It was drawn on Solidworks
Thought it looked expensive....

That is a vital part of a Plasma system
It is a 'Floating switch'
What happens is Z axis lifts up and moves to its pierce position, the Z axis then lowers until the Torch makes contact with the material.
I see, still seems a bit overkill :heehee:, couldnt you just use a circular spring loaded mount on the torch?

Ross,
Yes, there are some risks from bearings on ali section. My machine is still some way from running yet so I don't know how it will cope with bearing surface wear.
I will be inrested to know how you get on as the ali beam i just bought uses a similar idea but with rubber bearings and I was wondering how well it would work if I replaced them bearings.