I got a deja vu feeling when I saw this announcment today.
I bought my first Torchmate 2x2 plasma system in 2011. Torchmate made a promotional video on youtube where they claimed they had the best customer support in the industry. Just a few month later Lincoln Electric bought Torchmate. I addressed my concern about this but they said they would still support the Growth Series machines and everything would continue in the same maner as before. 6 month later I needed a new acme nut and leadscrew as sparepart for the machine. At this time they had discontinued the machines and all spare parts. Before this message the price had increased more than 100%.
I bought a Crossfire last autum and now……
I see the same pattern here. Before the summer comes there will be significant price increases and in a few years the crossfire range will be history with no support or spare parts.
The small plasmacutter table with great software/HMI and integrated THC is soon no more and history. So sad
This doesn’t bother me I figure I can repair anything that goes wrong (other than software issues). So I am still glad I was able to make the purchase I did.
And if you need to replace the motherboard or THC module thats inside the electronic box. The only supplier of these that can speak with LS software must be purchased from them. If you cant buy them as spares in the future you have a mechanichal table without a working brain.
You got me there, but I am not the type of person that worries to much about things that may never happen. and who knows maybe by then I will be ready to upgrade!
Lets hope we are wrong and they continur to invent affordable cnc solutions today and for the future. I really love my table and hope it will last for a really long time.
Yes, I still use it but when it was time to upgrade with Torchmate THC it was not availeble any longer and before it was discontinued it was a upgrade costing more than the complete crossfire including the THC.
Im thinking one day I will install the Proma SD on the Torchmate which is as far I can go without a more advanced software like LS.
I’m not sure how much you used your torchmate but 11-12 years in not bad in my book, unless it did not see much use.
With the way things change now most stuff has a pretty short life span. If I could get a solid 10 years from my table I would consider that Pretty good.
Well good luck. I have seen too many purchases/mergers and they invariably don’t work out for the smaller company. Starts out good but then the larger company starts imposing there policies and everyone loses. Again I hope I’m wrong. Good luck.
I’ve been watching this topic with dread. The announcement came right after I put my order in for a Pro. I nearly canceled my order on the spot, but didn’t. I’m hoping I don’t grow to regret that decision in the long run.
I’m not a financial/business person and have no idea how the deal was structured, but my gut says that in 6 months to a year when terms like “streamlining”, “consolidation”, “cost cutting measures”, “job overlap”, “excess asset liquidation”, and “disappointing profit numbers” start being tossed around by the “home office” whoever is left of Langmuir’s management will find they are powerless to slow or stop the slide into obscurity.
But maybe that’s just me being a pessimist. I really, really, REALLY hope I’m wrong. I had, and still mostly have, high hopes in what I can do with my table. I just hope Langmuir is able to stick around to help me out when I need it.
I own a Harley. I have so little space left in the garage the bike is outside 365. And I live in Chicago. It’s cold and icy/snowy now. I have storage - but 85 miles away. If that’s where I gotta store it then maybe that’s what I gotta do…
If I would be in your shoes I would order it now and store it until you have more space. It is for sure cheaper to take a loan if you dont have the cash today thsn wait until the price increase. And if you regrett the purchase it wouldnt be difficult to sell it to someone else and perhaps even make a profit in the near future as long as it is in a unopen box state.
I think I emphasized “inevitable” in my post. This is a mature market with a lot of manufacturers. Things are going to change whether we like it or not - folks gotta make payroll. Will support suffer in the medium-long term? Probably. How that impacts each of us will depend on our future plans (obviously). I got the XR to get the experience and better understand what I needed in a more commercial table. Never planned the XR as a final stop. YMMV.
If this is what Langmuir needed or wanted then congrats are in order. I hope it plays out as you say. I say this because I was one of the first to order a Torchmate (2x2) growth series when they first offered the machine. Needless to say and as someone else wrote above, when Lincoln bought Torchmate it didn’t go well for owners of earlier machines. But all things being equal I have been nothing but satisfied with my crossfire. All I hope for is the continued support and parts availability. Hoping that’s not too much to ask.
