Ep01: Plasma CNC intro | Bestarc BTC500XP 11th Generation

Рет қаралды 3,000

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 41

@owenjohnson5030 Ай бұрын

In the US our amp ratings have a 20% buffer. If the requirements state a 30 amp circuit it means the breaker should be 30 amps. That means the device will nominally draw 24 amps max. That’s why the wire is smaller than what would normally be used for a 30 amp continuous draw. Just saw the part of the video where you displayed the electrical info. If I’m reading it correctly the normal draw at max power connected to 220 volts is 18.9 amps.

@routercnc9517 Ай бұрын

I've been away from the project for a while so I'll go and check if the max is 18.9 Amps on 220V. I thought I read ~29A or so but I'll double check. I believe the UK double sockets are stress tested to 14A on one outlet and 6A on the other but I don't want to do that routinely if it really is 18.9A on full power. Let me look into it again.

@sonsrc1326 4 ай бұрын

I love a new project looking forward to this one

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

Me too!

@georgeh01 4 ай бұрын

Used many NUCs from iCubes on small Automation Machines at my last place - really really good

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

OK thanks. I'll look at those. The ones I had a quick scan over where some Banggood units around £90. Came with HDMI, USB, WiFi, network, and Win 11. I'll see if Banggood would be interested in a review!

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

OK, look nice but no prices on the iCubes website (for some reason could not find Automation Machines but could be me!). "Look" more expensive than my cheapy option, although those are new ones, probably don't need much performance as controller should do the work.

@JoshuaBoyd 4 ай бұрын

In the US, 1 litre office PCs, such as the Dell Optiplex Micro line, or the Lenovo Tiny machines are dirt cheap used 3-5 years after they came out. Maybe the market isnt this way where you are, but here such a used office machine will be way cheaper than just about any NUC.

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

I've not looked at those so I'll check them out. I quite like the idea of the PC being inside the control cabinet and out of the way so the NUC is a nice option and there are some models around £100. I'll see how they compare for size and availability, thanks.

@mr.b6034 4 ай бұрын

Might be worth a look into the MyPlasm controller (by Proma) it comes with a dedicated THC interface controller. It is purpose built for cnc plasma setups...

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

I think I looked at that and it was quite expensive. I'll have another look to see what it offers and compare to my current direction. Thanks.

@m3chanist 2 ай бұрын

@@routercnc9517 Not expensive but very reliable and works extremely well. A hidden gem. I switched from mach4 and ethernet smooth steppers to myplasm on my plasma and linuxCNC on my VMC, my only regret was not doing it sooner. Myplasm imports svg and dxf files, no gcode post, it's a dedicated plasma system, not a generic multipurpose tool like mach, and as a result is far cleaner to use and more productive. It's purpose made for one thing, plasma cutting, and it does it really well. Proma-Elecktonika is the company, they are Polish and have an excellent set of tutorial videos in English here on this platform. Re the machine, I'd highly recommend not using ball screws but either belts or rack and pinion, eg GT2 belt in 10mm and up is perfect for a small machine and very cheap and easy to implement. You need the speed unless you only ever want to cut heavy plate, the thinner you go, the faster you need to be able to go, because speed gets modulated not current. Speeds that will make ball screws whip. Plasmas needs are nearly opposite to milling or routing, more like a 3d printer, you want as little mass as you can get on the moving components which is easy enough to achieve given zero cutting load, it needs to be agile to get good cuts. Edit to add: DRY air, the built-in moisture trap on these machines is decorative only, ok for a few minutes hand cutting, useless for cnc, damp air means bad cuts and ruined con$umable$. Some form of air dryer is mandatory unless you want to be doing lots of post cut clean up on generally manky results. You want your plasma source and the torch lead as far away from your control cabinet as you can get it, I'd also advise not having your control cabinet near your cut start point. The cabinet should have it's own ground and be galvanically isolated from the machine frame which in turn should have it's own ground as well as the earth clamp back to the plasma source.

@clivesewart8723 4 ай бұрын

Have you thought about the dry air requirements. Looking forward for the build. I have built a 4x3 plasma with water table

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

The manual says the built-in one is OK for low volume DIY, but above that then consider another air filter. When I was in the industrial pneumatic shop the other day I did glance at the filter kits, but didn't ask about prices! I think the trade off is less life on the consumables. I did think about a water tray but didn't fancy the mess. I'll try the downdraft funnel type into a bucket, with a fan just above the bucket blowing the smoke out of the garage door and see how it goes. I'm leaving the design open so I could retro fit a water tray if that ends up being the better option.

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

What did you go for on the air drier? I’ve seen people use the type with absorbent granules inside which change colour.

@PeteBrubaker 4 ай бұрын

Great video! I'll have to check out one of those cutters, it seems way better than the old CUT50 I have. I hope you don't mind if offer some completely unsolicited feedback/thoughts. Have you calculated the amount of flex you are going to see when the torch is all the way out on the cantilever? I know you're going to have a THC and that will take up for some of that. If you want to stay with the cantilever design, I think you might have to upsize the gantry beam. I'd also consider rotating the beam 90 degrees. You'll have more rigidity with the larger side vertical, more metal resisting that moment. You might also consider placing your rails on adjacent sides of your gantry. Say, move the one on the top furthest from the screw to the front face of the beam. Then you can move the screw to the top of the gantry more centrally located to the center of mass of the x carriage. Possibly the same thing on the X. I'm a tad worried about the twist with the rails that close together.

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for that. I did ask for thoughts and advice so it is all welcome. If you look at the CAD again there is a vertical 40x80 section joined under the top 80x40 section to form a very deep L shape. So it is much deeper than 40x80 alone, more like 80x120. I also wanted to keep the mechanical parts, especially the ballscrew out of the way of the plasma so put it on the back. I did look at the Langmuir and JD garage cantilever designs. I think I have much more section than theirs and the 20mm linear rails and carriages are very stiff compared to 3D printed bearing holders used on JD garage. Gantry beam is aluminium and Y&Z axis will have weight reduction where possible (holes, 3D printed parts etc.). When it is built I'll test the deflection and maybe measure the stiffness at the end of the gantry. I'm OK with it, especially with the THC but let's see!

@PeteBrubaker 4 ай бұрын

@@routercnc9517 Right on! I figured you must have thought about this stuff in your design. I'm looking forward to seeing the build and the tests!

@Handskemager 24 күн бұрын

That plug looks suspiciously like an EU plug and not a US 9:25 yeah getting a closer look, that is an EU plug.

@routercnc9517 23 күн бұрын

Yes, sorry I was not very clear in the video. They ship this with an EU plug and then supply an EU to US adapter cable for the US market. As I am in the UK and this was the US model they left it with the EU plug thinking I could make use of it. However, the UK plug is different to the EU plug so I swapped it out!

@Handskemager 23 күн бұрын

@@routercnc9517yeah the UK plug is tbh a way better design, integrated fuse is actually a pretty nice idea, the EU plug is a mess with the different earth’ing types available.

@routercnc9517 22 күн бұрын

@@Handskemager Having grown up with UK plugs I had not thought much about it previously but now we have things like KZbin it is fun to see all the versions around the world. Like most people here I was taught about fuses from a young age, so a kettle would be 13A and a lamp might be 1 or 3A so I don't think about it much. Although there are lots of other safety features (shrouded pins, moulded finger guard, longer earth pin to contact first, strain relief grommets, and shuttered sockets) some people miss the fact that most sockets also have switches. That means we generally keep things plugged in and switch then on / off as required at the wall. It also means unplugging is even safer since we are taught from a young age to switch off before doing so.

@pierreboone568 4 ай бұрын

yeh........ New Build, great.

@WillemvanLonden 4 ай бұрын

85 pounds for that extension? You've been had!

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

Probably! But it was one of those industrial places with a counter, I needed the parts to confirm it was all working and there was a queue starting behind me. The Rectus fitting feels nice and quality and there are a few adapters put together, and I needed an extension on the airline so went for it. Was hoping to pay

@BestArc-offical 4 ай бұрын

Hey friend, your video content left a deep impression on me. Is it possible for us to collaborate on a project at some point? Let me know your thoughts and keep working hard!

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

Hi. Thanks for your interest. Are you from the Bestarc company? I'll be spending the next 3 to 4 months of my spare time making this CNC plasma machine so that will be my main project for now. I have looked at your website and it looks like you only sell plasma machines and MIG welders. I have just bought your plasma machine, and I already have an expensive MIG welder, what sort of project were you thinking about? Maybe I'll email your customer services with a link to this video and we can continue this over email, thanks.

@BestArc-offical 3 ай бұрын

@@routercnc9517 How do I contact you by e-mail?

@Der_Drache 4 ай бұрын

thats interessting that the US model has an US air connector but an EU plug. very Strange

@routercnc9517 4 ай бұрын

I think it is because I emailed them and said I was based in the UK. For the US model they would normally include an adapter to take the EU plug into a US plug, but they left that out of the box for me. The price point / features meant I was happy to make it all work.

@owenjohnson5030 Ай бұрын

The US version has a US NEMA style plug for 240 amp circuits.