Benchtop CNC Plasma/Oxy-fuel - Literally

[tmate3]

About 25 years ago, I built one of the simplest CNC shape cutting machines imaginable. At the time, it used an oxy-acetylene torch, but it would just as easily accept a manual plasma torch with a switch placed into the trigger circuit.

i grafted Grainger gearmotor gearboxes onto the stepper motors. The reduction was so great that I had to use large spur gears to get some speed back. There was some backlash with all the gearing, which I eventually eliminated by going to a timing belt reduction.

It used cam followers riding on the edge of a steel workbench as a table, and had a gear rack screwed to the table surface. This was a cantilevered arm unit and the material was situated off to the side. The photo was taken just after I finished it.