You can tell in the photo above what was happening, that plus other visual and audio cues. With the stock nomad spindle the machine is well balanced with the motion system. You’ll hear it “groan and moan” when its approaching the limit.
I used the @gmack speeds feeds and force calculator to adjust the axial and radial docs while keeping a pretty constant machine force. Its was obvious that the Z was an issue when going higher depths.
The ballscrew x/y didn’t offer any MRR rewards over the stock lead screws but did result in a much better quality and more consistent finish. I suspect when the Z is delt with this will change.
Its never gonna hog out material but that’s not what a Nomad is supposed to do anyway. This 0.8kw is the least powerful real spindle in the arsenal. It’s super quiet and has a push button pneumatic ATC. Gotta give up the 0.375 but it can run er11 up to 8mm. Dreams
New Z plate, new motor mounts, new spindle mounts and a tiny compressor/airtank lol. Might need a new enclosure lid too
Was really hoping for a more direct answer, hopefully such as - they’re cheaper and better than any other I’ve tried before. lol. but it all seriousness, I’m gonna have to give them a try.
@BartK they do seem very sharp but sometimes that means fragile too. I’m actually going to see if they can make a 0.20 rad bull single flute custom, just for tool life. They are short, 2" OAL so its better suited for thinner materials.
Honestly I’m kinda leaning towards the geometry of the C3D SF but we’ll see. At almost half the price it’s tough to not try them out.
It appears that the “VESC Tool” should allow you to monitor motor current in “real time”. If so, you can easily calculate force from it. That would be much more accurate and useful than estimating it with a speeds and feeds calculator.
The Milwaukee BLDC router weighs 1kg without a battery, how much does the Makita weigh?
ill probably stick to 4" for CM compatibility and to keep it simple after thinking about it. The new stepper feels good, tuned accelerations and should be around 150 max ipm loaded for the Z.
You know what would be great?
You shooting a tutorial video of assembling such a rail-based design and aligning it properly. This is the one thing that keeps me from playing with rails, I read about how to do it but it still feels like I’m going to mess up something. Seeing someone do it live would provide the kick in the b*** I need to try it myself!
@Julien well technically I’ve never installed a rail the “right/proper” way with a tq wrench and indicator carriage.
My goto is using a reference edge to align one rail then using that rail to align the second. Everything else is based on feel.
@DanStory would probably be a better choice to make a guide and his Shapeoko Rail post provides a good amount of info. Plus I picked up one of his Y rails conversion kits recently and a little guide would be nice.
Imo the hardest part is transfering the rail holes accurately for tapping… and then not breaking any taps.
A cutoff wheel in a hand angle grinder. I usually use pretty thin ones that are specifically for cutting hard materials. Any home supply store should carry them. Then file the end by hand and wire wheel to clean up any leftover burr.
A friend used a zip wheel in a surface grinder to cut one end and a Bridgeport to cut the other for my X-rails. My Y-rails haven’t come in yet, and my friend didn’t want to take my money so I plan on cutting them at home.
but it all seriousness, I’m gonna have to give them a try.
