Anything welding

Maybe narrow it down some. Self Shielded or hard wire or able to do both.

real world budget?

How much output do you need? Input Voltage?

Power source and feeder in one unit or a separate power source and feeder

Happy Shopping !

 

Ok, ordered a 60 cylinder, the initial out ain't cheap, but I kinda knew that. How much is airgas going to charge for the 25/75 mix, with exchange?

And for learning, I have a lot of scrap but even more rebar....lots of rebar. Is that good for welding? Or too thick for the 141

 

Aortas should be somewhere in the $60-80 range after all their fees and whatnot. It’s been a while since I had a 60 to swap but it was about there.
Rebar is fine, just need to make sure your ground and actual weld area is clean. Kind of a pita but an angle grinder with a wire wheel should do.

 

You follow the CO trading post thread?

Someone posted a 120v machine in there a few days ago.

 

Depends if you know the counter people by name.

Being a familiar customer really helps being 100% serious in this region .

Then some branches they really do not like small walk in business .

 

Just look around or ask, might even find one so cheap it's free; friend literally just left half hour ago after dropping off his Miller he let me have.

As for gas, I've found the larger suppliers like Praxair or Airgas to be the most expensive.

A smaller, local supplier should be cheaper.

I paid $350 per 150cf tank, and pay about $52 to get it exchanged for 75/25. Helps to get acquainted with said shops...should open an account if they have a means to do so with them and become a regular.

 

@Kwikvette

I have a nephew who just got out (Covid discharge) and his wife is in the reserves. So, Christmas gift in the making.

I did start with one someone had posted but I have reworked everything except a few of the letters. That seems to be what happens every time I try to use someone else's posting.

Still going to rework the arrows I added in the lower right, but pretty much done. Same size as the one you got.

Not going to try to cut anything else until I get my air drying sorted out. Drained the table to make sure I keep that promise to myself.

Making a DIY system to see how far I can get with that before I drop money on a refrigerated system.

 

Shit that's awesome!

Is that the Langmuir software they provide?

And if so, have you found the software used to operate the machine to handle that much G code?

 

That is created in Fusion 360(free version). It also will generate the G-Code. The Langmuir software (FireControl) just runs the stepper motors based on the G-Code generated by other programs like F360, SheetCAM, etc.

This amount of code is not problem for FireControl. Even on an old laptop like the Dell I use in the garage, no problem.

The CAD programs on the other hand, they definitely run better on a more capable computer. I still run F360 on my old Dell Latitude w/Core I5, but it is not ideal.

 

Ahhh ok.

I do have a pretty good Ryzen 5 laptop I'll dedicate so no worries there. I thought I just read somewhere on the Langmuir forum about the free software included having a limit of how much G code it'll handle before having to upgrade to a purchased version? Maybe I'm misunderstanding the whole thing. I really should just dig the laptop out and start downloading said programs.

Cool to see Langmuir have free cut files on their site though.

 

Some of the cad software is picky about graphics hardware too. Fusion 360 ran good on my old dell laptop with integrated graphics too. At least for the small parts I was making.

 

How important is dry air for a plasma cutter? Like, don’t bother without a drier on your compressor, or, it depends on the humidity where you are? asking as I am in this I’d-like-to-never-buy-another-compressor mode. Ugh.

 

You want the air as dry, I mean dry as possible running through multiple stages.

This is anywhere, regardless of your environment.

Cuts are cleaner, and consumables last longer.

 

The only thing I have found that caused fusion to really choke is huge patterns. I’ve used it on everything from smoking desktops to a 2015 MacBook Air.

like @0xDEADBEEF said, fusion has a CAM module that comes on the basic version and there is great tutorial on the Langmuir site for using fusion from design to cutting:
https://www.langmuirsystems.com/software/fusion

 

I was afraid of that…. Turns out knowledge is expensive. Lol.

 

I don't have a dryer.

In the summer I go thru plasma torch consumables about every other week.

In the winter I can go all winter on a set.

I'm also in the planning stages for a dryer.

 

Yeah I saw it just a bit too late. Looking for something that can run on at most on 30 or 40 amp 240 volt circuit. 120v is useful but not necessary.

Don't want to spend more than $800. I could probably get away with something a lot smaller. I mostly need to do some exhaust work in the short term.

 

Man, you could easily buy a Hobart Handler, Harbor Freight Titanium, or a Prime Weld MIG180 and be well under your budget for a new machine.

You could easily find a welder all day long under that price; a nicer machine in the used market even.

 

Moisture and *50,000 degrees of the plasma arc do not mix well .

Consumable life is very short.

Your best option is a Motor guard M-26 filter at the plasma machine . Check the filter often till you have an idea how often it needs changed,

Plus any air driers you might have at the compressor.

Per my* Hypertherm Rep Max

 

Thanks for the link to the tutorial. Hopefully, it will be the motivator to get me to design the spring plate/air bag mount/bumpstop idea I have bouncing around in my head.