Every fabrication business has unique needs. From small job shops to international OEMs and everything in between, finding the right machines and workflows to help maximize productivity and efficiency are critical to your success.
The wrong machines can lack necessary features, limit production speed, force you to develop time-consuming work-arounds, and sometimes even force you to invest in additional equipment. The right machines on the other hand, can help you speed up production, increase efficiency, and reduce the manpower needed to process parts and run your business.
So if you’re looking for a new CNC plasma cutting system for your shop, it pays to consider the questions below before making a choice. By asking these questions and comparing the answers to your needs as a fabricator, you’ll be able to choose the perfect machine that will help your business get ahead and boost your bottom line!
5 Things to Ask Before You Buy a CNC Plasma Cutting System
How Thick Can It Cut?
Various machines offer a multitude of plasma and oxy-fuel components, and these components represent the heart of your cutting system. That’s why it’s important to be sure the machine you choose is capable of cutting the metal you need to process with precision and accuracy. At Kinetic, our machines incorporate the latest in Hypertherm plasma technology for cutting even the thickest materials with best-in-class speed and accuracy. In addition, our machines can include oxy fuel cutting torches for fast burning of thick plate. With the flexibility to cut up to 3” plate with plasma and up to 8” plate with oxy fuel, Kinetic machines can give your shop a range of cutting options.
Does It Bevel Cut?
Depending on the type of parts you process, you may need a machine than can cut bevels. From simple weld profiles to more complex radiuses, consider how sophisticated your bevel cutting needs might be. At Kinetic, our automated bevel cutting system has features to make it multi-functional and simple to use. Our machines give operators full height control while cutting plus the ability to change from plasma to oxy fuel beveling within minutes. Cutting multi-bevel parts is possible with our triple oxy fuel bevel head. This unique system provides full contour bevel cutting of thick plate with three torches cutting in one pass.
Even better, we designed our systems so that your technicians won’t have to haggle with winding up cables or reversing the torch. With our system, you can contour bevel cut to 45 degrees, allowing you to achieve a wide range of different profiles. Also, our machines have pneumatic breakaway built in to protect the cutting head from damage. Kinetic plasma and oxy fuel cutting machines are engineered to deliver excellent bevel cutting results on even the most complex designs.
Does It Drill and Tap?
Many plasma cutting systems offer basic drilling and tapping capabilities. But how powerful is the mechanism? How large of a hole can it drill or tap? Be sure to ask these questions as you consider a new machine. At Kinetic, our machines feature a powerful drilling system with a large tooling library and can drill up to a 4” hole or tap up to a 2” hole. This means they’ll help you perform more processes in a single setup, and save time by eliminating downstream drilling and tapping processes. If you produce parts with drilled and tapped holes, this consideration can be important.
Does it Mill, Chamfer, Bore and More?
Even beyond drilling, what other processes do you utilize that can be incorporated into your plasma cutting system? When a single machine performs a variety of processes, it can dramatically reduce the time it takes to create parts. More advanced systems like Kinetic’s XMC series of machines include a vertical machining center built right into the machine. This allows you to perform milling, boring, chamfering, counterboring and other processes in a single setup. Our machines also offer part marking thanks to inkjet marking, percussion marking and plasma marking capabilities. When combined with integrated drilling and milling, these processes can save valuable time on downstream processes by marking weld tabs, alignment marks, part numbers and more.
Does It Enhance Productivity?
In short, the right machine will help you speed up production, reduce manpower and boost your bottom line. At Kinetic, we’ve designed our plasma cutting systems from the ground up to help busy fabricators do more processes in a single setup, minimize the movement of workpieces from station to station, reduce manpower needs and minimize fixturing. This amounts to a huge time reduction and cost savings that can positively impact your business, and that makes the question of productivity the most important consideration when choosing a new machine.
Ready to Learn More?
If you’re looking for a plasma cutting system that will help you process parts quickly and precisely, contact us today. Our team is standing by to learn about your needs and recommend the perfect machine for your unique application. We look forward to hearing from you!