Dragon Portable CNC Plasma Cutter

This is an idea I had for a portable Plasma Cutter.

The frame is fairly simple, it consists of 3 X 750mm C-Beam actuators arranged in a rectangular shape. The Y Axes are on the sides, joined by some custom joiner plates and some 40x40mm v-slot. The motors are at the back, and the c-beams are open side up. An X-Axis C-Beam is joined to the two gantries of the Y axis, forming a bridge that goes across the y axis side rails. A Z axis is attached to the X-Axis gantry plate, with some spacers. It is a simple leadscrew type Z axis like that found on an OX machine, but it has a NEMA 23 motor plate on the bottom which holds the end of the torch.

The unique part of this machine is that it is an open frame, with switched magnetic hold downs in the corners of the frame. These hold downs clamp the frame onto any standard steel sheet anywhere on the sheet. One only needs to suspend the sheet on a couple of sawhorses, clamp the cutter frame over the area to be cut, and cut away. The machine should be able to operate vertically as well as horizontally, depending on the strength of the magnetic hold downs.

Of course, a small table could be fabbed up to set the unit on, and perhaps even a water tank underneath to catch the sparks.

Although this is just a concept at the moment, I really would like to build one for my shop. It can be easily stored out of the way by hanging it on a wall . An electronics enclosure (perhaps in a Pelican Case) would be located someplace away from the unit to eliminate interference from the plasma torch. A cable would connect the electronics to the motors. And, of course, it would require a plasma cutter head somewhere nearby as well. Ultimately, a Z axis torch height control system could be added as well.

There are a bunch of details missing from the build, such as cable chains and other small items, but this is just a concept at this time.


This is a rear view of the unit



This is a view from the top.




This is an ISO rear view



This is a view from below showing some of the connector plates.



This is a closer view of the carriage with plasma torch from below