Plasma Cutting Tables – deciding which size is right for you
In many ways deciding on plasma over laser, water jet, oxy-fuel etc is the easy part. Now you know you want a CNC plasma cutting table, you need to decide size, scope, brand, budget and extras. To help, we’ve put together a brief guide to the Swift-Cut range – what each table has to offer as well as all the things they have in common.
Ask yourself this –
- What is the average thickness of the metal you will be most frequently cutting?
- Is cutting speed critical i.e. are you requiring a machine for high production?
- What are the consumable costs and frequency that they will likely to need replacing?
- Are you able to ‘test drive’ the tables to compare cuts?
- What are the safety features?
- Is it easy to operate?
Swift-Cut have four tables in their range, all UK designed and engineered and all guaranteeing exceptional quality both in the build of the actual machine and the work it creates.
Swift-Cut PRO 1250
This is our most compact plasma cutting table, ideal for small workshops, metal fabricators, educational establishments, designers and artists. The supreme build quality and unique operating system enables you to cut all metal including stainless steel, mild steel, aluminium, zinc, copper and brass.
With a cutting area to take sheet size 1250mm x 1250 mm and the ability to cut thicknesses from 0.5mm to 25mm at speeds from 1 to 12m/minute, don’t let the fact this is our smallest table fool you, it’s still an impressive piece of machinery capable of major work.
Swift-Cut PRO 2500
This is a slightly larger plasma cutting table with a cutting area of 2500mm x 1250 mm (8’ x 4’) and again, is a great small to medium sized workshops, studio etc. cutting solution. The 2500 PRO cvuts all metals with a thickness from 0.5mm to 25mm running at speeds of 1 to 12m/minute and is perfect for workshops that require a larger cutting area.
Swift-Cut PRO 3000
This is our largest plasma cutting table, with a cutting area of 3000mm x 1500mm (10’ x 5’) this machine has the capabilities to cut all day long. Its durable and sturdy, with gantry parking to allow a full sheet of metal to be loaded from overhead and the dropped rail for ease of loading. If its size and precision you’re after then the Swift-Cut 3000 is everything you need.
Swift-Cut PRO 3000XP
The newest table in the range, the XP was designed very much with production cutting in mind. The same size as the 3000, but with incredible advancements in the build. The liquid cooled mechanised torch is mounted to a redesigned, heavier duty gantry to provide a sturdy platform for high amperage cutting, this allows for a pierce capacity of up to 32mm and improved cut speeds. The increased clearance height from bed to gantry allows up to 150mm box sections to be cut.
What do all the tables have in common?
The unique and industry leading Solid Edge 2D software. SwiftCAM is a CAD/CAM application software developed to allow ease of use for any of our Swift-Cut cutting tables, guiding the user to production through a simple path and minimising the time normally set aside for programme preparation.
SwiftCAM is designed as an easy to learn, easy to use product. It allows you to verify the recently created productions cycle through a 3D simulation in a realistic environment to test its functionality. Available in three versions, all the tables come with SwiftCAM 1 as standard (*apart from the XP).
SwiftCAM 1 features include the conversion of any DXF file to Swift-Cut machine code and the manual nesting of parts, generic shapes, pre-loaded cut tools and consumable recognition photo’s.
The software is a Windows 7 operating system, with team viewer for ‘anywhere’ online support.
Upgrades
SwiftCAM 2 features all of SwiftCAM 1 plus auto-nesting software with one click plate utilisation.
SwiftCAM 3* features all of SwiftCAM 1 and 2 plus cutting path check autocorrection, 3D simulator and a cycle time calculator.
*The Swift-Cut 3000XP comes with SwiftCAM 3 as standard.
HVAC
A parametric shape library of adjustable drawings for creating quick 3D to 2D profiles. Commonly used in the HVAC market, it can be used alongside SwiftCAM 1 and 2 for auto-nesting parts.
Plate Management
Available as a bolt-on module to SwiftCAM 3, it allows you to obtain the real-time availability of useable stock plates and to track reusable remnants.
What now?
Try before you buy! Always see the table in action or if you can’t do that, ask for something to be cut out and sent to you, so that you can see the quality of the cut for yourself.
