Hi team! I recently got a Nomad 883 Pro. I’m loving it, and after my first couple of “test cut out a circle” etc projects, my first real endeavor is to create dust collection for the machine.
If found @mbellon and his thread and am basically re-designing the parts he created in Fusion 360 myself, to learn. Mark himself has been an absolute wealth of information to me and is a stand up gentleman and so, so helpful in feeding me all kinds of information to get started, on things I have no idea about like feeds and speeds.
I’ve successfully machined the top and bottom bracket and am working on the spindle brackets now. Almost there!
One question - when doing all of this, obviously I didn’t have dust collection since that’s what I’m building. I’m using black Starboard, and it gets EVERYWHERE. I vacuum frequently when I pause carbide motion, but a lot of the black plastic chips seem to have worked themselves into the “X” axis threaded rod.
Is it necessary to clean these out? Meaning will it affect machine performance? If so, what’s the best way of going about that?
Thanks so much in advance, and sorry for the basic questions. I’m jsut getting started in the CNC world!
The guide does not address cleaning or lubricating the screws, but I regularly vacuum them of loose material, blow them off with air-in-a-can (I use a refillable that I pump up with my compressor), and with wipe them down with lint-free wipes. Fold the wipe once or twice to get a structural edge that will go into the root of the screw thread and use the whole edge so crud removed isn’t dragged back into a different location-- If you have ever cleaned optics, it is the same principle. This is the procedure that spec’d for the screws on one of the large machines I use, though that machine has shields for the screws and wiper/scrapers ahead of the nuts. A clean, soft toothbrush may also be used for chips, but won’t soak up any oily/liquid residue.
The guide likely doesn’t mention oiling the leadscrews because they are better run dry than with anything that will hold grit on them, but, off the record, I put a single drop of the same lube recommended for the guide rods near the nut, run the axis until it goes through the nut, run it back, and wipe it all off the screw. A little will hang in the inevitable clearances in the nut and a film will remain on the screw. Any more than this will hold gunk. .
When I was in school, we were taught to clean leadscrews using string, and there are several places on the web/youtube that recommend this, but DO NOT do it. This requires the screw be turning, which is a recipe for the string getting caught up, possibly dragging you in. Not a huge risk on the Nomad, but still a bad idea. Even if you do not get hurt, if even a little of the string frays off and gets dragged into the nut, for example, damage will occur.
Is it necessary to clean these out? Meaning will it affect machine performance? If so, what’s the best way of going about that?
Yes. The swarf may cause steps to be lost or other mischief.
I would vacuum them out with a good brush head. The old standby is brush and dust pan. Once cleaned, run a rag lightly treated with the appropriate lubricant over the rod.
Never use air blast as the swarf can land up in other places that may be detrimental.
I don’t recall… I’ve had it for years. One or another of the industrial supply houses in the 90’s when I was doing computer support at Rutgers, but amazon shows a lot of them, including some pricey plug-in ‘canless’ units with their own mini-compressors… search “canned air refillable”
Greases can be any color; no problem there. If one can’t vacuum, ripe down with a rag until clean and relube. They make treated “super paper” wipes that work well. Remember to wash the rag separately to get all of the junk out. A wash without soap after the wash is a good idea, just to ensure nothing yucky stays around.
Using a dust head, even for metals and plastics, even with no vacuum, is a win as it keeps things out of the works.
Never clean with air blast, you get junk in the grease and in places that it shouldn’t (like belts).
Vacuum what you can, brush what you can, rag wipe clean what’s left.
