Big Dog Steel has been fortunate enough to purchase a larger facility that will better serve us now, and for the foreseeable future. With the new space comes new challenges as well as some new opportunities. One of the opportunities that we have now with more space is to fill it with some better equipment.
If you've ever talked to me about targets you know I'm obsessed with offering the highest quality target we can come up with. For me that solution has always been waterjet cutting hand selected grades of AR500 from top US sources. This sort of quality does not come cheap. There are a lot of companies out there that claim air to air plasma is just as good and that you won't notice a difference. If you are a casual shooter and you shoot steel every once in a blue moon, that may be true. However, at a recent match in TN there were two major target failures. Both of these targets were ATA plasma cut and both of them had the corners of the target completely broke off. The manufacturer is a hide vendor so I won't call him out, but the targets were not that old. The problem was that the small area between the bolt holes and the edge of the plate had become brittle, cracked and then failed. While a waterjet target may fail over time they do not have the same sort of problems that an air to air plasma cut target will in regards to a heat affected zones. However, CNC Air to Air plasma is the cheapest machine you could purchase as far as initial investment, operating cost, consumables, etc. especially when compared to HD plasma, laser or waterjet. Oxy-fuel is another option for cutting steel but not a very good solution for cutting quenched and tempered material.
With all that said... What would you rather have; Quality or a Cheaper price?
Honestly, I would not consider a straight air to air, cnc plasma with a down draft table a very good solution for cutting quenched and tempered material like AR500. However, there are compromises that can be made. One of the machines we are considering purchasing is a new high definition plasma cutter with a watertable. High definition plasma has been around since the 90's, but has really taken some significant steps forward in the last few years. The high density plasma cutters have much higher energy per square inch than air to air and typically use oxygen and compressed air or another gas to help shield the cut, depending on material. The hd cuts as a whole are much straighter, have less taper, and have less dross on the back of material. HD systems also typically cut holes better than air to air. The hd plasma has a smaller kerf which also results in a less heat being transferred to the material. The addition of the watertable helps keep the heat from spreading after the cut. As nice as these newer machines are, they don't come without a price and typically cost twice as much in initial cost compared to standard air to air plasma. However, this machine would allow us to expand and improve on our existing econoline of targets. It would also give us the ability to cut a few small parts that we typically waterjet or laser cut and would save a little more money.
Even the HD plasma with a watertable will still transfer heat into the edges of the material though. Nothing that cuts with heat can cut through a material without making it hot enough to melt. A waterjet is still the best way to accomplish a no heat cutting solution, but typically cost more than twice as much in initial investment, and even more to operate when it comes to consumables and garnet used to make the actual cut. The other option for us is to purchase a new waterjet which would expand our current cutting capabilities. Purchasing this new machine would be a huge investment. In the last few years I have managed to not raise the price on our standard product line of targets. With a new machine in the shop we would have to look at raising the price on a few of the targets. However, the increase in cost seen by you the consumer would not be huge, more than likely in the 5% or lower range.
So I ask you again, Quality or cheaper price? If I give you an example target such as a 12" Circle or Square would you rather have the plasma cut target @ $50 or the waterjet cut target @ $75?
If you've ever talked to me about targets you know I'm obsessed with offering the highest quality target we can come up with. For me that solution has always been waterjet cutting hand selected grades of AR500 from top US sources. This sort of quality does not come cheap. There are a lot of companies out there that claim air to air plasma is just as good and that you won't notice a difference. If you are a casual shooter and you shoot steel every once in a blue moon, that may be true. However, at a recent match in TN there were two major target failures. Both of these targets were ATA plasma cut and both of them had the corners of the target completely broke off. The manufacturer is a hide vendor so I won't call him out, but the targets were not that old. The problem was that the small area between the bolt holes and the edge of the plate had become brittle, cracked and then failed. While a waterjet target may fail over time they do not have the same sort of problems that an air to air plasma cut target will in regards to a heat affected zones. However, CNC Air to Air plasma is the cheapest machine you could purchase as far as initial investment, operating cost, consumables, etc. especially when compared to HD plasma, laser or waterjet. Oxy-fuel is another option for cutting steel but not a very good solution for cutting quenched and tempered material.
With all that said... What would you rather have; Quality or a Cheaper price?
Honestly, I would not consider a straight air to air, cnc plasma with a down draft table a very good solution for cutting quenched and tempered material like AR500. However, there are compromises that can be made. One of the machines we are considering purchasing is a new high definition plasma cutter with a watertable. High definition plasma has been around since the 90's, but has really taken some significant steps forward in the last few years. The high density plasma cutters have much higher energy per square inch than air to air and typically use oxygen and compressed air or another gas to help shield the cut, depending on material. The hd cuts as a whole are much straighter, have less taper, and have less dross on the back of material. HD systems also typically cut holes better than air to air. The hd plasma has a smaller kerf which also results in a less heat being transferred to the material. The addition of the watertable helps keep the heat from spreading after the cut. As nice as these newer machines are, they don't come without a price and typically cost twice as much in initial cost compared to standard air to air plasma. However, this machine would allow us to expand and improve on our existing econoline of targets. It would also give us the ability to cut a few small parts that we typically waterjet or laser cut and would save a little more money.
Even the HD plasma with a watertable will still transfer heat into the edges of the material though. Nothing that cuts with heat can cut through a material without making it hot enough to melt. A waterjet is still the best way to accomplish a no heat cutting solution, but typically cost more than twice as much in initial investment, and even more to operate when it comes to consumables and garnet used to make the actual cut. The other option for us is to purchase a new waterjet which would expand our current cutting capabilities. Purchasing this new machine would be a huge investment. In the last few years I have managed to not raise the price on our standard product line of targets. With a new machine in the shop we would have to look at raising the price on a few of the targets. However, the increase in cost seen by you the consumer would not be huge, more than likely in the 5% or lower range.
So I ask you again, Quality or cheaper price? If I give you an example target such as a 12" Circle or Square would you rather have the plasma cut target @ $50 or the waterjet cut target @ $75?
