Can the Nomad cut this object out of aluminum?

I’ve been 3D printing these brackets (see attached image) for a research project I’m working on. I’d prefer to make them out of aluminum, but plastic has worked OK, and up until now a 3D printer is the only means by which I could make them anyway. Unfortunately my 3D printer is down for the count, which has me thinking about the possibility of purchasing a Nomad with the hopes of finally making these pieces out of aluminum. Although I have some machining experience on a mill, I’ve never used a CNC cutter before, and am not super familiar with the constraints and size limitations of the Nomad. Before I purchase a Nomad for this project, I would appreciate any opinions on whether the machine could feasibly cut this particular object out of aluminum, or an object similar to this? Apologies for the hastily assembled schematic. Dimensions are in mm. Thanks!

If you’re willing to accept filleting around some areas where an endmill won’t be able to reach, yes.

It would be a lot of setups though — this is a part which would be far easier on a lathe or machine w/ a 4th axis.

I wouldn’t say ‘no you can’t’ but I would say ‘how much difficulty are you willing to tolerate?’ There is alot of complexity there for a 3 axis machine. Probably 3 setups (run program, manually reorient part, run program, manually reorient part, run program) all of which require alot of precision reorienting. As @WillAdams notes, a 3 axis mill will not be able to reproduce perfectly as there are angles there a end mill will not be able to get into.

1 Like

let’s hope C3D releases the fourth axis upgrade for the SPK Pro in time for the holidays :grinning:

2 Likes

I wonder if this could be a case where a hybrid approach makes sense (milling a “core” part and then 3D-printing the pieces that do not lend themselves to milling easily, and assembling the parts). Of course with your printer being dead that’s not very helpful, just food for thought.

It could feasibly do it but it would require a great deal of skill. The hard parts I see are:

  • You need to make a 1.9mm hole around 6mm deep through the stock. You’re not going to find an endmill that can do it so you’re going to have to use a drill. The Nomad, at least the earlier version, wasn’t great for axial loads like you get for drilling and also lacked torque at low RPMs. It might be possible with such a small diameter but it might not.
  • If there are any circularity or concentricity requirements on the holes bored into the shaft, I think it’d be better done on a lathe. The Nomad might be able to do it but getting it perfectly centered and everything is going to be a pain.
  • That weird rounded-triangle cutout you have on the side there has sharp edges where it meets the shaft. The top edge (running parallel to the shaft) might be fine but the left edge (closer to the “head” of this thing) can’t physically accommodate an endmill perpendicular to that face, so it’s not going to be possible to get a sharp edge there, only a fillet with the same radius as your endmill.
  • Likewise, the slot in the end of the shaft meets the rounded-triangle thing at a sharp point. An endmill can’t physically fit.

Do you have any leeway on the geometry? I think the Nomad could make a part like this if some accommodations were made for manufacturing.

1 Like

I have made the necessary upgrades to my ShapeOKO 3XL to add a 4th axis, and with it have made several parts with geometry reminiscent of your project. The deep-drill and end-of-hole chamfer being the only aspects I have not yet explored. The 3XL upgrade involved the chuck/drive, changing the control PCB for a 5-axis replacement, switching to GRBL Mega 5X on that board and going through the process of adjusting stepper drive levels to achieve the same holding and moving torque as the original. I use Vectric VCarve for CAD/CAM, which has rotational capability, and UGS as the sender which now also has 4th axis capability (and visualisation etc).
So far I have only worked in wood with this upgrade, so proving out the rigidity and torque will be necessary before attempting aluminium.
I suspect I would look at CNC for the outer shape, ‘wings’ and slotting, and switch to my lathe for the deep drill and recessed chamfer (effort versus return).

1 Like

Thanks to everyone for your prompt and helpful replies! Based on your feedback, it sounds like the challenges with this design have to do with the complexity of the cuts, but not with the small size scale of the object, which I gather the Nomad should be able to handle. I’m modifying the bracket design to (hopefully) make it easier to cut on the Nomad, while still serving its intended function. I’ll post back with an updated design to see if it looks more feasible. Thanks again!

Yep, just like 3D printing it takes a little while to get your head around what is possible to produce on a given machine, and what is more ‘expensive’ in terms of tool or setup changes.

Even without a machine, many of the CAD CAM packages have some sort of toolpath simulation to show you what is reachable and achievable on some generic 3 axis machine.

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.