Need help!!! Looking to buy but which one?? I want to do small art cutouts with metal and eventually maybe front entrance to our farm. My husband can weld so he understands that part
That’s a hard call, that is very individual.
There are people on here that have had all of them(crossfire, XL, PRO and XR) and they would probably have the best insight for you.
Since I recently ordered mine here was my train of thought.
I went with the PRO. Initially I had planned on trying to find a used Crossfire XL just to get my feet wet so to speak. what I found was that the used machines(at least locally) were going for almost as much as new. Once I had decided on buying new I decided that my goal was always to get to the PRO in the end. That being the case I figured I would be better off just buying the PRO then buying the XL and sometime down the road upgrading.
After I had made the order I talked to someone I knew had a PRO. He said that he initially bought the crossfire but he outgrew it almost immediately.
I would say get the biggest and best one that meets your budget and space requirements.
2 Likes
Welcome to the forum.
@72Pony has some good points, but I’ll point out that biggest isn’t necessarily the best choice. I have a 2x2 and I’m very happy with it. Because the table is open in the Y direction, you can, with a little careful alignment, make something larger than the basic table size (by doing multiple cuts on a long sheet). I’ve made some fairly nice yard art that is 23x66 without any seams.
If all you’ll mostly do is stuff that will fit on a 2x2 table, it’s a good price performer and easy to shove into a corner when you’re not using it.
THC is absolutely necessary on a larger table. It’s not vital on a small table but, overall, is probably a good idea even on a 2x2.
I hope this helps. Come back if you have questions.
2 Likes
I have the Crossfire 2’x2’ and that is fine for the work I generally do here in my shop. If I had the space, I would have bought a larger table, but with that said, I must admit, the extra area on a larger table would see little use here.
1 Like
I have the XL and love it. I use it to fab parts I need that fit in the confines of the table. If you plan on making large signs or cutting large part numbers then the bigger the better. I say that because you can “nest” parts more efficiently in a larger area. There is freeware for nesting (I use DeepnestIO) that will try permutations of part placement to get the maximum number of parts possible in the smallest area possible. I am happy with my XL but with Plasma tables bigger is better!!!
1 Like
It’s really dependent on the work you want to do. I bought one of the first run OG Crossfire 2x2 tables used it a bunch but found that I needed more space. So I bought the PRO when it came out (sold the 2x2 locally for about what I paid for it). The PRO has been the right fit for me. I can load up 4’ wide sheets as long as I need (with proper support under the tail end). Then cut, index through, cut…
They are both good units. (I have not used the XR so I can’t speak to that).
Bruce
1 Like
Lathes and milling machines too!! 
1 Like