Glad to be here! Probably pulling the trigger tonight on a crossfire Pro. About a year ago I decided to go the DIY table route and have had a lot of building it but as it’s getting closer to done I’m finding myself with less and less time to work on it. I have about a half dozen projects that I want to get done in the next few months that’ll require CNC plasma cut parts and I think if I just pull the trigger on the Pro I can get it done in time.
I originally went DIY to save money (of course lol) and also I wanted a design that gave me 30”x48”cutting envelope in a smaller footprint. My DIY table comes in at 36” by 56”.
My question is if I buy the Pro now without THC can it be purchased later and does it cost the same? I will mostly be cutting thicker materials so I think I can do without it, but I’m sure on occasion I’ll cut thin stuff and need THC.
Been reading here the last few days, seems like a good group of people and very knowledgeable. Thanks for listening!
welcome to the forum…we are a great bunch…no matter what they say about me…
some of us have been here since the release of the Pro table…some have been here since the release of the OG table…and some you think have been here since the invention of the internet…
yes you can buy THC later…that is why it is an option…and it is what it is…but you will pay for extra shipping most likely.
you can buy the Pro…without…put it all together and cut…then buy the THC later…pull apaprt the table and install it…but why not just bite the bullet and do it all at once…that way you will not have "another " project to install THC later…it is well worth it…
Thanks for the quick feedback. I definitely see your point. I think my biggest concern was sometimes there’s items you buy where the add on is one price if purchased with the main item but the price is higher I purchased at a later date. If it’s $400 either way (plus added shipping if bought later of course) I might just wait on it. I’m curious to see how I cuts without THC
If you are just cutting 1/8" and thicker, I don’t think you really need the THC. It is helpful for after the slats get slag built up on them and the sheet isn’t laying perfectly flat.
If you get it later, it’s just a couple of wires and installing the THC chip on the main board.
That was kind of my thought. Even with my DIY table I assumed THC would have to be added at some point since it’s not a precision built machine and the variance in Z is more a product of my assembly than of the material warping etc during cutting. It seems like there’s minimal issue with the Pro’s table laying flat in relation to the torch/gantry. Thanks again guys. Pulling the trigger in the morning. Always good to sleep on it haha
I agree with @ds690, with a Pro table and the two Y rails aligned, cutting anything thicker than 16ga wouldn’t require THC and you’ve save a whole lot of complexity/potential problems.
However, I don’t know about whether THC is just a THC add on or includes the Z Axis in the option. I’m a big fan of having a Z axis, even on at 2D platform like a Plasma cutter. It just makes setup that much easier.
Unless you know how to use all the software and know the ins and outs of all the settings this is going to be another project it’s not exactly plug, play and go. There is a long learning curve to make decent parts.