Water tables
Our water tables are built for plasma cutting shops that need better control of dust, heat and light plate distortion. We make the table, tray, slat support and frame sections in Epping, then deliver across the Western Cape or ship flat-packed kits nationally.
What a water table adds on the shop floor
A water table places the cut area over a water tray so hot particles and a fair amount of smoke are caught low down instead of hanging in the air around the bed. For many fabrication shops this makes plate handling easier through a normal week, especially on mild steel where dry dust can build up fast.
The water also helps with heat control on thinner sheet. You still need the right cutting settings from your motion system and plasma source, but the table itself can reduce the amount of warped offcut you wrestle with at the end of a run. On parts with long nested cuts that matters more than people expect.
- Good fit for general fabrication, brackets, gussets and plate components
- Helps trap sparks and fine debris below the slat line
- Useful where shop ventilation is limited but you still need cleaner cutting conditions
- Works well with replaceable slat packs and serviceable tray access
Bed sizes, tray layouts and practical limits
We build water tables around the sheet sizes most local workshops actually buy. Common footprints include layouts for 1 220 x 2 440 mm plate and 1 500 x 3 000 mm plate, with other bed lengths and widths made to suit your gantry plan and available floor space. If you are building your own machine, we can supply the frame and tray as a kit or as a complete running system.
The working area is set by your gantry travel, torch mount and control package, which we do not supply. Our part of the job is the steel table structure, water tray, slat support arrangement and related sections. For that reason, it helps if you tell us the intended rail spacing and overtravel before we cut material.
- Standard and custom bed footprints to suit workshop space
- Shallow and deeper tray arrangements depending on cutting mix
- Fixed frames or flat-packed DIY kit formats
- Replaceable slat packs so worn sections can be swapped without rebuilding the bed
Water tables suit plate work well. Some sites need dry material after processing or stronger fume extraction from above-water cutting conditions, and in those cases a downdraft bed may make more sense.
Where this setup suits, and where it does not
A water bed suits workshops cutting carbon steel plate in steady volumes, repair shops with mixed nesting work, and fabrication teams that want a simpler dust-control method built into the table itself. It also suits branch operations outside Cape Town where a flat-packed kit can be assembled locally without waiting for a full machine build.
It is less suited to sites that have strict internal rules against open process water near certain finishes or electronics, and less suited where freezing conditions are part of the operating environment. In coastal areas, water care matters a bit more because salt in the air will find neglected steel surfaces if the tray is left dirty for too long.
If your aim is to buy a full CNC machine, controller, plasma power unit or used system, that is outside our scope. We make the bed, slats, tray and supporting steelwork only.
Floor space, services and installation notes
Before the table arrives, check that the floor is level enough for the frame to sit without twist. A bed that rocks at one corner will show up later as uneven slat wear and awkward alignment work. Concrete is generally fine if it is sound and not breaking away under anchor points.
Leave room around the long sides for loading plate, removing scrap and cleaning the tray. In tighter Epping workshops we often suggest planning enough side access for a pallet jack or forklift tine clearance, plus a clear point for draining the tray into your chosen container or disposal setup. Keep municipal site rules in mind for water disposal. Direct dirty process water into an approved container or disposal point.
- Level floor with enough bearing for the loaded bed
- Access for sheet loading from the front or side
- A planned drain point and safe method for emptying the tray
- Space to lift out slats and remove settled fines
Care, cleaning and slat replacement
Water tables are straightforward to live with if someone in the shop owns the routine. Keep the water level where it needs to be for the material you cut, skim out floating debris, and do not leave heavy sludge to build up month after month. Sludge left in the tray for too long becomes miserable to remove and it can hold moisture against steel surfaces.
Slats are consumable parts. Once they are heavily eroded, bowed or packed with dross, cut quality and part support suffer. Rather change a worn section early than chase torch crashes later. If one zone takes most of your repeated jobs, that section may wear faster than the rest and should be swapped first. It's pretty common.
We also make replacement slat packs and related steel parts, so the bed can stay in service without a full rebuild.
What to send with your enquiry
To quote the right table, we need the physical details of the bed you want built and how it will be used. Send rough dimensions with a marked-up sketch or layout drawing if you have one. If the table must fit an existing gantry or rail set, say so early.
- Required plate size or intended cutting area
- Overall bed footprint your shop can accept
- Whether you need a welded table or a flat-packed DIY kit
- Material type and thickness range cut most often
- Drain and fill point preference
- Delivery town, such as Bellville, Paarl, Worcester or George
If you are comparing a water bed with a downdraft option, mention that in our contact form and we will quote the steelwork that matches your layout rather than forcing a standard pattern onto the job.
What our Plasma Table customers say
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Questions we get asked
Can you build a water table for my existing gantry?
Yes, if you send the rail spacing, intended travel and overall footprint. We build the steel bed to match the machine layout you already have.
Do you send water tables outside Cape Town?
We deliver across the Western Cape and can ship flat-packed kits to the rest of South Africa for workshop assembly.
Is a water table always better than a downdraft bed?
A water bed is often a good fit for mixed plate cutting and dust control at source, but some shops prefer downdraft extraction for their process, material mix or internal site rules.
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Tell us about the job
Send sizes, materials and where you are through our contact form, and we will come back with the practical options.
Open the contact form