Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster.
Straight to it...
About a year ago, I bought a lightly used, early model Torchmate 4x4 table, which included a Miller spectrum 875 plasma (oh, the ironing). After some familiarization, it has been working fine for heavier, simpler parts like brackets, mounts and such.
However, when using it for lighter jobs (<.120"), with higher travel speeds on more intricate parts it runs into problems. The first was a simple 24"x12" garden sign that I was making from 14ga. sheet as a mother's day gift. It took almost an entire 4'x8' sheet of material to get it to come out. That turned out to be a bug in the gcode that had reversed the direction of an arc in one of the text letters.
Currently, I'm attempting to cut an entry gate sign that includes some text and graphics, again from 14ga. So far I've been through about half of a 4x10 sheet trying to get it right.
It seems to me that TorchmateCAD is having a hard time converting the design into a good gcode. Has anyone experienced this or similar? Is there a workable solution? Perhaps a better CAD software that will work with the Torchmate controller?
For reference, the plasma is running at 50a, torch height control set to 140v (to keep the head a bit higher off the material), and feedrate set at 120ipm.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
I'll be upgrading to either a 4x8 or 5x10 after I move out of my two-car and into my shop which is currently under construction. I'll likely be looking at brands other that TM. However, I'd still like to be able to use this machine in the meantime.
Straight to it...
About a year ago, I bought a lightly used, early model Torchmate 4x4 table, which included a Miller spectrum 875 plasma (oh, the ironing). After some familiarization, it has been working fine for heavier, simpler parts like brackets, mounts and such.
However, when using it for lighter jobs (<.120"), with higher travel speeds on more intricate parts it runs into problems. The first was a simple 24"x12" garden sign that I was making from 14ga. sheet as a mother's day gift. It took almost an entire 4'x8' sheet of material to get it to come out. That turned out to be a bug in the gcode that had reversed the direction of an arc in one of the text letters.
Currently, I'm attempting to cut an entry gate sign that includes some text and graphics, again from 14ga. So far I've been through about half of a 4x10 sheet trying to get it right.
It seems to me that TorchmateCAD is having a hard time converting the design into a good gcode. Has anyone experienced this or similar? Is there a workable solution? Perhaps a better CAD software that will work with the Torchmate controller?
For reference, the plasma is running at 50a, torch height control set to 140v (to keep the head a bit higher off the material), and feedrate set at 120ipm.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
I'll be upgrading to either a 4x8 or 5x10 after I move out of my two-car and into my shop which is currently under construction. I'll likely be looking at brands other that TM. However, I'd still like to be able to use this machine in the meantime.