All the very best. Joshua De Lisle AWCB

[@wadebrewer7212]

Aaaaaaand here we are......watching your other videos. Nice.

[@PrebleStreetRecords]

Just a thought about snubbing HF interference. Wrapping a couple turns of all the wires through “clip-on ferrite chokes”, available online from all the usual sources, can help a lot. I do a lot of ham radio, and put them on all my data lines to prevent errant HF noise from messing up control signals. You’ll often see them molded into USB cables and the like.

[@stoatrepublic]

Another amateur Mzero here I agree with ferrite chokes, I'd also put controller in a diecast box, because some circuit tracks will be resonant with random HF signals generated.

[@gerritgeldenhuys2763]

Hey Joshua, I've been hand cutting with a plasma torch for many years. The massive dross you're getting can be eliminated 3 ways. Cutting at lower power, increasing the speed or increasing your air flow. Obviously you need enough power to burn through the material thickness you're using. You want to cut as fast as possible to keep the curve of the cut as narrow as you can while still cutting through and then you want enough air to blow the molten metal out. Another good tip for removing dross is to use a light hammer hitting on the edge of your piece favouring the side where the dross is. It pops right off. My cutter is not CNC ready otherwise I'd be buying a cheap laser cutter tomorrow.

[@garyhuston]

Great as usual Joshua, I really need to make one, so often I need to make missing or broken parts for the windows I restore. This would save all the hacksaw and file work!😉

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you Gary. Do it! I look forward to seeing your take on it. Cheers J

[@richardcaselton5377]

Thanks

[@luke_fabis]

I suspect you could minimize dross buildup by coating the nozzle with tungsten disulfide. It tends to cling to any metal surface you apply it directly to, so applying a permanent coating is as simple as applying the powder on a clean metal surface with a blast cabinet or tumbler. But, it's also got a lamellar structure similar to graphite, so it's imparts a very slick, nonstick quality to the part. And it's highly resistant to intense heat and chemical attack. It's not even terribly expensive for the amount of surface area you can cover with it. I've never heard of anyone attempting it in the context of a plasma cutter nozzle, but it may be worth a shot. Less maintenance and fewer wasted consumables, if it works. Not a big financial setback if it doesn't.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. It sounds like an idea worth trying especially if I insist on using dirty material. Cheers J

[@dewinterjeanbaptiste6982]

I was thinking to by this cheap lazer cnc for plasma torch! I asked to me if the stepper engine would be powerfull enough... So realy Thanks you, you try for me, for maker community. You win a follower

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. I'm glad it's been helpful. Lots more to come. Cheers J

[@BJOHNSONVT]

I thought about repurposing a laser table about a year ago but then decided that I wanted something bigger... I ended up at 1x1.5m but a very similar construction (extrusions, timing belts etc.) Things I've noticed on mine: Gantry (short axis) I used 20x40mm to reduce flex but keep it light. (I do have a laser module and plasma both mounted on opposing sides though and the pwm on a switch that directs to a relay (plasma) or to the laser. (Making cardboard templates for fitup is cheaper than cut steel) The nema 17 is fine for the short axis but I have 2 driving the gantry, if I'm not careful with cord management it can miss steps. The next itteration I am going to mechanically link the two sides with a rod (like the orthur) but motors on both sides. This should help with keeping things square. Question on the machine torch, I had previously purchased a 'non hf machine torch' but my blowback start plasma is unable to arc. I too am running a cheap,Amazon plasma (that works well) I'm curious if you had any trouble with getting the machine torch to work? For reference I'm running everything with lightburn, it took some setup, but now it's rinning great Thanks brandon

[@joshuadelisle]

Hi Brandon. That's awesome information. I did have trouble with my longer lead, I switched to a shorter lead and the torch worked fine. I also played with the spacing of the HF arc contacts inside the machine as that makes a big difference. I'm yet to do a review video on the plasma itself but I'll include any problems and how I fixed them. Cheers J

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Joshua always happy to see a new video my friend. Wow. Congratulations on your new tool / toy . Hopefully you get great use out of it for many years to come my friend. Always good to see a new video because you always explain everything in your videos. It's very informative and nicely useful and very helpful videos. Can't wait to see more videos soon my friend. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Forge On. Fab On. Weld On. Keep Making. God bless.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. It means a lot me. God be with you also. Blessings J

[@SchysCraftCo.]

@@joshuadelisle your very welcome

[@johnmcclain3887]

Thanks for doing this, Joshua, I've played with a couple of these in the last two years, to learn the ins and outs of GRBL and the gantry's, but your video is definitely a good help in getting the hang of it all.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you John. I'm glad it helps. I'll be putting Bluetooth on it next to reduce wires and preparing for my bigger one. I'll also do a plasma calibration and hone in the settings. Cheers J

[@machineshopatthebottomofth3213]

Great as usual Joshua. You are a very resourceful chap! Very impressed!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I try my best with what I can get. Cheers J

[@kaifischer6906]

Man! That was interesting. Thank you. For my medium english language skills it was a pleasure to listen to you. Good explained, clear and understanable words. 👍

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I'm glad it was helpful. Lots more to come. Cheers J

[@zdenekholy2634]

Subscribed! Why ? ... because you just said and did exactly what I had in my mind for a long time. Well executed and it was a pleasure to watch this video. Thank you

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you, your very kind. cheers J

[@tomwagemans1872]

Now I want one but don't need one. Great explanation!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. All the very best . Cheers J

[@jtkilroy]

Well done, looking forward to build 2

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Cheers J

[@Z3n1tHL0rD]

Great Video :) if you added dowels to each corner you could then drill holes in the material where the dowels are located, then by drilling other holes at the same spacing's, infinitely large designs could be made, by moving the device to the new datum points.

[@chrisjames6349]

This is absolutely brilliant Joshua! Really simple idea to get it going. I need a new plasma, I was going to go with an r-tech but they aren’t cnc compatible and now I want to keep my options open as I’m fairly au fait with cnc and now I want a cnc plasma! To go along with my current cnc router build.

[@joshuadelisle]

Nice. Thank you so much Chris. All the very best. Cheers J

[@t0rnado695]

i manged to get my self a fairly new used hypertherm powermax 45xp with cnc port on the back. also came with cnc torch. but i had to buy a hand torch to use it normally. so looking forward to sorting out a table like this.

[@randallsemrau6911]

Love your burn table, which uses pins instead of rails!

[@iandonkin6762]

Brilliant! And highly watchable content as always, even though I have no need for one of these.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you Ian. Cheers J

[@DM-fz3ly]

OUTSTANDING!! You ROCK and your description is very understandable. Thank YOU!!!

[@techydiy]

That worked well. Great video.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. Cheers J

[@guembo]

if you use cambam(free software) you can scale your workplace smaller than your part which means you could cut a part and once your gantry is to small to cut anymore, just scoot the gantry over and tell the software where the cut begins now and normally after a few tries you should be able to cut designs into 10ft sheets

[@DOCDEVOE699]

JOSH I am old now,,,, but I did in fact run a MG MESSER 5ft X 10ft table with a roller ball head for several years and please forgive me for not remembering some of the important stuff,,,,, but I can help you a bit by telling you first that the oxides on the metal have a very detrimental effect on your cuts and the amount of dross that you get on the back side,,, most big shops will only cut on NEW metal,,,, but if you will take the time to remove the rust and crap front and back with a heavy wire brush and or a flap disc,,,, your cuts will work much better for you,,,, SECOND ,, your consumables will last MUCH MUCH longer if you place a very good air drier between your compressor and your torch head,, and be sure to drain the condensate from your compressor tank every day,,,, the refrigerated drier is by FAR the best solution, and use 3/8 ID hose to supply your head with air,,and if your compressor is not keeping up,,,, then you need a bigger compressor,,,, that air pressure at the nozzle is very important,, the cheap air driers are simply a waste of money, you will also find that the expensive plasma software will tell your machine to cut clockwise on an inside circle and counterclockwise on an outside circle and will slow the cut speed in a turn ,,,,, and resume speed on a straight run, but that speed change is not apparent to your eye,, and that software will tell the head to jump around randomly on various parts of the sheet to avoid warping the metal or even jump around the whole plate where you have many parts nested on the same sheet, you will also find that the SIZE of the orifice will vary depending on the amperage that your are running and is quite important for nice clean cuts and the life of your consumables,,,,, and on thicker material your CUT will be slanted on one side of a circle and the opposite on the other side of the circle ,,, yet 2 sides will be straight up and down... the way I said that,,,, probably will not make much sense till you begin cutting thicker stuff and observe your cuts on a circle OR a square that you have cut,,,, but I was running a 200 amp machine with a water cooled torch and that SLANT to the cut was very apparent on thick stuff. and nobody has found a way to stop it yet,,,,, and what you said about VENTILATION on that table is VERY important,,,,, those gasses and particulates that come from your table WILL put the hurt on you,,,,, my table was not a WATER table,,,, so I cant say much about that, and if you are trying to cut on old rusty , crusty , pitted sheet metal and expecting clean cuts,,,, it aint gonna happen. there are charts and tables ONLINE that will tell you the proper cut SPEED for various thickness and type of material including aluminum and they will tell you the size of nozzle orifice and the amperage to set your machine at,

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much for spending the time to share your wisdom and experience. This is great information and I'll be certain to reflect and refer back to it. I wish you all the very best and thank you again for you encouragement. Cheers J

[@DOCDEVOE699]

NORMAL amperage settings per thickness of material www.eastwood.com/images/email_images/brand/cms_content/tech_article_content/Plasma60Chart.pdf

[@joshuadelisle]

@@DOCDEVOE699 thank you. This will be helpful for Americans. I did find a metric table and I'll play with clean material and dry air. Cheers J

[@quadking2679]

Danke!

[@darren-garden]

Your power is too high, airflow is too high and speed is too low. Your piercing commands are wearing your nozzle prematurely, always best to start at an edge if you can, or drill pilot holes at your start points if you can't. Obviously, a z axis would be a great improvement, you could start your pierce operation and then drop closer to the material, this will allow you to cut at muck lower power and help to reduce slag connected to the part. Dial down the power and your consumables will last longer. Also, invest in an air dryer. You can have a transparent tube filled with colour changing granules that tell you when they need to be replaced. They are re-usable if dried in an oven.

[@Brad-lt6mr]

What a brilliant way to get into CNC. I was looking at renting a bigger workshop and throwing thousands at a large table. Now I'm considering doing this as an intro, as I have no experience with it.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. Yes that was my plan. I learned a huge amount making this simple version and now I know exactly how I want my big table to work. Bluetooth and everything. All the very best. Cheers J

[@antonkoenr]

Awesome Joshua! Very relatable compared to many other channels splashing with moneys on equipment and tools. Thanks for the inspiration.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Cheers J

[@CB-dx6hy]

You build some great shit man. Thanks for sharing!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you for watching and your kind encouragement. Cheers J

[@Hollywood4Fun]

Just tested my plasma cutter (same as yours) and I'm happy to report that on 220 volt power it cleanly cut 13 guage (.09mm) plate using 35 amp setting and 35 psi air pressure. Cut speed was a guess of about 1 inch in two seconds which suggests the 2700mm feed rate suggested is probably right on the money. I tried 30 amps but didn't get a pierce when I quickly triggered the torch, but at 35 amps the peirce was instant. My air compressor is 110 volt 8 gallon 1.5hp and it claims it can provide 4.2 cubic feet of air per minute at 90 psi. So I think it will hold up no problem to the air requirements for thiner metal signs and probably be okay with larger steel as well provided the cut times aren't too long.

[@ALLworldCONSTRUCTIONLLC]

“You too can save thousands of quid, only with 20 years experience… link in the description”

[@joshuadelisle]

With tools as dangerous as these experience is probably a good thing before attempting to build one. Definitely saves a lot of money though if you're in the market for something of a similar performance. Cheers J

[@deano6188]

Great vid, I've done this cnc using a hf start and it played up, tripping out, lost it signal etc but then I wrapped all the leads with silver foil and it worked 50% of the time. My set up drags the tip across the metal and burn the tips very quickly.. Going to do what you said and get the pilot arc plasma cutter, glad I've found your vid very useful info.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I'll also be making mine Bluetooth compatible next so less wires. Cheers J

[@feolender2938]

BTW, plastic does not "insulate" from HF waves. Just sayin'

[@Hollywood4Fun]

I'm pretty sure this is the ultimate guide for getting started with CNC plasma cutting. I watched a lot of videos on the topic but your delivery of information is the best - no wasted ramblings. I checked out this video many times since it's all new stuff to me. I'm getting it slowly but surely. I do have a couple more questions though. I want to start with a table having a Z axis. I'm assembling from scratch and I find myself ordering more parts than I probably need - but it's all a learning process and I figure it's okay to have some extra parts around. I ordered one nema 17 42mm motor to experiment with for fit but will need to order two more motors and a control system. I'm thinkng it might be easier to order a cheap laser cutter table just to harvest the control system off it. I hate to buy the table if I don't really need it but it might be cheaper than actually buying the control system separate. Do you agree or would you order just the control unit itself? Also - do you feel a nema 17 42mm motor would be good enough for the z-axis? Lastly, I made a DXF file of an old school Hot Rod car that I would be happy to send to you to cut and use as decor for your shop. If you want to email me at [e-mail] I'll send it over to you. Thanks again.

[@joshuadelisle]

Hi. I'll be doing a follow up video on this soon. I'm going to build one from scratch using an esp32 controller and separate motor drivers. I'll include a z axis motor but keep the floating head. That way I don't need a THC and I can operate a pierce motion. It's very easy to use an off the shelf laser CNC to convert. Building from scratch is more work but at least you get to have it exactly to your specs. Lastly some people still get interference with HF so I've experimented with a ferrite ring around the controller wires which I think helps. Cheers J

[@Hollywood4Fun]

@@joshuadelisle I'll be looking forward to that video. Thanks again.

[@eco-racers9542]

Seasons Greetings from Canada!...you have given me a light bulb moment with your vid clip, I have been planning to get me one of those machines.😉

[@gavin6538]

A magnet base for milling second hand is great for holding while you cleanup what you have cut.

[@TinkerKing209]

I am mad that KZbin hasn’t recommended you sooner, I love the content.❤

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Cheers J

[@reaper060670]

I forgot to say sorry for the essay type comment. I tend to waffle a lot when I've watched one of these brilliant videos bro.. Salute from Dublin..

[@Reburned32]

Joshua, nice video! To save consumings, you need eliminate humidity from air. Water or condense kills ends of plasma torch.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Good tip. Cheers J

[@electromechanician]

I have that same laser and I have to say this is a brilliant idea! If I cam find new a used (or cheap) better (newer) Ortur than what I have, I may modify my current one into this! Brilliant!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I'll be building another larger one at some point when I get the time. Cheers J

[@walker68020]

Out standing job! First video I have seen of yours. Look forward to seeing more!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. Cheers J

[@icafese]

Tack!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much for your support. It is much appreciated. All the very best and have a great new year. Cheers J

[@deandee8082]

if you set up memory mapping with an accurate plotter you can just move the steel around on an accurate axis and just have it keep cutting

[@Chaos_God_of_Fate]

Hey, this is my plan- buy a generic cheap laser cutter and convert it. That's still a way down the road though. Thanks for the vid! I run an S30 Pro [10 watt] laser with the 1 meter expansion kit and a bunch of other custom upgrades and love the thing. I came up with this idea independently and searched for others who have done this. It'd be really nice to be able to use lightburn to plasma cut since I'm very good with it. This is a nice setup for learning!

[@jmxvideo7245]

What an inspiration! Thank for posting such detailed video my man! I watched the whole thing in amazement.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Cheers J

[@ToysForTheGods]

If you have the ability to acquire it, Argon Hydrogen mixes will give you much cleaner cuts. The cuts you have now are admirable, but if you ever need or desire to take it to the next level, I would suggest looking into it, especially if you ever want to cut stainless. Just a pro tip from a life time welder and fabricator.

[@ToysForTheGods]

I forgot to thank you for the great work and information that you put into this video, so thank you. You got a new subscriber in me.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. If I can get hold of it cost effectively I'll give it a try. Cheers J

[@designer-garb572]

I am not a metal worker or have a need for a plasma CNC, but totally enjoyed this video

[@joshuadelisle]

Awesome thank you. Cheers J

[@SciCynicalInventing]

I used to run a 5ft by 12ft long CNC plasma (Shopsabre) all the time at work and I could sometimes get away with not using the THC at all by raising the water level even with the sheet/ very slightly submerging the sheet. Although there might be slightly more dross on the cut from doing it that way, at least you don't have a wavy noodle to deal with! Just my 2 cents.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. That's great info. Cheers J

[@silicon.alchemist]

Don't really need to do that. Just having the water level close to the sheet is good enough. The air from the torch splashes the water all over the bottom of the sheet even if the water level is down a centimeter or two. This is obviously not going to work cutting 1" steel on a large machine, but warping is not really an issue there.

[@selrahc2061]

Thank you for your videos. To protect your electronics, if no one mentioned, build a small faraday cage, basically metal screen door screen in the shape of a box and run a ground cable. Used them in radio work in the military and civilian side.

[@The_Unobtainium]

It's just an ingenious, sensible and practical approach to the whole topic! Subbed.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Cheers J

[@The_Unobtainium]

@@joshuadelisle Thanks to you I realized that i don't need big work area. How about plasma cutter - have you tried long cuts? I was thinking about Hyertherm 30XP or 45XP but hey... the price is ridiculos for a garrage tinker.

[@jlssculpturedesign8140]

Thank you bro for the chat, means alot big respect

[@joshuadelisle]

Your very welcome. All the very best. Cheers J

[@toosas]

incredible. you can buy 2x the length bracket for most of these laser cutters from most manufacturers and double the length of the part you can make!

[@joshuadelisle]

Definitely. Cheers J

[@caddyguy5369]

Thank you for the idea. I was kind of bummed about the laser I got, but I can reuse the frame for this, which would be super useful.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. there are 20w laser modules that are interchaneable to other machines from comgrow, bit costly though. otherwise a plasma machine is awesome. cheers J

[@dariuszwisniewskimcg-class237]

Hi. Awesome video! I think may you have some water in the airline, that's why nozzle is gone quickly.

[@yatessmyrna]

You need a very dry air supply for super clean plasma cuts. The rest is just air volume, amperage, and travel speed settings. There are free plasma cutting spec sheets available online. Easy to program.

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you I'll look into how I can dry my air cost effectively. All the very best. Cheers J

[@DavidR8]

I scratch built a CNC plasma cutter and it cost me in excess of $400 three years ago and isn't as good as this. Definitely going to think about picking up a cheap laser engraver and doing the conversion.

[@DaMainMouse]

Straight talking, well informed as per the usual. Sold boss 😁

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you my friend. I hope this information serves you well. Cheers J

[@MetalMachineryTechnology]

WOW....very useful machine for the metal hand works. mostly for sheet metals....very very simple

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. Cheers J

[@rayhsetwo8594]

That's worth a sub, good job! Can you show it cutting some stainless steel maybe at different thicknesses? I agree the cutter is the business end, with a rigid stable frame and smooth movement the software side is ready packaged so building your cutter with generic parts just goes to show what quality can be achieved. Enjoyed that!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Yes I've got some 5mm stainless and 1.5mm stainless I can test and dial in settings with. I'm looking to make it Bluetooth compatible so less wires too. Much more to come when I get the time in. Cheers J

[@Hollywood4Fun]

Was watching another vid and the guy was saying to cut 14-16 guage at 30 amps with 30 PSI for best cuts. He said no need for 50 amp cuts and high air flow when it's thin material. He felt this was overkill - like running a gas cutting tourch at max heat on sheet metal. From what I've seen 2700-3200mm per minute would be right feed rate for 14-16 guage mild steel. I'm gonna play around with my plasma cutter tomorrow and try some different temps and speeds manually as best I can. 30 psi would be great since I have a smallish compressor and it may struggle to keep up with 70 psi flow rates. Also got my 220v to 110v adpater in the mail the other day (can't believe the plasma cutter didn't come with one - but it was cheap). Had to touch the tip on the metal when plugged into 110. Guessing this was a power issue, so looking forward to trying it tomorrow on 220 volt. I look forward to cutting on a cnc machine but still some weeks away yet. Peace!

[@Shotiepipe123]

Thanks!

[@Shotiepipe123]

Loving the vids matey! Any more sculptures anytime soon? Would love for you to show us how you go about designing a sculpture?? What CAD software do you use?

[@joshuadelisle]

@@Shotiepipe123 Thank you so much. Lots more to come. I use Sketchup pro mostly but it's not free anymore unfortunately and is getting very expensive. I also play with Blender which is good for sculpture but not so good for engineering. I haven't used anything else to comment wether it's good or bad other than SOLIDWORKS which is very powerful but incredibly expensive for a little business like mine. There are lots of CAD videos on YT but I guess one specific for metal work would be great. I'll see if I can get a video sponsored to do just that. Cheers J

[@ccpanel]

the bevel on the side of the first peice you cut is showing wear on consumables. second tip-when grinding plasma cut parts-dont grind on the flat back side, grind on the cut edge-barely. youre gonna 'cut' back ever so little till you undercut teh slag/dross and it will just fall off-saves your grinding effort and tools...

[@eCitizen1]

Thank you. I totally intend to make one of these. (unless I buy one first)

[@tomwagemans1872]

You can change nozzle size according to the thickness you are cutting. I don't know if your torch has this option. This helps the cut quality.

[@manmachinemake3708]

Great, just great.... now i need to build one for myself. As if I dont have enough unfinished projects. I use G-code on my CNC mill & lathe all the time and it's interesting how some of the spindle codes are used for the laser/plasma operation. I.e. M03 = spindle forward M04 = spindle reverse M05 = spindle stop Sxxx = spindle speed (in rpm)

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. That is interesting, I'm learning lots more every day. All the very best. Cheers J

[@matthardiman9764]

If you are going bigger with belts. Have a look at doubling them up to reduce stretch

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. I'll consider that. Cheers J

[@alfredbraun9416]

Thank you for this inspirational video. Everything worked exactly as you said. I used a Vevor laser engraver. I'm very happy with the results. Cheers Alfred

[@joshuadelisle]

Well done. Cheers J

[@michaelhite1433]

I subbed your channel for the diesel heater videos, but this is another interest I have.

[@joshuadelisle]

Lots more on this coming again soon. Cheers J

[@jonivanart]

WOW! Fantastic video! And putting all that information in the description is especially great! 👏 If I want to build one of these then I will refer back to your videos and donate to the cause. Thanks! 🤩

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. All the very best. Cheers J

[@gavin6538]

Awesome build. Just need someone to make this into a kit to put together at home. Please someone take up the challenge.

[@hemibreath]

Very nice “Top-Notch” ✅ The explanation’s very useful ✅✅

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. Cheers J

[@alanbrown1563]

very talented Joshua thanks for sharing

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you your very kind. Cheers J

[@batchrocketproject4720]

I'd not considered the idea of a lightweight portable gantry for taking large sheets and really like the concept, much better than marking out and hand cutting. Thanks for sharing 💯

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. Cheers J

[@BUCKSHOTBOTOX]

Joshua. I love you videos and am forever rooting for you in your success. I love your design approach, your creativity and your teaching is thorough , detailed and highly in depth and is a valued resource to me, and I thank you for that immensely. Thank you. Now, I believe I have an idea for a video series that is multi faceted You should design , plasma cut, and assemble a 2x72"(50x2000mm) TILTING BELT GRINDER WITH VARIABLE SPEED. As your series continues subsequent videos will highlight the cut and assembly of the various standard attachments for a belt grinder that Is highly instrumental in any metalwork woodwork or knife makers workshop. Small wheel attachment ,contact wheel attachment , rotary platen, surface grinder and of course a repeatable and highly adjustable toolrest. This grinder will be priceless for removing slag from plasma cut parts, sharpening twist drills, sharpening chisels,hot cut hardies, knives etc. One of the best parts is offering the .dxf plans for sale so people like me can make our own. I'm actually in the market for plans myself.. What do you think? I know it will be a standout video for your channel and I suspect it will standout among other belt grinder build videos. I look forward to your response. Thanks again

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. Your not the first to request a belt grinder design. The truth is I already own one but haven't made a space for it yet. I don't use one often enough to fully understand what people need so I can optimise it. There are already quite a few belt grinder plans out there so I don't think I can bring anything new in that sense. I will be making plans for my large CNC plasma. Also got some exciting projects lined up for a micro steam generator power plant and several tool reviews. All the very best. Cheers J

[@DeclanKiernan-vb5tp]

Josh great video its an inspiring piece of kit which i have made also. I did have issue with the yellow plasma cutter the pilot arc did cause some issues with the laptop seems to be some high frequency interference . I switched to an iyeah 55amp cutter non frequency pilot machine from Ali Express; It cost about 500 euro and is working a treat no issues what so ever Great idea already paying for itself; Keep up the good work mate!

[@joshuadelisle]

@@DeclanKiernan-vb5tp well done. I recently added ferrite rings to the cable to reduce any HF for sensitive devices which I think helps but I wasn't having much problem before compared to other people. But that's what I suggest if you do get HF, large ferrite rings. Cheers J

[@jameshollingsworth4714]

wonderful condensation of technique and technology. Inspiring!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you. Cheers J

[@OpenBuilds]

Great job with this build. Our V-Slot building system works great in it!

[@joshuadelisle]

Thank you so much. I'll check out what you have. Cheers J