What Is A CNC Plasma Table?

A CNC plasma table is an automated metal cutting tool kit that comes with a custom-sized workbench (4×4, 4×8, 5×10, 6×12) consisting of bed frame, computer numerical controller with CAM software, power supply, cutting torch, blade or sawtooth table, driver, motor, guide rail, ball screw, optional parts and consumable accessories, which is an upgraded version of the handheld plasma cutter to match various sizes of metal fabrications. The CNC controller will make it with a high degree of manufacturing flexibility, high accuracy, stable quality, high productivity, easy to improve working conditions, and are conducive to modernization of production management. Such a tool is a combination of a cutter and controller, which can give play to the greater advantages of gas cutting. In order to realize automatic machining, it must be capable of continuous feeding and automatic feeding, and the torch must be able to move separately or in combination in the horizontal and vertical directions to form the required curve. The various functional parts of the machine must be able to closely cooperate and coordinate to achieve precise continuous cutting. At the same time, various technical parameters can be flexibly adjusted and optimized to meet the cutting requirements of different metals.

How Does A CNC Plasma Cutter Work?

Plasma cutting is a thermal machining method that uses the heat of a high-temperature ionized gas arc to melt at a metal workpiece, and to eliminate the molten metal by high-speed momentum to create a slit. They send an electric arc by using gas like oxygen, nitrogen or compressed air. This turns the gas to plasma, as well as it promptly blasts through metal to cut it with broadband. A flame cutting torch works by adding a blast of oxygen to the flame which oxidizes the metal and turns it into slag. The torch moves along a tool path with height control directed by a computer. The CNC implies that a computer is used to control the motion supported G-code in a program. Compared to handheld devices, plasma CNC cutters realize automatic machining with X, Y, and Z axis.

What Are Plasma CNC Cutters Used For?

A CNC plasma cutter is capable of cutting most metallic materials, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, such as iron, carbon steel, structural steel, stainless steel, tool steel, brass, copper, bronze, aluminum, titanium and their alloys to shape metal sheets, rods, strips, square and round tubes, as well as manufacturing a variety of metal profiles.

CNC plasma cutting machines are used in a range of metal fabrication industries such as automobile manufacturing and welding workshops, auto repair and restoration shops, machine tool manufacturing, industrial machinery factories, shipbuilding manufacturers, mining machinery workshops, power facilities plants, construction sites, aerospace manufacturing centers.

What Are The Advantages of Plasma Cutting?

It is an efficient metal cutting method for sheet metal and metal tubes, which has made it to be widely used in many different industries.

You can get benefits from 10 best advantages with fast cuts, ease of use, lower cost, safe to use, multi-tasking, expanded versatility, wide range of material and thickness, eliminated plate warping, raised inside piercing speed, and diminished dross.

Compared with traditional manual & semi-automatic metal cutter, automatic computer-controlled metal cutting system is an integration of quality improvement and cost-efficiency. CNC metal cutters include computerized numerically controlled plasma, flame, water plasma and laser cutting machine. It performs automatic, full-time, high-quality, high-utilization and efficient cutting according to the CNC nesting software.

In industrial production, metal thermal cutting generally includes gas, plasma, and laser cutting. Compared with gas cut, plasma cut has a wider cutting range and higher efficiency. The fine plasma cut system is close to the quality of laser system, but the cost is much lower than that of laser.

It has shown great advantages in saving materials and improving labor productivity. This has promoted it from manual or semi-automatic to numerical control, and has become one of the main directions of the development of numerical control cutting technology.

1. It can cut thicker metals, such as stainless steel, aluminum and its alloys, copper and its alloys, cast iron and other metal materials. You can also use cutting torch to cut insulating materials and non-metallic materials with thickness of more than 150mm.
2. The speed is fast, and the production efficiency is high, especially when working with thin metals with high power, the production efficiency is improved more significantly.
3. The cutting quality is high, the slit is smooth and flat, the incision is narrow, and the heat-affected zone and deformation are smaller than other tools.
4. Low cost, due to the high speed, the use of cheap gas such as nitrogen requires less raw materials and labor than other methods to cut the same material.

How To Use A CNC Plasma Cutter & Cutting Table?

For people who have never used a gas cutter or plasma table with computer-controlled controller. This is an easy-to-follow guide with software installation, setting, debugging, parts assembly, setup, and operation.

Manual Non-Contact Cutting.

Step 1. Touch the torch roller to the workpiece, and adjust the distance between the nozzle and the plane of the workpiece to 3-5mm. (When the machine cuts, the “Cut Thickness Selection” switch is upscale).

Step 2. Turn on the torch switch to ignite the plasma arc. After cutting through the workpiece, move to the cutting direction at an even speed. The speed is based on the premise of cutting through. Too slow will affect the quality of the incision and even break the arc.

Step 3. After working, turn off the torch switch and the arc goes out. At this time, compressed air is sprayed out at a delay to cool the torch. After a few seconds, the ejection stops automatically. Remove the torch to complete the entire process.

Manual Contact Cutting.

Step 1. The “Cut Thickness Selection” switch is at the low level, and it is used when cutting thinner metal plates by a single machine.

Step 2. Place the torch nozzle at the starting point of the workpiece to be cut, turn on the torch switch, ignite the arc, cut through the workpiece, and then move uniformly along the cutting direction.

Step 3. After working, open and close the torch switch. At this time, the compressed air is still spraying out. After a few seconds, the spraying will stop automatically. Remove the torch to complete the entire process.

Automatic Cutting.

Step 1. Automatic cutting is mainly suitable for cutting thick workpieces. Select the “Cut Thickness Selection” switch position.

Step 2. After removing the torch roller, the torch and the semi-automatic machine tool are firmly connected, and the attachment is provided in the random accessories.

Step 3. Connect the power of the semi-automatic cutting system, and install the radius rod or guide rail according to the shape of the project (if you need to cut arc or circle, a radius rod is required).

Step 4. If the torch switch plug is turned off, replace the remote switch plug (prepared in the accessories).

Step 5. Adjust the appropriate walking speed according to the thickness of the workpiece. And set the “up” and “down” switches on the semi-automatic cutter to the cutting direction.

Step 6. Adjust the distance between the nozzle and the workpiece to 3-8mm, and adjust the center position of the nozzle to the starting strip of the workpiece slit.

Step 7. Turn on the remote control switch. After cutting through the workpiece, turn on the power switch of the semi-automatic machine to cut. In the initial stage, pay attention to the seam at any time and adjust to a suitable speed. And pay attention to whether the two machines work normally at any time.

Step 8. After cutting, turn off the remote control switch and the power switch. At this point, the entire process is completed.

Manual Cutting Circle.

According to the material and thickness of the part, choose the single or parallel cutting method, and choose the corresponding cutting method. Tighten the cross bar in the random attachment to the screw hole on the torch holder. To the required radius and tighten, then adjust the distance from the tip to the torch nozzle according to the length of the workpiece radius (the width of the slit must be considered). After adjustment, tighten the center fastening screws to prevent loosening, and loosen the cage to tighten the knurled screws. At this point, you can cut the workpiece.

What Is The Voltage of Plasma CNC Cutter?

When it is working, the CNC plasma torch will control the mechanical precision and the kerf quality with the power supply. It can be said that a good power supply has the fine cutting quality. In the actual use and operation of the computer-controlled cutter system, the cutting quality and stability are related to the power supply’s brand & maker, power, cutting torch, nozzle, as well as the metal thickness and the cutting parameters.

The power supply of manual cutter must have a high enough no-load voltage to easily start the arc and make the arc burn stably. The no-load voltage is generally 120-600V, and the arc column voltage is generally half of the no-load voltage. Increasing the arc column voltage can significantly increase the power of the arc, thereby increasing the speed and cutting higher thickness sheet metals. The arc column voltage usually can not be achieved by increasing the internal contraction of the electrode and adjusting the gas flow rate, but the arc column voltage should be less than 65% of the no-load voltage, if not, it will lead to the instability of the arc.

How Thick Can Plasma Cut?

According to the size of the configured power supply, the cutting thickness is generally within 0.5-100mm, and the high power supply can cut to more than 100mm; CNC flame cutting ability: Ordinary flame cutting torch 6-180mm (maximum 250mm), special flame cutting torch generally does not exceed 300mm, of course, it can also be customized to be higher.

How To Choose A Dust Collector for CNC Plasma Cutting Table?

A material receiving and dust removal device for a plasma CNC cutting machine includes a workbench composed of a bracket and a grid-like work surface fixed on the top of the bracket. The bracket is provided with a material receiving plate that can move horizontally relative to the workbench and is located in the bottom of the grid-shaped work surface, and the material receiving plate is a steel wire mesh plate, the bottom of the workbench directly below the material receiving plate is provided with a dust removal water tank, and the bottom of the dust removal water tank is provided with wheels. The material receiving and dust removal device enables the workpieces and wastes cut by the machine and dropped below the working table to be easily taken out, and at the same time, it can greatly reduce the metal dust pollution generated when cutting the workpiece.

Radonix Plasma for Sheet & Plate Cutting

Precision motion control + intelligent Torch Height Control (THC) for clean edges, consistent kerf, and high throughput on mild steel, stainless, and aluminum sheets.

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Why Radonix for Plasma Sheets?

• Stable standoff, clean cuts: Closed-loop arc-voltage THC keeps the torch at the right height over warped or heat-affected sheets.

• Shorter cycle times: Smart pierce sequencing, corner slow-downs, and optimized cut order (inner → outer) reduce rework and dross.

• Operator-friendly: DXF-native workflow, full simulation/dry-run, pause/resume, and restart-from-line to recover safely after stops.

Solution Snapshot

• Interface: XYZ Plasma + Torch Height Controller (THC)

• Axes: 3 (X, Y, Z with motorized Z)

• Controller Family: PC-SMART / PC-PRO (step/dir; stepper or servo drives)

• Use Cases: HVAC, fabrication shops, job shops, signage, OEM plasma tables

Core Capabilities

• DXF-native cutting: Kerf compensation, lead-in/out types, micro-tabs, cut-direction rules, automatic inner-to-outer contour ordering.

• THC suite: Target voltage setpoint, gain/deadband, anti-dive logic, corner hold, height trimming from the panel.

• Pierce intelligence: Pre-pierce dwell, multi-pierce for thick plate, pierce height vs. cut height, gas pre/post-flow.

• Cut quality controls: Corner speed limits, acceleration profiling, arc-on/arc-off timing, overburn/bridge options to finish corners.

• Safe recovery: Single-block, dry-run (torch OFF), pause/resume, restart from any program line.

• Job handling: Part arrays, sheet alignment (edge-find/touch-off), program notes, operator prompts, and job reports.

Advanced THC Details

• Voltage control: Live arc-voltage feedback with adjustable Target V, Gain, Deadband.

• Anti-dive: Locks Z when feedrate drops below a threshold (e.g., corners or small holes) to prevent torch diving.

• Corner hold: Temporarily disables Z corrections through corners for a crisp edge.

• Manual trim: Real-time Z-offset “nudge” to tune standoff on the fly.

• Touch-off & SafeZ: Automatic surface touch to locate top of sheet; SafeZ retract moves for rapids and pierces.

Software Workflow

1. Import DXF / G-code → choose layers/parts.

2. Set technology: kerf, lead-in/out, micro-tabs, cut sequence (inner→outer), pierce and cut heights.

3. THC setup: Target V, anti-dive threshold, corner hold, Z limits.

4. Gas sequence: pre-flow, pierce dwell, post-flow.

5. Simulate / Dry-run (torch OFF).

6. Run with live overrides (feed, THC trim).

7. Report & save (time, distance, events).

I/O & Integration (Typical)

• Inputs: Arc-OK, torch breakaway (collision), limit/home switches, air/pressure OK, water/bed sensors (if applicable).

• Outputs: Torch ON/OFF, gas valves (pre/post-flow), extractor/vacuum, table water level, alarms/stack-light.

• Safety chain: E-Stop loop, door/guard interlocks, over-travel inhibit, torch collision halt with automatic retract.

• Peripherals: Handheld MPG/pendant, barcode/QR job select, networked file share, AnyDesk remote support.

Performance & Quality Aids

• High-rate step/dir interpolation with look-ahead for smooth arcs & small holes.

• Corner slow-down and minimum feed protection for hole quality.

• Small-feature optimizer: hole/slot rules (lead-in type, overburn, slow-pierce) to reduce taper and dross.

• Heat management: sequence parts to minimize heat build-up and sheet movement.

Typical Table Configurations

• Light sheet (0.5–3 mm): Stepper XY + servo Z lifter, fine-pierce rules, fast cycle times.

• General fab (3–12 mm): Servo XY + servo Z, standard pierce tables, enhanced anti-dive/corner hold.

• Heavy plate (12–25+ mm): Servo XY + robust Z with collision breakaway, multi-pierce, extended dwell, water table support.

What You Get (Deliverables)

• Recommended controller (PC-SMART / PC-PRO) + XYZ Plasma + THC interface package.

• Default parameter set (THC, gas, pierce/cut heights) with editable tech tables.

• Sample DXF/G-code projects for validation, plus quick-start checklist.

• Remote commissioning & training session; operator pocket guide.

All kinds of Radonix Plasma/Oxy-Fuel Interfaces

1) XY Cutter — Z via DC Motor (Up/Down outputs)

Use when: You have a simple lift driven by a DC motor (no step/dir).
How it works: Digital outputs jog the lift: C-Zfree = +1 → Z Up, C-Zfree = −1 → Z Down (timed macros to reach pierce/cut heights).
Ideal for: Basic plasma/oxy tables with fixed standoff or occasional manual nudging.
Notes: No pulse/dir, no encoder/THC—operator or sequence toggles outputs.

2) XYZ Cutter — Z via Stepper/Servo (Manual mode)

Use when: You want precise Z positioning but prefer to trim height manually during the cut.
How it works: Pulse/Direction control on Z; operator adjusts Z from the screen/pendant while the toolpath runs (store pierce/cut height macros, home & soft limits).
Ideal for: Shops needing accuracy without arc-voltage automation.

3) XYZ Cutter + THC — Z via Stepper/Servo (Automatic mode)

Use when: You need automatic standoff on thin or uneven sheets.
How it works: The THC module reads arc voltage and closes the loop on Z to hold the target height (set target V, gain/deadband, anti-dive, sample/hold on corners).
Ideal for: High-precision plasma cutting, long cuts, warped material.