Mounting a plasma cutter to a PRT

[keith]

Guys - I'm close to buying a PRT 4x8 and it might be housed in a friends facility (I don't think I have the room...that's another thread). In exchange for housing it, he is interested in mounting a plasma cutter to it. Has anyone done this with success? This would also have to be done in such a way where the plasma cutter could be removed and the router could be mounted again with minimal issues. I know Shopbot has discontinued their plasma cutter, but will this work on a PRT (Router)??? Is this recommended? Will it degrade the overall machine? Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

[Brady Watson]

Keith,
I have a PRT plasma machine that came that way from ShopBot. There are electronics which are unique to a PRT plasma machine. So 'converting' it over to a plasma machine is not as easy as one is lead to believe. You will need a plasma support grid to hold the material, some means of dust and smoke extraction and a plasma torch that can interface to the Bot's electronics. This of course is not to say that your idea is impossible...just a lot of work...and you are not just going to switch from a router to plasma...it would be a full day affair to do this. I know all of this because I wanted to do what you are thinking of doing a few years ago. I wound up essentially buying 2 PRTs to satisfy my woodworking and metalworking needs.

-Brady