 CNC TABLE SET-UP
Q. I recently bought a Lightning 5x5 table to go with my Powermax45. Unfortunately, the table manufacturer went bankrupt right after that, and I have no idea how to set it up! This means I’m sitting on a $6,000 investment and have no technical support. Can you help?
A. There have been a number of companies that have popped up over the last few years building CNC plasma machines that have gone out of business. I can usually pinpoint these as underfinanced companies with prices that likely cannot be profitable. Unfortunately there are many customers like you that are left with a machine that may work, but has no factory support. I always advise people to stick with the major brands and pay a little more as the machine will be better supported as time goes on.
Best suggestion I have would be to get on a couple of the online forums and post some details about the machine you bought, maybe with some pictures of the components (drive electronics box, mechanical construction, etc.) and likely there will be some other site members that have a similar machine that can provide assistance. I recommend joining the www.plasmaspider.com forum, or another option is www.cnczone.com. Both have some great members in similar situations.
There also is a company called CandCNC (www.candcnc.net) that sells do it yourself components. You can use these to build your own machine, or upgrade existing machines by adding a height control or better drive and software. The owner, Tom Caudle, is a great guy and I’m willing to bet he has helped a few others sort out situations like this.
Personally I have never worked with a Lightning CNC machine, so I probably would not be of much help! Good luck and keep me posted with any progress. When it comes time to do some cutting I can certainly help you get that Powermax45 dialed in!
Best regards,
Jim Colt
Hypertherm's Jim Colt is an avid fabricator who has worked with plasma cutting systems for more than 35 years. He is the author of many articles and
white papers on plasma cutting and a frequent speaker at key industry conferences. If you have a question you'd like Jim to answer please send it to askjim@hypertherm.com.
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