Hi everyone, i want to know what is the best material for a Bed of Nomad 3 CNC, i bought a Nomad 3 and the default bed was MDF 200x200 right?. so i want to change my bed material (non-metal), my mdf board has been peeled because i used the very strong double-sided tape. so what is the best for the bed? MDF or PVC Board or Block Board or anything else with non-metal material?
Thank You,
I use bamboo ply, because i have bits about. However, much better than MDF
I found a HDPE cutting board and cut it down to size, then used the Nomad to mill out the mounting holes. To keep it flat, I put double-sided tape on the bottom and mounted it to the Nomad plate and used nylon M6 bolts to hold it down. I then surfaced it .005" at a time until all of the top had been cut.
The double sided tape on the bottom keeps it flat; I’ve had no problems with it. I mount the workpiece using double sided-tape to the top and it stays put until I peel it off. I’ve been using XFasten woodworking double-sided tape. I’ts consistently .01" thick, sticks well, and leaves no residue when you do peel it off.
I use the Xfasten as well. Like you say it doesn’t leave a residue on the wood but it gums up bits if you get into it.
Since most of the projects measure zero from the bottom, I’ve milled a piece of plastic that fits the BitZero inside to give me the zero point relative to the top of the tape. I then make sure I cut down to .002" to leave a fine onion skin and that avoids the gumming of the bit. I haven’t tried the .002", yet and may have to adjust it a little bit more, but it doesn’t take much. Once the bit gums up, everything else cut after it dips into the tape get some of the stickiness on the surface and makes for a much poorer quality surface.
I tried the .002" left on the cut through, but it still managed to pick up a small amount of the goo on the tape, probably because a piece of wood it cut brought it along as it was being cut. I’ve increased the distance to .005" and have not had any goo stick to the bits and the pieces ore easy to separate. For what I’m doing, I use a downcut bit (1/8") and typically have done some cut out on the bottom before flipping it to do the top, so I end up having to sand the bottom just a little to account for the tear-out. If I really wanted to be picky about it, I could cut most of the way through with a downcut bit, then finish the cut-out with an upcut bit, but I need to sand these pieces anyway, must to get every face smooth.
For anyone interested, I’ve been experimenting with some wooden puzzles (free ones from Bruce Viney who, unfortunately, passed away a couple of years ago. Anyone interested in looking at these, please DM me and I’ll send you a ink to the page that has a catalog of them. I’m the keeper of the plans in that I handle inquiries and fulfill orders, but the money for the paid ones go to Bruce’s son Rob. The free plans are free for the asking.
I’ve had to design how to cut these on a CNC machine; Bruce did most of his cutting using hand tools.
Sometime in the next couple of days, I’ll post some pictures in the “What did you cut on your…” topic of a couple of them I’ve finished.
This topic was automatically closed after 30 days. New replies are no longer allowed.