New Bucket for an old FEL

[Renze]

I've used a marker in ours to trace patterns onto plywood. Maybe, one day, replace the torch with a router holder to do wooden 3D signs.

At a company i worked a few years back, they even cut 18mm plywood with their laser cutter, for the towns carnaval parade...
It just smelled a bit like a wood BBQ....

With plasma that wont work because the plywood doesnt conduct the electricity needed to pull the arc...

 

[SPYDERLK]

This is the latest progress report:

One thing missing from the old setup was a pressure gauge. So I ordered a liquid filled 0-3000 PSI gauge from surplus center. It came in yesterday afternoon. So I got busy modifying a 3/4" x 90* street elbow to accept the gauge. When drilling and taping the fitting I was surprised how soft the metal is. The drill and tap cut through like butter. I used a copper washer to seal the joint. [SNIP]
Larry

Does the gauge have a restrictor for safety? Bourdon tubes can fatigue and in general a gauge is fragile compared to the other fittings. You need very little flow. I screwed a bolt into the fitting holding mine and let it find its way thru the threads.
larry

 

[GuglioLS]

Under the software tab Machine, have you tried the cut preview button? It will show you the cuts on - screen and the work piece....SNIP....

Hi TLBuser,

Yes eventually I found that preview, another thing I figured out is you can de-select "use automated control" , then push "cut" and the table will proceed to trace the parts as if cutting without turning on the plasma. A good feature to see if the work piece is in the correct position. I am heading back to the shop in the morning to fix an old lathe, and plasma cut some more parts. I hope to get more experience then. One thing that still mystifies me is how to manually set the start / lead in lines and the length of those start lines off the work piece. Plasma-cam seems to have a mind of it's own when it comes to that.

The next big thing for me to figure out is how to set the "Zero" torch height, so when I tell it to cut .250" above the work piece, it actually is + .250" in the Z axis. Obviously this changes with the thickness of what's on the table, so knowing how to quickly reset the height is a must.

Any tips, advise and how to's would be greatly appreciated.


Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

Does the gauge have a restrictor for safety? Bourdon tubes can fatigue and in general a gauge is fragile compared to the other fittings. You need very little flow. I screwed a bolt into the fitting holding mine and let it find its way thru the threads.
larry

Hi Larry,

The gauge I used being rated for 3000 PSI was manufactured with what looks like a pin hole through the center of the fitting. Are you saying you had a gauge rated for high pressure with a "standard" NPT ID? Sounds to me like it was not manufactured correctly or was not truly an approved high pressure gauge (Chinese knock off?). I've never seen a HP gauge where the input was not just a small pin hole. Where did you get it? How high a pressure will it read? You got me curious, so I went and looked at my stock of gauges. Of the three I looked at, all had small pin holes for the input. Attached are some pics. From left to right "Fluid Dynamics Components" (the one I used) an "Airco", and a "Matheson".

Larry

 

[tlbuser]

Hi TLBuser,

One thing that still mystifies me is how to manually set the start / lead in lines and the length of those start lines off the work piece. Plasma-cam seems to have a mind of it's own when it comes to that.

The next big thing for me to figure out is how to set the "Zero" torch height, so when I tell it to cut .250" above the work piece, it actually is + .250" in the Z axis. Obviously this changes with the thickness of what's on the table, so knowing how to quickly reset the height is a must.

Any tips, advise and how to's would be greatly appreciated.


Larry

Lead-in length, Under Machine tab select settings then drawing and editing look for cut path conversion.
Next tab - Machine control is the X/Y/Z and height control page.
Next tab - Sys. Config. is where you can 0/0 the torch location.

When importing a file, do you have the radio button "import as cut paths" on? If so, after importing go to Machine tab, select reorder paths. If the radio button is off, then you
select Machine , convert to cut path and you manually select the lead-ins and path order.

Would you like a copy of my manual?

 

[GuglioLS]

TLBuser,

Thank you, Thats exactly what I need. I printed out your tips to take with me. I'm leaving right now.

Larry