Nomad with horizontal spindle orientation?

#1

I recently got a new Nomad 3 and have been making a bunch of wood parts but would like to start working with aluminum. I’m a bit worried about chip accumulation in pockets (I’d prefer to avoid stuff like setting up a flood coolant system or having to constantly vacuum to keep things clear). Is there any reason it wouldn’t work to flip the Nomad 90° onto its front (so that the power button faces down, with a modified enclosure so everything is properly supported), and machine that way so that chips fall out more easily?

I found this thread about doing the same thing with a Shapeoko, but it seems that several of the concerns raised there wouldn’t apply here (e.g. since all of the Nomad axes are driven by lead screws instead of belts). Has anyone tried this?

#2

you would be better off adding a 50w aquarium pump air blast setup. Also use single flutes for best chip evacuation.

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#3

Seconded, there are many threads like this one to add a locline pointed at the cut.

With a Nomad flipped on its front face, wouldn’t the Y axis become prone to faster wearout of the Y leadscrew antibacklash nut (since it would now have to fight gravity to move the weight of the baseplate+wasteboard+stock up and down) ?

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#4

Good point about the Y axis - I was thinking it probably had plenty of strength/stiffness to overcome gravity but I hadn’t thought about wear.

I thought an air blast setup ran the risk of chips flying up and getting into the lead screws/linear bearings etc. - or are they generally heavy enough/large enough that this isn’t a major concern?

#5

The aquarium pumps provide enough air to clear the chips but not violent enough to toss them high in the air to the lead screws and linear bearings for the most part. I put a locline valve to adjust the flow for just that problem but TBH its usually wide open.

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#6

I added a Harbor Freight in line oiler and adjust it way down. It doesn’t work as well as something like a Fogbuster, but it works well enough. You don’t need to flood, but a light mist in addition to air does help.

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