Cutting Expanded Metal On CNC Plasma Table

[MattTucker]

I have a Koike Plate Pro Extreme 2500 Plasma & Oxy Burn Table at my shop. My unit has one ThermalDynamics Ultra 300 Plasma Unit, one HyperTherm Scribing Unit, and 2 oxy torches with an 8ft x 20ft water table. It is all being controlled by PromotionNest software on the controller. Since we are a structural steel fabricator, this machine cuts 8ft x 20ft sheets of plate all day long and the plasma head works great up to 1-1/4" steel and the oxy torches will get us to 3" thick plates.

However, as I am embarking on my first UDS build, I am curious if I can use this table to burn the bottom of my round charcoal basket or the round grates for the uds. This is a $160,000 piece of equipment so surely i can use it to cut expanded metal......

Is anyone using a cnc plasma table to burn expanded metal? If so, do you have to do anything different (i could see there being an issue with the arc...and in the case of our unit, it is auto height adjusting..which might play havoc with raised expanded metal)?

Thanks,
Matt Tucker

[SmokinDTown]

Matt, does your ThermalDynamics have a rapid restart mode? Either on the machine itself, or in the software? Seems like this setting would be what you want for expanded metal. By the way, like your blog!

[MattTucker]

It does not. I spent yesterday poking through some of the settings in the controller, then shot an email to Koike. Our controller / model does not cut expanded metal.

So now I am going to see if i can blow through it with my oxy torch on the unit. Just trying to cut some shapes for grills and for a shelve that is radiused around the drum without having to hand cut it.

(thanks for the comment on the blog...updating it is a summer project of mine, i have a bunch of new content, never enough time).