Makers' Alliance Wiki

First note - The CNC Plasma Cutter is not ours - it's Ingenuity's and the compressor is John K's. DON'T MESS WITH IT WITHOUT PERMISSION. This Documentation is for reference purposes/convenient to follow documentation.

Checklist for usage (DRAFT: NOT TOTALLY CONFIRMED)

• Design your file in CAD/Inkscape/take your pick.
• CAM up SVG or similar file in SheetCAM or the like.
• Figure out feeds/speeds for your material
• Save to a USB flash drive.
• Power on stuff
  • Machine & computer
  • Compressor (check dryer & valve as well), Make sure it's at decent pressure, and check continually during a sizeable job
  • Plasma Cutter - set Amps appropriately for material
• Situate material on plasma table. Make sure it won't get launched if the probe hits an edge, etc.
• Copy files from USB to NGC files directory on Desktop
• Run LinuxCNC/AXIS/whatever you wanna call it
• Check Physical E-Stop/Virtual E-Stop/Machine Power.
• Home axes - Home button
• Drive to fairly close to material origin (arrow keys/page up & page down for Z)
• Touch off to X/Y origin (hint: touch off Y first, then X. Saves you a click)
  • Pro-tip: clean up LinuxCNC screen mess with Ctrl-K.
• Dry Run - Leave Plasma disabled (default) and run the program. Should drive around at safe height and make the moves it would do normally.
• Satisfied with the dry run? Enable the plasma and go for it.
• When finished, drive back close to (but not all the way) home. Make sure a scrap piece is under the business end of the plasma cutter (when the machine is de-energized the business end drops).
• Shut down computer before powering down.