PlasmaCAM v3.11 design and control software for models DHC, DHC2 (686.31 MB ) 4235: 5453: FSX - Aerosoft DHC-2 Beaver X 2.31 (Rip) (102.6 MB ) 2276: 4644.
I recently purchased a Plasmacam DHC. I have had it set up in my shop for about two weeks. So far it has performed exactly as advertised.
I have cut out several of the very intricate drawings that came on their frontier art cd and so far have been impressed. I am still trying to learn how to import and clean up drawings, but other than that I am pleased with the software and the operatin of the machine. I am running a Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101 power source. If you have any questions feel free to email me. More than likely your voltage in your settings window is off. Make sure your ground is on good.Check your metal size(gage) and make sure its the right size in the settings.
Check your torch height setting. Finally, if your machine is running to high then adjust your voltage up or down.
Your manual will tell you how. If you can understand how aall this works then you will be ahead of the game. Call George(Tech) at plasma cam had have him work you through it. Its a real common problem that I had trouble with. Very important that you fully understand how your machine works before you lose your free tech help.
Once that time is up, they will charge you by the minute to talk to you. I had the same problem right after my purchase.
The paint on the Z axis frame work needed to be filed down so the wheels role smoothly. Great improvement! But every now and then during the first few cuts of a big project, it wants to start cutting with the torch about an inch from the metal and that is after all settings are in place. If I leave it alone it will continue on and correct itself. I believe my problem could be my Z axis motor, it makes a chattering sound during initialize. Other than that, I love my machine!
I own and operate Great White North Disabled Vet Shop in Fox, Alaska. We have had our Plasmacam for over a month and a half and are COMPLETELY satisfied with it. It does everything they claim and more. It has been a real boost to our projects and is fairly easy to learn with a little practice. Getting the art ready for cutting is time consuming till you get the hang of it but the machine performs flawlessly.
I happen to know a couple of the business mentioned on the video are in fact real and around. I don't know where the other guy who stated the BBB was involved with any of this.
I am originally from Colorado and had friends there check the company out before we ever made a purchase. It all checked out fine and they have been very good to deal with. The owner is a little impatient sometimes on the phone.but I don't deal with him anyway. The techs and shop people are great and very helpful so I don't really care if the boss is a pain. I have owned the old machine for three years.
When I first purchased it, I loved the machine. I did not think there was anything that could not be done with it. As time has gone by, the machine has started to malfunction and eat belts, misread the height control, and started to drift during cuts.
Belts are $5 ea. I started to investigate, and found that they had introduced a new model. I have talked to several other shop teachers that have said that the new machine is like 'driving a Cadilac vs an old volkswagon.'
They love it. If you have the old machine, they will give you a trade in for a new model. It will still cost around $4500 to get the new machine and the software. I hope it is trully worth it. The techs at the company are very helpful, just start using the machine when you get it so you get free help.
I have owned the old machine for three years. When I first purchased it, I loved the machine. I did not think there was anything that could not be done with it. As time has gone by, the machine has started to malfunction and eat belts, misread the height control, and started to drift during cuts.
Belts are $5 ea. I started to investigate, and found that they had introduced a new model. I have talked to several other shop teachers that have said that the new machine is like 'driving a Cadilac vs an old volkswagon.' They love it. If you have the old machine, they will give you a trade in for a new model.
It will still cost around $4500 to get the new machine and the software. I hope it is trully worth it. The techs at the company are very helpful, just start using the machine when you get it so you get free help.
Ok, well, upon much research, I bought a used plasmacam dhc-1 that was just sitting around in a friends shop. I NEED THE DHC2 UPGRADE, because the And, honestly, its made a few parts, I learned the software in about 2 mins, and was up and cutting. But, I seem to have only two choices right now, and both suck pretty badly: 1) Set the torch to manual on the sheet metal and get some cuts that are not so good and consumables go quick and tram and shim the sheet metal every time to ensure that its perfectly flat in relationship to the table during the cut OR 2) Mess around for 30mins trying to set the DHC parameters, get them working ok, and the thing STILL crashes the material at some point OR it sits too high, or it just freaks out and does whatever the hell, I reset it and use the same parameters, and then its happy?!?
My question is, can I use a proper ohmic height control module and just hook it to the current DHC motor? Or is there another trick possibly to retrofit to some DHC that is more reliable? Anyone use a standalone THC controller/servo setup and retrofit it onto a plasmacam? This is the route that currently seems the most reliable. Like this: Or THIS: $800 for rock solid torch height control?
May need to get this. Its would probably cost me 1k or more to upgrade to DHC2 anyway, and then I have to send parts back?! Similar Threads:. This height control is pretty easy to set. The tech folks at plasma cam have a really nice cheat sheet that they can give you, if you need it. Just give George a call in tech and he can email it over to you.
You might want to check the version of your software too with them too. They can send you the latest version of the older software, if it didn't come with the Designegde already installed. The DHC model I played with prior to getting a dhc2, was pretty straight forward. I actually liked this arc voltage height control better than the ones on other machines. Just make sure that settings are calibrated to the particular consumable or cutter that you have on it. The main thing that will either adjust up or down is going to be the arc voltage shift.
After you get the hang of it you will realize how phenomenally simple setting it is after that. It is true that the new DHC2 model is completely hands off (all you have to do is check a box or two and it will automatically do all of this stuff for you.it is really sweet!). Ames, I think I figured this out pretty well after trial and error and some voltage testing with it for a while.
May also put a filter on the voltage output from the Hypertherm to smooth it out a bit. The main issues that will make this work if I can solve them is: 1) Can you set a minimum height so if, for some reason, the voltage changes, it won't allow the DHC to go below a certain value? This would solve the tip crash problem in some instances, like when it tries to cut across a gap and starts to dive.
2) In curves, the torch starts to dive. Any way to solve that other than setting a minimum height? Overall though, so far so good! Made a water table for it, etc. Sure did speed up some of my projects!! I have a DHC2 plasmacam, so my process is much more automated. It has been a while since I got to run the DHC.
But, do yourself a favor and pick up the phone and call tech to get some help. A lot of these things your are mentioning are entirely your arc voltage shift not matching your preset cut height (ie if your cut height is set to.1' above your material then your arc voltage shift will need to be adjusted, up or down, until your test cuts reach.1 above the material) It sounds like you very possibly are working with a really stone-age version of the software. The tech guys can even send you the latest version latest version of the previous software platform (which is still supported) and video manual that shows you how to do all of this. They can even send you the ready to go cut file for the water table totally for free. Be cautious of dealing with plasmacam. I bought a brand new 4x4 table with DTHC 2 couple years ago (my first mistake) with a powermax 65 and got ripped off big time.
Not only does my home built table cut better. They charged me almost 3500.00 for the pm65 and it has nothing to do with cpc port or voltage divider board inside. (the lowest version hypertherm makes) I recently am putting my plazcam in the closet and going with my home built unit. I don't even use the plazcam for production and already the bearings are wearing out.and metal frame work is week. Anyhow, your best bet is to go with candcnc. They are awesome.