my question now is one that i'll probably regret asking because i think it's going to be a matter of opinion and luck, and i'll apologize in advance if i create too much trouble...
i've been looking at a plasma cutter for the last couple of years, and this unit is close to what i'm looking for, though it may not have all of the features i'd like. i've looked at the hypertherm 45 for many reasons: good brand reputation for service and support, supposedly great consumable cost/life per use, and it operates in the range of material that i'm usually working with. the main drawbacks that have kept me from purchasing one are the $1500 price and the fact that i still have torches. the price is not at all unreasonable, but this is mainly for personal use and i still have a year or more left on my last oxy/acetylene contract, but the increasing cost of gases is making me lean toward the plasma sooner. i still have a 20cf oxy & mc acteylene setup that i can use when i need to heat or cut away from the shop, so the large gas bottles aren't too important.
i used to work for a large fabrication company, and i've seen the wonders of cnc cutting, and i've had some ideas of building a small cnc plasma setup when i get a plasma unit. the thermal dynamics unit or a comparable imported cutter are both likely to be high frequency start, which seems to be an issue with cnc computer systems, though i don't have any experience to know whether that can be dealt with or not. at the $500 or less price point, i think i could live with that issue since it will likely be a while before i got a cnc setup working anyways. i could always sell and get a bigger unit then, since i'm going to be severely limited on pierce capability anyways.
i'm looking at this unit and the price is pretty much the same price as a new imported plasma cutter that operates in the same material range. i understand some people have a great bias against imported equipment, and some of it is probably justified, and some if it is not. i hate to single out any one manufacturer or product, but the everlast supercut 50p looks to provide pretty much the same specs as the 50xl, and at about the same cost. the difference is that one is new and the other is 10-15 years old. i assume the 50xl must have retailed in the $1000-$1500 range when new. i'm also assuming that if a circuit board or other part inside were to go it could likely cost me $500 to repair it, if parts were even available. a new imported unit will at least have a warranty so i'm likely to have a few good years with no trouble, and maybe a lot longer. based on stated weights, i'm assuming the thermaldyne is a transformer and the everlast is an inverter? is there likely to be any lifespan difference here?
all this said, is there a good valid reason to go with the much older name brand if the prices are the same? as i said, it's probably luck and opinion, but is there anything i haven't already thought of here?