Breaking News! UPDATE March 2020
Coronavirus Edition
It seems like every company is sending out an announcement about how they're responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Heck, I got one from my online bank - no physical location to go to see a teller or an ATM but they wanted to assure me that they were taking all precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. Not sure but maybe they're cleaning the electrons of their part of the Internet a bit more than usual.
At any rate, here's mine.
This is a CNC Plasma table Torch Height Control VIM (Voltage Input Module) box. It takes the signals from the plasma cutter and routes it to the CNC's control box so the torch height can be controlled by the computer. It's for the new CNC table we thought would be here in January. The box (just the plastic box, not the guts) were made in China. The table's manufacturer thought they'd be getting it before the Chinese New Year shut down manufacturing over there. Unfortunately the box got as far as a shipping warehouse waiting on the shipment transport company to pick it up (and a couple of thousand like it).
Then the covid-19 virus broke loose. And the box was trapped as the coronavirus ravaged the country. Our box had to wait until the outbreak was contained enough for workers to return to their daily activities. So our box made it via San Diego to CT just a week ago and the assembly of the table began. Before that, I spent a week on the road in a half-dozen airports across the country and got what is termed a "presumptive case of coronavirus". That means I got sick, my symptoms matched those caused by covid-19, the flu test was negative and they had no other explanation so they presume that's what I had. But because there were no tests available in CT, I was sent home to get better. And I have. For those of you who are worried about getting it, as long as you're not a high-risk patient, you'll probably weather it fine. It wasn't as bad as the last time I had the flu. It'd be better though if you don't get it.
Unfortunately you can't tell if you're going to be badly affected by the virus. And if you get it, you may be contagious before you get the fever or other symptoms. Worse, you may never show any real symptoms but still be contagious. That means you may infect others when you don't even know you're sick. That's the real danger with this virus - someone who may not be as fortunate as you are (if you get a mild case) may get it bad and potentially, it may be fatal. I don't know what the answer is. It seems counterproductive to avoid all people, not to mention pretty hard when you think of all the things you need to do.
So we're assembling the table and will try to get it dialed in this week. In the meantime we're waiting for word from our steel supplier as to when they'll be letting folks into the warehouse to buy materials.
We're making small parts with the stock we cut before packing the small CNC table away to make room for the new big table. So if you've ordered replacement parts, mounts, small shelves or radar detector holders, they're shipping as promised on schedule. If you're waiting to order a tank or rack, we'll post here when we're back in operation.
While we wait for things to get back to normal, wash your hands regularly, sneeze or cough into your elbow, avoid crowds and high-risk (elderly, immuno-compromised or otherwise ill) individuals.