Possible Newbie - Question

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I may bite the bullet this weekend and buy a Nomad 883 Pro! I have a question, and will most likely have a million/billion questions if I purchase. For now, does anyone know if there is a sound difference between the bamboo and HDPE enclosures? Which one may be quieter?

Any advice for a newbie is greatly appreciated :slight_smile:

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I checked in w/ someone from the California office where they’re made and shipped — there’s no discernible difference in the noise levels between the materials/colours.

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Thank you @WillAdams!

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I bought one! Do we have access to the software before it arrives? I was hoping to start learning the program this weekend. :grimacing:

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Yes both Carbide Create and Carbide Motion are available for download from the Carbide 3D website. MeshCAM can also be downloaded but requires an activation code prior to use. That code will be sent to you in an email from Carbide 3d…

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Carbide Create: http://carbide3d.com/carbidecreate/download

Carbide Motion: http://carbide3d.com/downloads/ — this isn’t useful until one gets a machine, but it may be worth insuring that it installs and runs okay on the machine you plan to use it on.

MeshCAM: per http://docs.carbide3d.com/article/18-meshcam-updates you can d/l the software from: http://www.grzsoftware.com/dl/ and use v6 as a time-limited demo until you get your code. If you wish to try the beta of v7, then it has a facility where one registers it to use with a Nomad and that’s all the licensing necessary.

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Thank you again! I appreciate it.

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Will the programs work with Windows Vista, or should I update that? I’m using my mother-in-laws old PC for this, but am not much of a Windows kid. Not even sure how to update to new Windows :grimacing:

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I initially used Carbide Motion on my ThinkPad running Vista — I suspect that it would still work.

Rather than try to update Windows, my inclination would be to get an inexpensive tablet to run the software on — just try for one which:

  • has a screen larger than 1280 x 800 (that’s the size on my Toshiba Encore 2 Write 10, and I have to scroll to see most of the panes in Carbide Create which is a pain) — I’d be very glad to know of what screen size thresholds allow all controls to show.
  • has an available USB port after power is connected (I use a Toshiba dongle which affords Micro USB power in, and a full-size USB port)
  • has a stylus — some of the buttons are small in Carbide Create — Motion seems to work okay with touch, though it is a pain navigating the file dialog

List of notes on system requirements and known working configurations at: http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Carbide_Motion_Machine_Control_Software#System_Requirements

One note is that once the Grbl 1.1 and Carbide Motion 4 roll-out is complete there should be an add-on board / module (described as Carbide Connect, see http://carbide3d.com/blog/2017/feb-2017-update/ ) which will allow one to control the machine using a web browser or some such. If you’re using other CAD/CAM software, and have room in the budget for it, that may be useful.

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