Thermacut SD55 Plasma Cutter Upgrade | Part 3 - 1st Cut

[@Garylodge-s5j]

Well done Rusty another perfectionist job regards Gary

[@RustysMetalCutSignsDesigns]

Thanks Gary, I appreciate your kind words.

[@SegoMan]

Great Tutorial Rusty.. I'm am glad that I live in American and don't have have to worry about the interchange fees on currency, I am Hypertherm all the way. Machine torches on the tables and hand torches to plug in for the harvest of the skeletons. Now there is a challenge make your skeletons Halloween art!

[@RustysMetalCutSignsDesigns]

Thanks SegoMan. Hypertherm is the gold standard but they're very expensive down here. Halloween never used to be 'a thing' down under but it has taken off in recent years.

[@daipower1]

Hi Rusty, I have seen this video but not the other two as yet. I dont know if you remember but I have the same setup but I have the SD100 Thermacut set, and to be honest its been great, and a lot cheaper than the Hypertherm. Your consumables are different to mine, I have a separate black spring that goes on top of the electrode, I havent seen anyone else with the same setup, but am curious if my torch would take the hypertherm ones. Here in the UK some of the consumables can take a while to arrive, so I have to order ahead, but not sure if you have the ohmic pro box from Lukaz, but if you have a water table then its a must as I had all sorts of issues until I fitted that box, it was a game changer. Thanks for the video mate, I love the fact that you have the same setup as me as I can relate to it, but I bought my table not made it like you did, but I think your a bit cleverer than me LOL. Thanks Dai

[@RustysMetalCutSignsDesigns]

Hey Dai, firstly, thankyou so much for supporting the channel...it's greatly appreciated. Regarding the consumables, I'll send you a PM with the list of parts for my torch to see if they're the same as yours. As for my water table giving me issues with my material detection, you're correct...it does. I've had to lower my water table to reduce the material detection errors I'm getting on my table. Lukasz sent me an Ohmic Pro to try, but as yet I haven't installed it (it's on my list of things to do, along with upgrading my electrical cabinet). I did watch a recent video by Rob Broomfield, where he has installed an Ohmic Pro on his table, and it's been a gamechanger for him, as I'm hoping it will be for me, too.

[@ChrisMcCTheUlsterKiwi]

Hi Rusty. Just a quick question about the table. I’ve been thinking about making one myself in nz for a couple years now and between yours and the jd garage design they seem to be popular but I think might be a bit soft especially with the rubber belts. But is there things on your table that you wish you did differently or would like to change?? If so that could be a great video or follow up on the build

[@RustysMetalCutSignsDesigns]

G'day Chris and thanks for your comments. When I built my table, I used the original hand torch that came with the plasma cutter, and in order to make an ohmic sensor, I modified the original stand off guide, that came with the torch. It worked well, but did have a couple of minor hiccups....as did the plasma cutter; namely tripping out on duty cycle issues when making longer cuts with the amps turned up. Switching to a new plasma cutter (the Thermacut SD55) solved those issues, and the machine torch that came with the SD55 has its own ohmic sensor. However, water splashing onto the torch nozzle and ohmic sensor, caused me to have to lower the water table level, to get around constant 'material detection errors'. This introduced it's own problems, namely the material warping from the heat produced while cutting, and an increase in smoke and fumes coming off the table. The good news is the installation of the My Ohmic Pro unit, which basically de-sensitises the ohmic circuit, which has allowed me to run the water level at 15mm below the metal being cut, without causing any material detection errors....a real game changer. So, if you're going to run a water table and an ohmic sensor on your machine torch, definitely consider installing the My Ohmic Pro unit (available from Proma Elektronika). The MyPlasm software, also available from Proma Elektronika, is so simple to set up and use, it does make CNC plasma cutting, a breeze. It runs off .dxf files that I create in Inkscape. Besides that, the only thing I'd probably look at changing if I was going to build my table again, would be to look at 2010 ballscrews instead of the 1605 ones I went with. The main reason would be to run book speeds for thin material, but it's fine for all other thicknesses above 2mm....but being able to run the Hypertherm slow speed cut chart numbers for 1.6mm and thinner, does work well for me, though. I know there are people out there who don't like ballscrews, but for a table of my size, they work just fine. Hope this helps....and thanks for the suggestion of a video, which I've started working on, which is review of my table, after 3 years of operation.

[@ChrisMcCTheUlsterKiwi]

@ yea would love to see a video on the changes and you talking through it. I’m looking into making a table for myself. Being in nz I think it’s better as other built tables and pretty expensive. Just not sure whether to make my own design kinda like yours or get a planned design to build off like jd garages new xl plans for a half size or full size table. But don’t know about the 3d printed parts and would like to use the ball screw drive

[@RustysMetalCutSignsDesigns]

Chris, I sell plans for my table and I include a parts list, too. If you're going to use the MyPlasm CNC controller, I can include my wiring diagrams, too. If you're interested, feel free to email me at [e-mail]

[@rosswoolley2854]

I see your linear blocks need cleaning at the beginning of the video, Rusty.

[@RustysMetalCutSignsDesigns]

Hey Ross, you're correct. I've cleaned them now, as well as replaced the linear bearings on both Y axis rails as they were getting 'noisy'.

[@Blou55]

Hi Rusty, always good to follow you. Great video...as usual.

[@RustysMetalCutSignsDesigns]

Thanks Michel, I appreciate your support.