Machitech Diamond Cut

Speed is the headline of the Machitech Diamond Cut. This unitized plasma table has a rapid traverse of 3,500 ipm (88,900 mm/min), positional accuracy of 0.002 in (0.05 mm) and repeatability of 0.001 in (0.03 mm), in table sizes from 5 x 10 ft to 10 x 40 ft.

Unitized means the gantry rails are part of the table frame. Nothing is aligned to the floor, installation is simpler, and the machine can be moved as one piece. The rails themselves are inverted, a patented arrangement that turns the running surface away from falling dust and slag. All axes run on linear rails with 25mm rack and pinion drives, under a fully welded and covered steel gantry.

Maximum cutting speed is 500 ipm (12,700 mm/min). The rapid figure matters between cuts: on a nest with hundreds of pierces the head spends much of its time travelling, and that is where this machine gains over the Gold Cut, whose rapid traverse is 1,000 ipm (25,400 mm/min). The table is rated for a workpiece weight of 325 lbs/sq. ft.

Unlike the Gold Cut, the Diamond Cut accepts the larger options. A 5-axis full contour bevel head cuts A, V, X, K and Y bevels at angles up to 50° and rotates without limit, which Machitech recommends for this model. A shuttle table, a drilling head for holes up to 1.5 in, oxyfuel, marking and pipe cutting for 1.6 to 8 in diameter are also optional. Sources are the Hypertherm Maxpro200, XPR170, XPR300 or XPR460, and several torches can be fitted. Material support is a water table with removable slag pans or a downdraft table with drawers.

One caution on the maker's table: the plate thickness and Z clearance rows print inch and millimetre figures that do not agree, so both are left out here and should be confirmed with Machitech.