plasma cam

v-6

v-6

Well-Known Member
Has any one got to use a plasma cam for cutting your blanks and guards. if so how did you do?

My buddy has one to be here this coming month , cant wait to see how he does.

vern
 
If your talking about a plasma cutter,yes I have used one and it works well. Cut close to your scribed line and then grind from there. I used it to cut some 1/4" O-1 that I made a hatchet out of because I didn't want to cut it with my bandsaw.
 
I use a plasma cutter at my shop all the time. Air over electric. Cuts great and clean and fast. Also doesn't create too much heat as if you we're to use a blow torch. Anyway great tool. The only thing to worry about is depending on the size of steel your cutting , you may get some warping as you would get none with band saw. My two cents!
 
backtines said:
... The only thing to worry about is depending on the size of steel your cutting , you may get some warping as you would get none with band saw. My two cents!
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I agree in part Mike, but not entirely. While it is true that the heat in bandsaw cutting is nil compared to plasma cutting, some steels can warp when cut on a bandsaw. It all depends on material, thickness, cut angles and curves and a lot of other junk. (insert technical jargon here)
It has happened to me. The warpage may be marginal but in the end...flat is where it's really at. Just my 2 cents.
 
Lagrange said:
I agree in part Mike, but not entirely. While it is true that the heat in bandsaw cutting is nil compared to plasma cutting, some steels can warp when cut on a bandsaw. It all depends on material, thickness, cut angles and curves and a lot of other junk. (insert technical jargon here)
It has happened to me. The warpage may be marginal but in the end...flat is where it's really at. Just my 2 cents.
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Yup , Ill agee to that too Eric . I guess with band saws , Im always lubing and cooling my cuts ( cutting down the percentage of dogging my blade and cutting down heat ) Now with plasma , Ive always made my best cuts with continous moving . When you stop , you'll always get start stop points on your steel .. Of course Ive never used one on cutting out a blade blank , but there are many things Ive used it for in my buisness here at the shop. 6 of 1 and 1/2 dozen of the other .. It still is a cool tool for cutting steel .
 
How many dollars is something like that costing these days?
I am curious if the cost is compatible with a small water jet set up.
 
I was also curious about how much these cost- I watched the video, and it looked pretty cool. I had some 3/16 S35vn and bought the 14TPI blades for my bandsaw, but still only got like 4 or 5 cuts before it was dulled out- even using oil! Now I use the plasma cutter for 3/16 and thicker. But it's still a crude cut sometimes because I don't want to cut too close to my line...I'm sure that will get more refined with time. Still, having a CNC cutter would make blanking a breeze! I bet it costs a few grand at least...
 
I use good quality bi-metal blades on my bandsaw and have no problem with heat. I've cut a bunch of blades out with the same blade and have never had a problem. Maybe your saw is running to fast. I don't use a lubricant on my saw either. I've never had a piece of steel warp when I was cutting it.
 
The plasmacam is a phenomenal resource for cutting out Knife blanks! Here is an example of some blanks that were cut out in just a couple of seconds on our machine. I hate to make it sound this easy, but it really was compared to do it by hand. It almost feels like it should be illegal! - Hap T.20111110_121440.jpg
 
v-6 said:
about $7000
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I can see it being worth it if you produce enough knives to warrant the cost. Ive heard you can get waterjet cutting done for about $4 a blank so at that rate the plasmacam would need to run about 1750 blankes through it to pay for itself.
 
What ever happened to hot and cold chisels?
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They are in my shop, I'm stuck in the 1800's.

If you can afford a tool like that then fine but I would be hesitant buying one with the idea cutting knife blanks would pay for it. Now if you were willing to take on some custom work on the side it may be worth buying. We had a guy making signs with a water jet rig out here and he sold a bunch of stuff.
 
Ive looked at the "Plasma Cam" before. Looks like a great tool. What I really like about their set up was the ability to scan a design into their software and not have to write code for it. Just scan it in and go.

Would be awesome to have one, but would need a business plan other than knives to justify the cost.

God Bless
Mike
 
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