Bought my CrossFire “used” but new and never cut anything. The original owner never put 220v power into his garage, so he could only turn on the table and move the axis around. This table was one of the first ones offered. I’m not sure of the official date, but the RazerWeld 45 had a 2018 tag, and the table has an aluminum water pan.
However, the owner bought everything new that came out for the table over time, all but the limit switches.
XL expansion kit
Mechanical torch upgrade for the RW45
THC Z-Axis upgrade kit, which also replaced his CPU with the current model and switched him to CrossFire controls.
If it were not for the THC and the upgraded CPU, I would have passed. But for a grand less than new, I was in.
The raw power feed for the THC was not yet installed on the OG RazorWeld 45, which never had the PC port. Following the install guides, it was easy to install into the RW45.
Did not trust the single bolt in sheer holding the thin legs on. I could see rolling the thing, hit a crack in the floor, and a leg folding. Welded a full brace/shelf just above the wheels on the legs.
I powered on the machine on January 24th, 2025. This has been the past 12 days.
THC Fail
Right off the bat, the THC was not working. I troubleshot the wiring and learned the extensive flow chart from Langmuir for testing. Laptop on battery, etc. I really got reacquainted with my testing meter. There was a dead fault in the Z axis. Eventually discovered, the little spring under the floating torch mount was kicked over from its pocket in the plastic (isolating) slide. The spring touched the Z axis and created a dead short. Once back in the pocket, she fired right up and worked great. I removed the “laptop stand” as it was in the splash zone, and it just made more sense to use a 15’ USB cable and run the laptop away from the table.
Don’t move the table!
Quickly discovered the easy-to-move little CF table has an issue with a pan full of water. No matter how slow you go, its going over the side of the pan. Everyone seems to have their water management system. I went with a used 15gl chemical jug under the table on the bracing I welded in on the lower legs. I have a 1.5" Stainless Tank bulkhead flange to put into the bottom of the pan to drain directly into the tank. I will just use the plasma cutter to cut the large hole in the pan. For now, I just siphon the water out, pick up the tank, and pour it back in for the two times I have moved the table out of the way. Simple works.
RW45 Machine Torch Fail
On about the 4th part ever cut on the table the machine torch would fire to pierce, then turn off. I messed with the program for pierce time, program speet etc. nothing. I then swapped over the new, never used hand torch that came with the unit. It worked flawlessly. Swapped back to the machine torch…100% dead. At least the machine torch holder can also hold the hand torch, which is what is on the table today.
Obround holes
The first parts cut had horrible obround holes. At first, I thought it was my programming speed. Then, though, shoot, that just may be the cut quality of the RW45 - no idea. I did a bunch of test circles for different cut speeds in 1/4. As the holes got bigger, I noticed the top and bottom of them flattened out. It was like the X axis was not keeping up with the Y axis. I then discovered the X-axis little set screw to lead screw to the X-axis motor was not seated and the lead screw had an increasing backlash. Took it apart, reset and now it works correctly. Then went over every nut and screw the original owner assembled. That was the only issue.
Nuclear meltdown electrodes
Mid-cutting a 31" x 8" 1/4" thick MS part, the torch tip went full nuclear. The tip and nozzle had maybe 10 to 20 min of cutting time in total on them. But the electrode was burned back and to the side of the nozzle. I installed new consumables, edited the program to start near the fail point, and saved the part. Then it did it again two parts later, this time the torch would not turn off at all, just a HF type short with lots of electrical sparks going. I had to pull power to the RW45. I replaced every consumable, including the tip/nozzle/swirl ring and lower housing. Its been working since.
New Plasma cutter:
I ordered a Hypertherm 45 SYNC with a Machine Torch and bought the adaptor cable from Langmuir. Everything arrived yesterday. Standing by for installation and set up. (Note: I called Bakergas.com and asked them to email me a discounted quote. No one would budge on the price for the MAP-controlled 45 SYNC. But I asked them for a discount, and whatever that amount was, I would spend on cartridges for it, so it would be a full-price sale. I paid full price for $150 of cartridges and got $150 off the machine. Deal. )
Table lost all power to axis
Turned on the table, now with maybe 2hrs of total cut time. Computer connected to the CPU, but drives would not move. CrossFire says its moving the drives but nothing. Reboot everything. Nothing. Update CrossFire, already have latest version. Update firmware on CPU. Reboot everything again, nothing. Back into the CPU I go to test the power supply for the axis motors. 120v going to it, and 0v coming out. Dead power supply. Its 6PM on a Tuesday no local options. I remove the power supply and go inside. Dead 6.3 250v fuse that is hard soldered to the board! It is not a replaceable fuse socket but soldered directly into the board. I refrained from jumpering the thing. I ordered TWO $28 Amazon power supplies for “LED” lights that look identical. Urrgh. It’s really a 30-cent fuse. The power supplies are on Prime with delivery 10AM to 3PM today. These days, that can also mean tomorrow. As soon as the local ACE hardware opens, I will pick up a fuse and solder it on top of the dead one. Perhaps I can get a few hours of cut time before it blows that fuse or the new power supplies show up. For $28, having a spare power supply on hand is a no-brainer.
So, it’s been a journey with this tool. Its value is there, and I love the open gantry style for the 25 x 33" work area. I am hanging a full 4’ x 8" sheet of steel off it and just turning the plate as needed. I am looking forward to actually using the tool more than fixing it.
