Lincoln Electric Growth Series, Инструкция по сборке

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Assembly Guide
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The year was 1979. After spending his childhood working with metal and hot rods, William
(Bill) Kunz, Sr. began selling his first shape-cutting machine. He called it the “Torchmate.”
Bill had read about pantograph flame-cutting machines in an automotive magazine, so he
set out to bring this technology to hobbyists and small shop owners like himself. His funda-
mental idea? Find a way to lower the $1,400 cost (a big investment 30 years ago) down to
just $400—thanks to the first Torchmate Pantograph Machine Kits.
Torchmate sold thousands of pantograph machines over the next 18 years, and the compa-
ny’s objective has remained steadfast: cutting technology should not be limited only to the
metalworking elite.
Not content to rest on his laurels, Bill launched Torchmate’s line of CNC (Computer Numeri-
cally Controlled) Cutting Machines in the late 1990s. The pantograph evolved into an auto-
mated, two-axis cutting table featuring a rugged yet precise plasma torch.
Following the same fundamental idea from the company’s founding, the Torchmate tables
brought major cost reductions, allowing plasma cutting (which had been expensively out
of reach for most shops) to be widely affordable. The cut quality, increased production, and
precise replication were also highly appreciated capabilities of the new machines.
In early 2001 and with the help of Kunz’s son, Bill Jr., the company unveiled the Torchmate
2, which used an extruded aluminum gantry. It cut customer fabrication time from 40 hours
down to just 16. Adding a third axis expanded functionality into the Routermate, which cuts
wood, plastic, foam, and other materials using a router / drill, in 3-D.
Then came the Torchmate 3, with its strong aluminum-extrusion frame that assembles in
less than a day—and a price point under $10,000.
The most recent new Torchmate products include the large Torchmate X table and, more
recently, the revolutionary new Growth Series: the expandable Torchmate 2x2, 2x4, and 4x4
CNC Systems.
In 2011, the Kunz’ family vision was realized when Lincoln Electric, a stalwart welding ma-
chine company from Cleveland, Ohio, acquired Torchmate. To bring world-class metal cutting
equipment to its customers world-wide, Torchmate will continue to create, sell, and support
products in Reno, NV.
Torchmate Company History