I am sure each of you have your own stories to tell of the assembly process. This is my story of the build of my CrossFire Pro with a Hypertherm 45XP.
All parts arrived as promised. Issues soon became apparent. It has taken 3 weeks of on/off work to get my first usable part. Issues listed below:
The Z axis switch was totally loose. I had to take apart the Z head and tighten the switch. Then, I had to re-align the head to the guide bars. Major pain. And OF COURSE I lost the spring trying to put it back together. Ended up using a click pen spring. Perfect fit.
The Y axis kept jamming. This was a HUGE multi-problem issue to solve. I had the table square to 1/32”. I had the Y axis tubing off kilter and had to align them parallel. I’m going to catch crap for it but a 2x4 and a 2 pound hammer did the trick. It took 3 or 4 rounds of adjusting the slide bearings before I had them running feather smooth. At some point in my struggles I seem to have buggered the plastic drive nut on the left side. I removed the drive nut and cleaned it up. On re-assembly I noticed the mounting bracket was not square. Using a pair of vice-grips I bent this into square. I plan on lubricating the lead screws with powered graphite to avoid collecting grit.
On assembly I had mixed up the X axis bearing mount with the right side Y axis bearing mount. This didn’t help the Y axis jamming issues. I have that straightened out now but need to go back and work on freeing up the X axis lead nut as I’m loosing a few counts on X travel
I was told by support that the Hypertherm 45XP hand torch would work. It didn’t. After re-reading their online instructions I purchased the mini-machine torch. I’m very pleased with it.
The motor couplings were another pain. I eventually got them tight after replacing several of them.
Some changes I’d like to see
Replace the #4-40 hex coupling screws with #4-40 Torx-Plus. Throw them in a bag and let the customer replace them. Cost is less than $2.00.
The computer stand attachment is fine but there is no room for a laptop and a mouse! Maybe add 4” to the width?
The drain pans really, really need a better solution. I followed the forum suggestion and put in 3-1/2” sink drains with 1-1/4” drains bringing the drain to the front for really easy draining.
The drain pans also need correct dimpling for the drains. Leaving 1/8” of water in the pan is not an option.
Don’t get me wrong. This was not a knock against the equipment or the company. I am an engineer with 27 years experience in R&D designing equipment and control systems. I am very impressed with the engineering that went into the Pro. The frame is nice and heavy with no skimping on the tubing. Bearings throughout. Stainless steel water pan. Easy to assemble, trouble shoot, adjust and repair. The price point was good. Packaging was great. Documentation is hard but they did a good job. There were things missed in the instructions but then again, I also made errors. Their support team answered my questions promptly and got me up and running. The forum helped also. And there we have it. That is why I posted. Someone else might benefit. shrug
Even the puny, stock drains would benefit from dimpling (swaging). Adding a sump to the pans (best way) would increase cost and I get that. Adding a dimple for the stock drains simply to allow 99% of the water vs. the stock 80%-ish to drain out would incur a tooling change with their OEM, but that should be a one-time thing.
The OEM of the pans already does a punching operation to make the drain hole. Change that punch to a dimple/punch and done, The OEM likely already has a die that could be made to work. Just a thought.