Innovative, CNC Tables at Reasonable Prices

Call 1 870 427 2421

558 Fox Hunt Ln Everton Ar 72633

Question.

Why do you use belt drive, over rack and pinion?

Answer

We have experimented with Chain drive, Rack and Pinion drives, Screw drives and Belt drive. After much effort we have determined that, belt drive runs smoother, requires less maintenance, is easily modifiable, replaceable, and can be extended with little effort. It is not the cheapest way, as chain is a significant lower price, but it is the most efficient way that we have discovered.

Question.

What is the importance of “travel speed”?

Answer.

Travel speed determines how fast the system will go from point A to point B on the table, between its cuts. Having high travel speed may cut seconds off your total cut time for your project, but the time savings are usually negligible. Our tables are able to handle 1000 inch per minute travel speeds, it is dependent on what motors are installed, and the controllers used. However, the acceleration to 1000 IPM normally takes half the length of the table to accomplish. We find it safer and easer to use a travel speed of between 350 to 700 IPM, as much higher then this can jerk your table around and cause loss of accuracy over time.

Question.

Is cross drive better then dual drives?

Answer.

By leaps and bounds, in our opinion. Our research has shown that, over time on a dual motor drive system (if not using servos) one of the motors can loose step with the other, this results in gantry twist, and other problems that can devolve your accuracy, using a cross drive system eliminates this problem, and is a more cost effective solution.

Question.

Why cant I get super accurate cuts with my plasma cutter?

Answer.

Because “plasma” is a form of fire, and small things can effect it, such as mild wind, humidity, and even the consistency of the metal you are cutting. Your consumables (the tip of your cutter) changes size with every use, and can greatly effect the individual accuracy of each cut. Plasma cutting is not a super accurate thing, laser cutters can provide much more consistent accuracy, but are usually price prohibitive.

Question.

When I cut thick metals I get a rough edge, why is that?

Answer.

Here again were talking about plasma cutting accuracy, the swirling motion coming from the cutting head will leave a rough edge when cut, to fix this as much as you can, slow your cut speed until you find the optimum finish. You will not likely get a perfectly smooth edge on any plasma cut, and may need to clean it with a grinder. (this is not typically a problem with thin sheet metal, but is more noticeable on thicker product)

Question.

Why do all my holes have a slight bevel to them?

Answer.

This is a constant plasma issue, the solution is to make your holes slightly smaller in your cad drawing, and drill them out after it is cut.

Question.

When I use a pin router to mill out plastic or wood, I don't seem to get as accurate as I would like, Why is that?

Answer.

Several thing are going on here at once, the number one thing to consider is the cutting tool, as most pin routers are not able to handle “accurate” milling. The pin router, may have some “slop” in it, this will degrade accuracy in your cuts. The next thing to consider is your material, plastics are normally constant and should not be an issue, but wood (of any kind) will have grain, and this can lead to problems with your milling tools, the solution is to slow your cut speed, make sure your bit is the correct type for the material and the RPMs you are cutting, make sure your cutter is turning clockwise or counter clockwise, and that your settings in your CAM program reflect this. The only way to produce highly accurate “mill” cuts is with a real milling head, these typically start in the $3,000 range and can go up from there, I typically get very satisfying results with a low cost “Roto Zip” on our tables.

Question.

When I use my plasma cutter, my computer freaks out and everything stops working or the cutter runs away with itself, what is causing this?

Answer.

RF interference. Your plasma cutter is accentually a large radio transmitter. The RF that is being sent out can interfere with all kinds of electronics. The solutions are, 1^st make sure you have everything properly grounded, next if you still have issues, use “chokes” on all your wiring to and from your pc, (a choke is a small piece of metal that clips to the wire, and reduces RF interference they are fairly cheap and can be purchased on line from a number of sources ) this next part is important, if you have a wireless network card that has an antenna on it, try removing it from your pc.

Question.

Why do you use common CAT 5 network cable to run your systems?

Answer.

Simply put, its effective. CAT 5 (network cable) is able to handle the full power load of the motors we use, and if a cable gets cut, or damaged, from use, our customers can replace it with any standard network cable (pre-made with all 8 pins connected). This saves problems, with having to order special parts, cables, ends, and so on from us, in the event something damages a cable. Its much lower cost to you then other cable systems, and as a twisted pair system it prevents RF interference from your cutter.

Question.

Do you have other pictures of your plasma tables?

Answer.

Raw pictures can be seen here.