DIY CNC Plasma Cutter for 300$
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มี.ค. 2024
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Thanks for watching! Please send me any questions or comments you may have to improve this DIY CNC Plasma Cutter.
This was a fun project. I basically just converted a cheep laser engraver used for hobbies and strapped on a plasma cutter creating a simple home purpose plasma CNC cutter. Total money I spent just over 300$ for the laser engraver and the plasma cutter. I used some scrap metal to make the cutting table which served two purposes: this made a proper cutting surface and raised the cutting surface closer to the plasma head. This was needed to gain clearance where the plasma torch will not interfere with the engraver frame.
Wiring:
I could have spent more time figuring out the relay system. From what I understand, If I move the engraver driver further away from the plasma cutter head, this will decrease the amount of electrical signal interference. Also adding wiring shielding would help with this. All in all, I think the thumb button was the easiest way to go about this.
Product information:
* VEVOR 5W Laser Engraver*
amzn.to/474MT6f
*Plasma Cutter* VEVOR CUT-50
amzn.to/481IRwQ
The only other parts needed are some wiring Items:
18 Gauge wire
wire crimp connectors
Automotive relay (If you decide to go this rout)
*Thumb Switch*
Momentary on switch or "mom" switch
CAD Software:
Laser GRBL: worked just fine for the simple stuff
Light Burn: This is a product for purchase. the software license is 89.00. They offer a 30 day free trial which is what I used to make everything in this video. I will purchase this if I don't go with the fusion 360 program.
Sheet metal Cut Speed suggestions:
Increase the pause time to 1500 if using the thumb button
16 gauge
speed 10mm/sec or 0.4in/sec depending if your metric or not.
advanced
start pause 800 check cut though
end pause 1000
14 gauge
Speed 8mm/sec or 0.3in/sec depending if your metric or not.
start pause 1000 check cut though
end pause 1000
10 gauge
speed 7mm/sec or 0.276in/sec depending if your metric or not.
advanced
start pause 1200 check cut though
end pause 1000
3/16
speed 5mm/sec or 0.2in/sec depending if your metric or not.
advanced
start pause 1500 check cut though
end pause 1000
1/4
speed 3mm/sec or 0.11in/sec depending if your metric or not.
advanced
start pause 1600 check cut though
end pause 1000
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You got the hardware done, and excellently! For the relay you were so close. You have to know that you were wrong with measuring the 12V at the laser connector. These are digital signal controlled, meaning, it gives 5V but digitally, you have to look for a 5V PWM relay, hook that up to the laser connector and hook up your 2 trigger wires to your plasma cutter. Also, the controller is better removed from the frame, and lastly, ground your plasma table to your plasma cutter, this should clear up the RF interference. Please order the 5V PWM relay and you have a professional machine that will trigger at the right time!
Awesome! I believe that was the information I was missing. Thank you for sharing! I am excited to try this.
@@scantronsgarage I am excited for you as well! Please keep us posted how it's going! I subbed!
@@makingcookingfixing I will! Thank You!
From what I've researched, you need a low frequency with blowback plasmacutter. Also, I would remove the controller from the frame of the machine and put it on a piece of wood or plastic
Yes thank you. This is certainly going to get some future upgrades.
This is genius! Thanks for sharing your thought process. 🧠👏🏽
Thank you! and i'm happy you enjoyed the video !
You can get the two pin plugs online,look for two pin CB microphone plugs, I have done this for my tig welder trigger and the foot pedal. To stop the HF interference you need a choke and a couple of ferrite beads in the trigger line.
Thanks!!! I looked up these parts. I believe your wiring skills and knowledge is much higher than mine. I wouldn't even begin to know what to do with these components unfortunately.
great project, love it !!!
Thank you! Cheers!
Definitely an awesome idea I will have to try!
Yes. this was a fun project
Vevor makes awesome tools. You sir, make awesome videos! Thank you
Yes they do and thank you for the compliment!!
I used to work for a company who laser cut a lot of steel, we used support slats for the material being cut, this was a strip of steel like yours with a series of spikes (like a series of conjoined triangles) this reduced the contact points with the material being cut, allowing the molten metal to get away from the cut line, reducing the slag build up. These support slats get eroded away (we replaced every month or so). This should give you a cleaner continual cut!
Yes! I will have to make that upgrade. I am already seeing the wear through on my slats. Thank you for your advice : )
thnx very much am looking forward to geting this set up
Awesome! Glad this helped you out
I actually had this exact idea. This is down the road though. It'll be kinda convenient since I'm very good with Lightburn and so I will be able to use that for designing things. I've got a pretty good laser setup right now, next is a CNC for wood but after that a plasma cutter for metals. Thanks for showing me that my idea is actually doable! Nice work!
This should come easy to you then. Setting up the machine was easy. I spent more time trying to learn the program.
I love this. People are hating for whatever reason but its super innovative and works well enough. Plus its scaleable and upgradeable and is a perfect setup for starting out wirhout breaking the bank. Im going to use the hynade cnc which is non HF and see if i can get them to talk still.
Thank you!! That is exactly why I made this. It was simple enough and inexpensive. There are some hurdles to overcome but they are pretty straight forward. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Thanks for not being a hater : )
You can use fusion360 for your designs and import them into light burn. Light burn has the worst design tools but it makes up for everything else. Also i found that if the controller box is always atleast 6 feet away from the machine it shouldn't malfunction or break.
Thank you for the information. Light Burn is certainly difficult to create with. Importing designs in sounds like an excellent idea. I also plan on moving the controller box away. You know how it is, I was too excited to try this out rather than making the additional needed changes first.
Fusion 360 screwed the hobbyists and I will never touch their product again.
I think in the long run, a low frequency plasma cutter will take a lot less workarounds and provide better reliability. Yes, they cost more, but your time is worth something too.
@@solarguy6043 Thanks for the info. . I hear that about fusion 360 now and I think I will avoid it
The frequencies from the plasma cuter will end up playing hell with a lot of your control wiring. You can get back to the relay if you use shielded/grounded wiring like even old cable TV wire. Also look into optocoupled switches.
Thank you for this information. I will definitely try this when I update the machine.
I’m setting up something very similar, so very helpful video mate. One thing I can’t work out is how you compensate for the thickness of the cut in the software. I’d be using lightburn too, so any info would be great 👍🏻
In light burn, you need to just adjust the cut speed to compensate for the material thickness. I breezed over this in the video but I also have the cut speed recommendations listed in the video description for your reference. Good luck with your build and please tell me what you learn in the process so I can improve my machine. Thank you
You know you can remove like 70% of the torch head if this is a dedicated setup the whole trigger section right up to the head would be very easy to remove.. Also you can easily super sized this 2x 8ft rails 3x 4ft rails and like 3 belts from a china website.. You would also have to make some minor firmware settings changes to accept the huge cutting area... Im thinking about building one myself
Thats an awesome idea! Thank you! I dont know how to do the firmware part though
@@scantronsgarage It should be super easy just figure out how to do a update on it and tell it the increased bed size.. Theres a video supersized 3d printer where someone made a 1m cube printer.. Worst case you have to get the PN off of the control board and then search how to flash new firmware or updated firmware to it..
@@imridingwithstoopidohwaiti3948 Awesome! Thank you! I will look into that
Great video. Thanks. Have a look at using an arduino instead of a relay. Please let us know when you make further mods
OOHHH.... Am Arduino! That is a great idea. I have no experience working with them but I will have to look into that.
Since watching your video I found JD garage. They really got on top of an arduino, right down to measuring current and setting torch height dynamically from it. You'll find them on TH-cam
@@GPZ_Biker I will check it out! Thank you!
Did you end up finding out how to mitigate the problem of High Frequency. Button is great but wont give you true automation
Not yet unfortunately. I may have fried the controller that drives the switch. I put the laser head back on and that would not trigger either. It seems I should have shielded the wires and moved the controller further away before testing the machine.
I built a machine very similar to this and it works phonemical. (relay works on my machine and happy to show you what it took.)
I think your doing things the hard way on the software side of things. Fusion is an order of magnitude more powerful. Lemme know if you want a hand doing some of the more advanced stuff with it.
Cool! I wasn't sure if fusion 360 would compute over well with this setup. I am new to the CAD process which shows in my video. Im happy to take all the help i can get.
@@scantronsgarage Sure, just lemme know the best way to setup a call is.
with the order of magnitude more power comes great complexity I've found Fashion 360 exceptional for 3d modelling and machining but in the 2 d space and profile cutting i find it heaps harder to use and not more capable than on shape Lightburn Inkscape.. the way inscape can trace an image into DXF is heaps better than anything similar in fusion the way light burn has a good control interphase with the machine is also terrific things like being able to rotate the part on the table 15 degrees just before you cut .. I'm interested to know what "more powerful" from fusion is of advantage in a profile cutting arrangement.
@@incolink I'm new to this and still trying to educate through my slow learning curve. I dont have any experience in cad drawing but I am interested in working with whatever product will work for me. I only brought up fusion because I "heard" it was a good product. Thank you for your input.
@@scantronsgarage yeh i feel its a good product in the particular scenario you are making more complicated 3 d parts with more complicated machinery .But my experience (limited yes) has been in the profile cutting set ups like this other systems are easier . So to make a single profile cut part i think fusion 360 is it horrible how ever if you want to make very elaborate full sheet metal rear subframe with self jigging tounge joints you can model the entire thing is fusion make parts with folds and fit them all together then unfold them and lay them out on a sheet and profile cut them then email out a handfull of shaft and other parts .But it takes a while to learn yeh there is heaps of training stuff on you tube you just have to put the time in
The relay didn't worked because you used the signal of the laser cutter on the same path as the signal that went into the machine, you should have the signal coming from the laser engraver to the signal of the relay, all grounds on ground, 12v to the relay and then power to the source (plasma cutter). It may sound confusing but if you follow the diagram of the relay you might understand it a bit better.
ok. I will have another look at it.
hi.. did you find a solution for connecting the laser to the plasma trigger that does not cause disconnection..?
not a manual trigger..
As of yet no unfortunately. It seems I may have fried the trigger in the controller when first testing the machine. I should have shielded the wires and re located the controller prior to testing. I connected the laser head back on and this would not trigger either.
Changing wiring later? Include that, work out all the bugs, make another video. I've done these jobs before the computer became integrated into most systems, but arthritis, multiple fused joints and cataracts, I'd need a complete video beginning to end with my gaps in computer knowledge. I understood the instructions, but not the changes you spoke of making off camera, or "later." Otherwise, I got it. Good video, just a bit incomplete to someone with limited computer savvy.
Thanks!!!! I am not computer savvy either which may explain my lapse in being able to explain the process any better. I guess the idea is you gotta play around with the program a bit to get familiar with it.
As far as the wiring goes, I think the trigger switch is the way to go. It was simple and easy.
Also, I hear you with the joint pain and arthritis. My hands are starting to give up on me which is wat motivated me to make this.
@@scantronsgarage
Dang, dude, you look too young for that arthritis curse. Bone on bone ain't no fun...but we keep tryin', right?
@@monotheis6889 always do! medicine helps : )
20 minute video, uploaded for 5 minutes... already thumbs up 🤔
Woo Hooo!!!! thank you much!!
NICE BRO.....................
Thank you so much 😀
Your system will never be stable. You must use double shielded cable for all wires with drain wires running to common ground, dont use usb cable to drive system (very unstable), ground everything with a common ground point, low frequency blowback cutter etc. Unfortunately with cnc Plasma systems there is no cheap and easy way to get a system stable. Hypertherm got some good info how to ground your system.
Thank you for the input. I will try to make these changes as I try to upgrade it further.