Hello all - I am just getting started in the CNC world - I have a fully functioning home shop and have been doing classic car repair / restoration for decades. I am a proficient hobby MIG welder and just jumped in to learn TIG. Being 62 and learning TIG is a challenge so I thought I would pile on the whole CNC pice of things. Waiting on delivery of my Pro Table which I am planning to pair with my PrimeWeld Cut 60. Looking forward to learning from those of you who have been doing this for a while.
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Dang sounds just like my self. Just started learning TIG and the CNC plasma. Itâs a fun hobby but there is definitely a learning curve as there is with everything thatâs fun.
When you got the time start watching the videos on langmuirs site to walk you through the cad/cam process and then do lots of research on dialing in your setup.
Primeweld a cut chart is a good starting point but doesnât have all the info you will need to dial in your cuts that will need to be acquired from the forums
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I am finding that lots of information has to come from forums and actual end users. Some of the Youtube stuff is still over my head but I am having a hell of a good time learning this new stuff!
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@Marcm157 welcome to the forum! When you have questions feel free to ask. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful folks on here. Make sure to post some of you work on here. Always fun to see what others are creating.
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Hi All, This is going to sound like an echo but I just received my Pro and have it assembled. I also have paired it with a Primeweld 60 that should arrive tomorrow. I have trying to learn from the videos about Fusion 360 but it looks like its going to be a challenge. At 73 I hope to still be able to learn some new things. I look forward to asking for some friendly help from you Gurus.
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It appears this is a welcoming coffee and donuts meeting for @Marcm157 and @BobC. Welcome to both of you.
I was probably more scared than any of you when I got my CrossFire Pro. I had my Hypertherm 45XP cutter for more than a year and had returned to cutting holes with a hole saw: I was so pitiful with the hand torch.
Then I got the table and started reading about all of the programs I needed to learn. I was 64 and working a full time job at the time. I started to think all of my brain cells have been used up. It was not sinking in. I finally had to give myself a good talking to. I said âYou have been through worse and have been able to âlearnâ stuff before. Now get back at it!â
I donât like anyone telling me what to do including myself but it did ring true that âwe have all learned stuff before, and we can do it again.â Just give yourself time and as Upstate and Erik (72 Pony) said âHelp is available.â And the help saved my bacon several times.
The workflow and the terminology is what hammers you at first. Then it is solving/tuning your cutting settings. Then you smile, and the smile gets bigger and then you are helping others like yourselves trying to calm their nerves. I feel like breaking into a song: âAbout the circle of lifeâŚâ But I will spare you. Donât want to scare you away at our first meeting.
Next time, can someone bring some cinnamon rolls?
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Thanks for the words of encouragement ChelanJim. Will definitely take this one step at a time. Just like eating an elephant.
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A sense of humor will go along wayâŚit appears you are blessed!
In my experience, itâs just a tad different than that. Easier, but not quite as filling. Welcome to the forum.
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Welcome to the forum @Marcm157 and @BobC !
I also have the CF Pro paired with a Cut 60. Mine is a first generation (old one).
The first generation (CNC port bottom Right) Cut60 units really need to be wired for raw voltage, meaning direct to the control board. Apparently, the range of voltage exceeds LS parameters when routed through the Primeweld CNC port. There are threads showing how to do this and its pretty simple.
Even some with more recent units (CNC port Upper right) have wired theirs up to raw voltage. Primeweld has said they do not consider this a warranty violation. I called and asked them myself, as have others on this site.
One other lesson I learned the hard way was my Dell Latitude laptop graphics management did not play well with Firecontrolâs visualizer. Because the laptop more than met minimum system requirements to run FC, I spent months chasing torch freezing, random misfires, and especially screen freeze up during cutting. When I did get a program to run/cut successfully, Firecontrol would often be frozen until the entire program was run, plus another 10 seconds. I switched to an Asus and have had zero issues running Firecontrol.
Good luck guys. This website will help you tremendously. I link this often as a lot of new folks are confused about the workflow for going from idea to cutting:
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I remember you saying that you were having that issue. Glad you got it resolved.
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Yeah, I spent a lot of time assuming it was electrical interference and taking countermeasures for that. I needed a new laptop for F360 anyway, so I got an Asus. Solved problem completely.
I have since gone to the Beelink mini PC and it also works great.
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That is interesting. I run a dell latitude as well. Never had a issue. I did find the USB port touching the enclosure. Had my hand on the metal ring around the outside of the laptop. Everytime the plasma would fire I felt a slight shock.
Thanks! - I have a Dell Latitude Laptop I planned to use as well. I will scrap that plan just to avoid further frustration!
Absolutely something I will do from the beginning - Thanks!!
You really donât know for sure. I had a Dell laptop (Inspiron) and when it was working, never had a hiccup with the table or FireControl. It turned out to be a piece of electronic trash as I had to send it off to Dell to fix because it wouldnât turn on. Took them 4 months to get it back to me (first they said it was the switch then it turned out it was the motherboard). One year later, the same thing occurred again.
So donât buy anything yet, unless you had intended to. We will have lots of items that we will say you âabsolutely need.â We need you to have a little walking-around money, so to speak. 
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Yeah guys, if you already have a Dell, may as well try it out. But, if you have issues with Firecontrol freezing and the program continuing, or the cutter misbehaving, definitely try a different computer early in your trouble shooting.
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No one ever tells you this, but start at the front. That way the gross stuff has had a chance to work itself out before you get to the back end 
Seriously, Google âmakerspace near meâ and see if there is one. If youâre lucky there will be one where youâll find people who know many things. CAD is used by the 3D printing guys, the laser guys, the CNC guys. The laser stuff is 100% similar because itâs 2D flat work. CNC can have some non-relevant stuff because you can sculpt 3D components but most CNCers are doing 2D cuts. The 3D printing application is sort of applicable but the whole focus (3D objects) is not something you can do.
So youâll find a lot of help learning. I do a lot of prototyping on my laser and then use the same design file to scale up to much more expensive metal.
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