Plasma Feeders

While Plasma Tables greatly reduce the amount of drop in Duct Shops, Plasma Feeders reduce that even further

Vulcan Cutting System as seen in Lockformer Catalog circa 1980
Plasma Cutting Tables were first introduced by Lockformer in the mid 1980’s and would revolutionize the HVAC Fabrication industry by that addressing the most time consuming and labor intensive task in an HVAC sheet metal fab shop;  cutting out the fittings portion of the HVAC job. 
 

It wasn’t that long ago  that a related innovation was introduced: a decoiler that feeds the 5 x 10 sheet onto the Plasma Table.  This Plasma Feeder is similar to a front end of a coil line in some respects: coil spools sit in cradles and are powered with individual drive motors thru a  straightener and beader. But instead of a shearing station , the metal passes thru a feed guide to the torch start point, a position that takes up the entire 5 x 10 table. The Plasma Table’s software generates a cut list, figuring the total length as well as the number of fittings,  maximizing each 5 x 10 sheet for the least amount of drop.  After cutting out the fittings, it’s Auto Trim Cut Feature then acts as a shear to automatically plasma cut the length of the sheet not used thereby saving what would otherwise be a 5 ft wide likely unusable drop piece to utilize it on the next cut list.

It’s feeder has individual drive motors that operate when de-coiling and rewinding the coil spool.  The spools themselves have a solid inner core that reduces the possiblity of “telescoping”.

 

Different gauges of metal for each cradle
Vicon is the only manufacturer that programs its own operating software.  They can also program the table to receive data and operate off of other manufacturer’s software.
 
 
Two Coil Cradle Uncoiler to feed onto a 5 x 20 table, Overfed System with Shearing Station—Overfed systems are typically seen when 1 or 2 coil cradles are being ordered or when space restraints play a factor (they require 8 ft less length in the footprint in section between feeder bar and Plasma Table). This shop uses 16 and 18 ga primarily.  
Underfed coil feeder
Underfed Feeder takes more space than Overfed
Underfed system feeding metal to the Plasma Table
All the way to the Torch Head so entire 5 x 10 table is occupied

Signed layout drawing indicating directional preference for the Overfed Plasma Feed System after determining the number of coil spools desired, the directional work flow is determined, and then the voltage confirmed (Plasma Table would be to the left)
 
Three station underfed coiler; if this was a three coil station overfed system, 5-1/2 Ft would be saved however more operator effort would be required 

 

Vicon’s welded loading brace in the center of spool helps distribute the load evenly for easier loading