#CNCPlasma
#THC
#TorchHeightController
#DIYCNCMill
#3018CNC
#Fusion360
#Mach3
#Tutorials

Here the link to my design of the mechanical torch height controller (THC):

https://grabcad.com/library/mechanica...


I installed a THC system on my CNC plasma cutter. I tried many time without success to configure it to cut metal art on thin sheet metals (0.8mm and 0.5mm thick). The THC system only work for some thick sheet metals (1.5mm or above). For the thin sheets that I was using, The Z axis kept crushing into the sheet then lifted too high and ran away from the sheet metal.
I decided to give up on the THC and made my own mechanical THC. The setup that I designed can be adapted to any torch, CNC plasma system (Mach3, GRBL, etc...) and 100% success rate. You won't need to do any wiring to your CNC controller or changes to your plasma cutter. You will only need to make your Z axis free floating by removing the limit switch (if you had one). The tip of the torch will be maintained at constant height while gliding and cutting on the surface of the sheet metal. The free floating Z axis will allow the torch to follow any type of changes on the surface of the sheets. The mechanical shield will constantly press on the cutting surface by weight.
The whole mechanical THC setup was easy to make using my CNC milling machine. You can adapt the setup to your own CNC plasma cutter by changing the inner diameter of the fixture ring to the diameter of your torch.
In the end, the system showed a great success with a really thin sheet metal (0.5mm). Despise all the warping, the metal art was cut beautifully and clean.