Plasma control

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Commotion
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Plasma control

Post by Commotion »

I did a quick search and only found limited information on controlling plasma cutter. Since undertaking my little mill retrofit I have learnt a lot along the way. One thing being that I think the errors we were getting with our plasma cutter (where the spare servos and drives cane from for my project) are going to be primarily from the control and not the servos or drivers as I often wondered. I have learnt that if the servos don’t follow what their told then they going into fault and flash a red light. That’s never happened on the cutter so it must be the control.

So my question is regarding the control and software. Forgive me if I haven’t done enough reading before posting this but I don’t believe there is a plasma version of the software is there? Like the mill and lathe? The control on the machine currently is by flcnc. It’s a Chinese thing and I think it’s the cause of the random inaccuracies. But it does have some handy features like a library of shapes where the user can change some parameters and get the right size shape quite quickly. It also has curf parameters to adjust it if u set it wrong when programming the nest ect. Also the torch head just has a dc motor and lead screw to wind the torches up and down so everything is controlled by timers. Timer for arc, timer for preheat (flame), it has a pilot light and piezo igniter. A plasma /oxy seems quite basic compared to a mill but there is a bunch of little things to control. The cutter does have a THC box on it already which works with the dc motor.

If the acorn had a dedicated software interface for plasma/oxy I would buy another one and hook it straight up.
cnckeith
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Re: Plasma control

Post by cnckeith »

others have simply used the cnc12 mill software for plasma table. not much difference and you can write any custom macros you may need etc.
we are working on a router version of cnc12 which is based on the mill version with some router specific keys and macros pre bundled that will work with plasma as well. others have used the neuron THC control in conjunction with the Centroid as well.

what make model control that you are having trouble with are you referencing?
Need support? READ THIS POST first. http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1043
All Acorn Documentation is located here: viewtopic.php?f=60&t=3397
Answers to common questions: viewforum.php?f=63
and here viewforum.php?f=61
Gear we use but don't sell. https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... _gear.html
Black Forest
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Re: Plasma control

Post by Black Forest »

What type/brand of thc do you have on your table?
You will be better off using something like SheetCam to generate your G code for plasma cutting. It will work on the Acorn aand if you combine it with the Neuron Simplicity you will have a great system.
Commotion
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Re: Plasma control

Post by Commotion »

The machine is a HYCUT. We have a license and dongle for fastCAM. Our issue has been with random errors of edges. If we cut a full sheet nest and have multiple plates of the same profile once stacked on top of each other most would be within a mm or so but every now and then one would have an edge or a string of edges that would be offset by 10-15mm compared to the others. The odd thing is it’s not always the last edges it cuts. It could be part way through. We tried all sorts of things to fix it. We moved the plasma unit away from the control, we even replaced the control unit with a second one as we had a full second machine spare when we bought this machine second hand. Apparently the original purchaser had it arrived damaged from shipping so the seller sent a second machine.

As for the THC is just some unknown Chinese thing which came on it. It has some buttons and Chinese writing on the front panel with a little led showing voltage or amps I guess and a little black box mounted to the side of the machine which needs to be turned on for the plasma height and touch tensor thing to work.

The good thing about the library of parts is I have shown the guys how to use it so if they need some gussets or simple plates cut out for a job they are working on they can go do it themselves and don’t have to bother me to draw it up on the computer and give them the file on USB. Mind you I have not spent the time to learn about the intercon yet so it may be easy to generate the shapes that way. Once the hercus is up and running I will probably play with it then and work out how to do the simple tasks without having to use fusion360.
Black Forest
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Re: Plasma control

Post by Black Forest »

You are going to need a Plasma specific CAM program. As you know you will need kerf width, lean in/outs and pierce and cut height rules, etc..
Commotion
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Re: Plasma control

Post by Commotion »

Yep, fastCAM is a specific plasma cam package. It has fastCAM to set curf and do lead in and lead outs and I’m sure plenty of other features I don’t use then is has fastNEST to nest all the files onto a sheet and output the nc file.
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Re: Plasma control

Post by calsdad »

I'm thinking of using an Acorn controller (combined with Clearpath servo motors) - to build a plasma CNC table. I'm a newbie at this - so I'm on a steep learning curve.

I see that cnckeith made a comment that "we are working on a router version of CNC12" - any estimates on when that would be available?

I would like to have a couple of additional features on my table , one is an engraver , and the other is ability to trace out parts to produce G-code.

Would the digitizing bundle work with the router version of CNC12 ?

Would I be able to use the user configurable outputs to control an air scribe like the one here: https://www.universalpowerconversion.co ... e-assembly ?

Thanks!
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