Carbide 3D Nomad 3

About the Machine

The Nomad 3 is Carbide 3D's fully enclosed desktop CNC mill, with an 8 x 8 x 3 in working area, a 130W brushless DC spindle (9,000 to 24,000 RPM) with an ER-11 collet (7mm max cutter diameter, collet not included), and HG15 linear rails on the Z-axis with anti-backlash nuts on every axis.

Cut Settings on this Machine

Every cut starts with one formula: Feed Rate = Spindle Speed (RPM) x Chip Load x Number of Cutting Edges (flutes). Chip load is the thickness of material each cutting edge removes in one revolution of the bit. This number comes from the manufacturer of the bit, which publishes a chip-load chart for each bit diameter and material. Look up your exact bit and material, start from the middle of the published range, and you have the third number in the formula. The chart below shows the recommended spindle speed for each material and bit type.

The Nomad 3's spindle runs 9,000 to 24,000 RPM, comfortably above the chart's suggested speeds, so you can run the chart's recommended RPM directly without hitting a ceiling. It's a fully enclosed desktop mill: HG15 linear rails and anti-backlash nuts on every axis give it good rigidity for its size, but it's still a light machine, not an industrial one. A truly rigid machine with a powerful spindle can cut as deep as the bit is wide in a single pass, but that takes real spindle torque, a drive train and clamps that hold firm, a gantry that will not flex, and enough mass to soak up vibration. The Nomad 3 falls short of that bar, and the fix is simple: take shallower passes. Push too deep and the bit deflects and chatters, leaving scalloped edges, or it rubs instead of cutting and burns the material. The fastest way to dial in a cut is to see what has already worked for other people.

Worked example for feed rate: 1/8in (3.175mm) two-flute solid carbide end mill in hard wood. The chart says 16,000 RPM, and this spindle's 9,000 to 24,000 RPM range covers it, so run 16,000. With the bit maker's 0.025mm per tooth (0.0010 in): 16,000 x 0.025 x 2 = 800 mm/min (31 in/min) feed. For depth per pass, start shallow and check Community Cut Settings in Easel for what works on this machine. If the cut sounds strained, reduce the depth, not the feed. Slowing the feed below the chip load makes the bit rub instead of cut.

Community Cut Settings shows the spindle speed, feed rate, and depth per pass other makers actually run for your machine, material, and bit.