A 3 x 8ft machine was designed to cut holes on three sides of typically 6 x 4 inch steel tubing for the motor industry. The components produced are used to fabricate railroad shipping cages for car and truck bodies.

The system uses a plasma torch to cut rectangular holes with rounded corners on the top and bottom of the tube or cuts two or three sided slots in the top and sides of the tube. The shapes required are defined using special shapes in the ‘built in’ AMC4 shape library. The operator inputs numerical data to define the shapes using a straightforward question and answer dialog with the controller.

The machine requires 5 axes to control it. Axis 1 is the cross or X axis, this moves the machine head right and left, when viewed from the front. Axis 2 is the long or Y axis; this moves the gantry forwards and backwards. Axis 3 is a Z axis; this moves the torch head assembly up and down. Axis 4 is an automatic torch height controlling axis, this maintains a constant distance from the torch tip to the metal, automatically controlled by the AMC4 , ensuring good cut quality on non flat materials. Axis 5 is a rotating axis which orients the plasma torch so that it is always perpendicular to the rectangular tube being cut.

Integrating the automatic torch height control within the AMC4 gives a number of distinct advantages over separate self contained torch height control systems. These include: lower overall cost, controlling the rate of torch lifts and drops based on the cutting speed.

The machine is driven by 4 servo motors and 1 stepper motor. The drives for these motors are integrated within the small AMC4 enclosure.

The AMC4 controller is mounted on the machine gantry, it moves with the Y axis along the 8ft of machine travel.  Mounting the controller on the gantry greatly reduces system cabling, increasing reliability.