Machine provides a solid foundation for plasma cutting

Park Industries demonstrates the cutting capabilities of its KANO HD 510 plasma cutting system at FABTECH.

A new 5- by 10-ft. plasma cutting table doesn’t sound like an earth-shattering product introduction, but when an almost 70-year-old machine tool manufacturer introduces such a table at FABTECH, it catches people’s attention.

Park Industries, St. Cloud, Minn., has been around since 1953 and spent a majority of that time making stone cutting machines. In a bid to diversify its business, about six years ago it started making large-scale plasma cutting systems, some reaching as large as 10 by 24 ft., for the metal fabricating market.

The motivation to introduce the KANO HD 510 came with a realization that a majority of the metal fabricating shops in the U.S. work with 5- by 10-ft. sheets and plate. Discussions with dealers that sold laser cutting machines revealed that most of the machines sold actually have tables of the same size. Even larger operations, such as shipbuilding companies, might require the smaller plasma table for a repair shop or smaller jobs, according to Al Holst, Park Industries’ business development leader for metals.

“This table size will suit more people, and its potential popularity is evidenced by the interest online and the active interest and request for quotes that we saw at FABTECH,” Holst said.

He added that the heavy-duty steel construction of the gantry beam and machine frame also stands out to interested parties. The use of structural steel tubing and plate with additional steel reinforcements creates a solid foundation that doesn’t change even when plasma—or even oxyfuel—torches are operating over an entire shift. That solid steel construction combined with linear ways and precision gear racks allows the plasma cutting table to attain bidirectional accuracy of at least +/- 0.004 in., which is laser-verified before leaving the factory, Holst said. It turns out that a company that has a long history of making “saw jets” for cutting through stone knows a thing or two about engineering a machine tool that can maintain accuracy while cutting.

“We verify that it will perform correctly in operation as it goes through final inspection. We don’t want to find a machine in the field that isn’t working correctly,” he said.

These devices are designed to deliver positioning speeds of 1,500 IPM, which Holst describes as “plenty good” for the size of the table and for the market. Acceleration of the torch, however, is where the KANO HD 510 differentiates itself from other 5- by 10-ft. tables on the market, according to the company.

“We’ve designed this system to produce 160 milli-Gs of acceleration. That’s not what you’d find on the fast and expensive lasers, but for a plasma cutting machine, that is pretty quick,” Holst said. “This thing is going to go from zero to 1,500 IPM in under half a second.”

Holst added that the plasma cutting system also has a couple of features that aren’t commonly found on other tables. One is a cable-activated emergency stop, which is actually on all machines Park Industries manufactures. The e-stops are located on the front and rear of the gantry beam. If the cable is pulled, the machine is electronically stopped to avoid potential injury to the person near the cutting action. The machine also has tucked rails along its length that cover the linear ways and gear rack, which allows that sensitive equipment to avoid possible damage when large sheets of metal are loaded and unloaded onto the machine over the edges.

The plasma cutting machine is available with Hypertherm Powermax air plasma, MAXPRO200 oxygen plasma, or an XPR high-definition plasma system. An oxyfuel torch is also available. Included is the Hypertherm EDGE Connect CNC.

“If someone is not in a position to pay for or budget for the costs of a high-definition plasma system, they can start out with an air plasma,” Holst said. “When they are ready for high-definition cutting, the machine is still appropriate for the work. There are many small machines out there where you would just have to start over making that kind of a move because they aren’t suitable for high-definition at all.”

Even though Park Industries hasn’t been serving the metal fabricating community as long as it has stone fabricators, Holst said the company is earning sales of its plasma cutting machines based on the same engineering success and customer support that have helped to grow its stone-related business. Small improvements in what many might consider a ubiquitous piece of equipment are noticed by those that demand a lot of their cutting machines. Holst said that’s why he thinks fabricators will like the KANO HD 510.