Why are most CNC shape cutting machines so expensive?

Virtually all other manufacturers of industrial CNC shape cutting tables build them to be heavy shop equipment! This is totally unnecessary, as there is no physical contact between the torch and the material being cut.

They also sell CNC plasma cutters through their own sales force, and in turn, through a network of distributors, each with exclusive territories. This need to support a legion of salesmen and middlemen probably doubles again the cost of bringing their machines to market.

The affordable prices of our Torchmate CNC cutting machines is the result of clever (we think) design, integration with your existing personal computer, and Internet marketing, which many large companies have been slow to grasp. Couple computerized processing of shapes with big savings on plasma cutter consumables and your cost per cut piece drops dramatically. Use oxy-fuel for flame cutting thicker steel. The metal art shapes shown here are generally cut using plasma in steel 1/8" or 3/16" thick. The same is true of western art and garden art, which are simply metal art with a theme.

Now small shop owners, metal art enthusiasts, ornamental iron works, wrought iron furniture makers, garden art dealers, street rod chassis builders, and others on limited budgets can afford cnc plasma cutter technology. In many situations, our extruded aluminum Torchmate II with the optional z axis, can function as a cnc router, cnc drill press or cnc milling machine. It won't do the work of a metal lathe or iron worker but will substitute for many other kinds of metal fabrication equipment.

from:http://www.torchmate.com/