So on the main carbide website it lists that the nomad can cut soft metals to a depth of .25 in. What I don’t understand is why there is a limit like that. If you can cut one pass, why wouldn’t you be able to cut the next pass?
Since meshcam forces you to cut widths that are at least 10% larger than the bit, there shouldn’t be problems with rubbing or something from prior passes, not that there should be anyway, but still.
I know because of relatively low RPM, when compared to industrial machines, it means that feedrate would have to be low to keep the bit deflection down. So maybe having the bit out past a quarter inch the machine would have to go so slow for it to not be worth it maybe?
I’m pretty sure that the intended statement was to denote a limit to cutting in a single pass.
Naturally, as you surmise, one can make multiple passes and cut much deeper. With appropriate feeds, speeds and bit one can do slotting — I’ve done as deep as an inch on my Shapeoko.
I’ve only machined a couple of aluminum parts on the nomad so far but I did make a knob from a 0.5" thick piece of aluminum without any trouble. It was slow because of the shallow depth of cut but it got the job done.
I actually asked them about this before I bought mine. It is FOR SURE NOT a recommended DOC for a single pass (10mil seems like a typical DOC).
Carbide’s response to me was that they weren’t sure why it says 0.25" on their website, but if you’re willing to wait you can cut as deep as the Z axis and cutting tool will allow.