Repetability and aligment with Nomad 3

[hcd (Hugo)]

Hi all,

I’m trying to set up a system where I can swap multiple jigs (and wasteboards) in and out of my Nomad and always keep everything in alignment. Curious whether others have solved this and how it’s held up.

In the past, I have press-fitted registration pins in an MDF wasteboard held down with double-sided tape. It worked well, even for flipping stock to machine both sides. But over time the pin holes wore loose, and the tape would shift or let go (one wasteboard came off entirely one time). It also wasn’t viable for harder materials like aluminum.

I recently tried the Carbide threaded table. But I found a few issues. It has a bit of a play before you screw it down, so it has to stay permanently mounted to keep coordinates consistent, and it’s 0.5" tall, so I would lose that machinable height. Then I would have to bore the pinholes directly into the threaded table, which is quite intrusive. Alternatively, I considered mounting an L-bracket onto the table to butt the jigs and waste boards against, but I don’t think it’ll stay precise - debris and slightly inconsistent seating would creep in over time. Also, the L-bracket I made had a bit of play as well, so the moment I would remove it and put it back on, everything would be off the next time.

Where I’ve landed is replacing the built-in bed with an aluminum replacement bed, then bore two press-fit registration pins directly into it after it’s mounted. Every waste board and jig gets two matching holes, so I can swap freely and stay aligned, and I do not lose a 0.5" height of work area. The measurements are in this thread, and High Tech Systems makes a drop-in replacement bed:

Replacing the Nomad bed

My bed was stuck on super hard (I was unable to make it budge after removing all screws). I heard some early models (like mine) had loctite or some other locking compound holding the bed on (maybe on the registration pins?). Any idea if it’s possible to remove the table on these? Am I likely to knock something out of whack so the machine is no longer square if I go at it too hard? I assume I have to turn the machine on its side and hammer from the other side?

MWHS01 Plate

For simplicity, I could buy the bed from HTS and just bore two registration pins after mounting it.

My main question for anyone who’s done something similar: would this hold up over time? Would these pins give me mechanical alignment between jigs no matter what I swap? Or I would eventually have to replace the bed because things would get out of alignment?

There is also another concern. I still need reliable, repeatable coordinates. My plan is to probe the new mounted bed with my BitZero V2 to set X/Y, so that if I ever lose my offsets, I can recover the same zero. How consistent is re-probing the same spot in practice with the BitZero? Are people getting reliably back to the same point, or is it always a touch off? I have had some weird inconsistencies with the bit Zero in the past.

For context on the zero worry, I once hit RESET ALL OFFSETS by accident and lost all my coordinates. I’d like to hear how others guard against losing their zero and how they recover it.

Two suggestions for the Carbide team while I’m here:

1. A confirmation prompt on “Reset All Offsets” (“Are you sure you want to reset all offsets?”).
2. A way to save and recall work coordinates, so an accidental overwrite is recoverable.

Thanks!

[wmoy (Winston)]

Two suggestions:

1. If the registration hole is wearing out in MDF, try pressing a bushing or other wear-resistant insert into the MDF. That will save on the wear and tear. You might also want to use a material that’s less moisture-sensitive, like a plastic or something.

2. Have you tried Carbide Motion’s Quick Actions feature? See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI-TZltM2HY&t=525s

[hcd (Hugo)]

Thank you, Winston! I saw the quick action feature added on the latest iteration of the software, but I wasn’t sure what it was for. This is great!

I have tried Delrin with better results for inserting the registration pins, but eventually they wore off as well. A wear-resistant insert for the registration pins on an MDF or Delrin board would actually be a great solution as well. Although it doesn’t solve the height limitation.

I just found this other thread:

Registration Pins Solution

@SkyeFire There are no stupid questions. The registration holes are drilled first using a corner of the stock as zero. Model your stock, use its center as reference and make the holes. Once they are done, these become your new reference for zero. I use the quick position center as my new x, y zero. The holes are equidistant from the center of the stock. [image] [image] I learned a lot with this project. Being able to simulate jobs has allowed me to study different strategies and see their i…

This solution, buying the new threaded bed from HTS where you can attach threaded dowel pins combined with the Quick Actions feature to store Zero points, solves all my issues, and I do not have to drill any new holes.

Thank you so much!