Hello,
I am wondering what everyone would recommend as a good light industrial plasma/router table. I have read a number of things from the news groups and other sources and I am totally confused now. I have narrowed the field down a bit to 3 different tables. Two of them are running winCNC the other is MACH 3. I was hoping to use MACH
3 but I was told that it was a bit of a hobbest application and not for real work. MACH 3 seemed to be widely accepted from what I saw. I thought that I had it selected but the final cost threw me. It seems that everything is an add-on and some of the items are well over priced which has me wondering.The next problem I have seen is the torch height control for the plasma. I read that winCNC didn't work very well with it but then I was told that it had no problems. The price seems to be $2500.00 plus an extra $500.00 for the sensors ($3000.00 for ATHC). The unit I saw which used MACH 3 was under $1000.00 complete, but the one company is selling it for $2500 and no mention of extra sensor costs. What is true here? The plasma cutter I want to use is the Hypertherm 1000.
What would the check list be when looking for a CNC table which needs to be used out of the box? What hardware should I use? (I am even considering to get a table without electronics and order the controller and drivers and install them myself) What software should I use? What sort of things should I watch out for?
I think a 4' x 4' table with steppers which is capable of both a plasma and a router (which could be interchanged for required operation) I want to cut metal, plastics, and wood.
Thanks,