• What is a CNC Machine?
• What Materials Can We Use?
• What Are We Making Today?
• 🚨 SAFETY WARNING 🚨
• TPZ NOMAD 3 CNC PROJECT
• JOB SETUP
• Begin Setup
• Set Stock Measurements
• Detail Settings
• DESIGNING THE NAME TAG
• Draw the Rectangle
• Write Your Name
• Moving and Aligning the Vectors
• Add a Hole
• Saving Your File
• CREATING TOOLPATHS
• What’s a Toolpath?
• Set Up the Toolpaths
• Setting our End Mill
• Setting Our Mill Speed
• Create Your Name Toolpath
• Create Your Outline Toolpath
• Create Your Hole Toolpath
• Create a Simulation
• Save Your G-Code
• SETTING UP THE NOMAD 3
• Connecting to the Nomad 3
• Secure Your Stock
• Insert the End Mill
• Finding Your X-Zero and Y-Zero
• Setting Your Job Zero
• Finding Your Z-Zero Point
• Setting Your Z-Zero
• Load Your G-Code
• Start Milling
• FINISHING YOUR PROJECT
• Cleaning Up the Nomad 3
• Shut Down the Nomad 3
• FINAL PRODUCT

What is a CNC Machine?

For this project, we will be introduced to CNC milling. A CNC milling machine is a machine that uses a rotary cutting tool, or end mill, to carve away material from a piece of stock to create 2D and 3D designs. The machine we will be using is the Nomad 3, a desktop CNC machine that connects directly to your computer.

What Materials Can We Use?

The Nomad 3 is able to cut through many materials, such as:

• Hardwoods, such as maple, ash, poplar, and oak.
• Softwoods, such as pine, cedar, balsa, and fir.
• Machinable wax, which is an excellent material for making molds for casting silicone.
• Plastics, such as ABS, Polycarbonate, Acrylic, Nylon, PVC, Polyethylene, and Polyurethanes.
• Synthetics and composites, such as Renshape and other Polyurethane resins with fillers, as well as foams.
• Metals, such as copper, brass, and aluminum.

What Are We Making Today?

Today we’ll be using the Nomad 3, and our programs Carbide Create and Carbide Motion, to create a name tag keychain with your name on it. We’ll learn how to use these programs and the basics of milling on a CNC machine.

Begin Setup

1. Open Carbide Create.
2. Under the Setup menu on the left, select the gear icon for Job Setup.

Set Stock Measurements

3. Set the Stock Size to the following measurements:
1. Width (X): 5.00 in.
2. Height (Y): 4.00 in.
4. Set the Stock Thickness to the following values:
1. Thickness (Z): 0.236 in.
2. Zero Height: Top

Detail Settings

5. Set Toolpath Zero to Lower-Left.
6. Set Job to the following options:
1. Material: Soft Plastic
2. Machine: Nomad 3
3. Retract Height: 0.1000”
4. Units: Inch.
7. Once those are set, select Ok.

Now the program has the stock’s measurements and is ready for you to design your name tag.

1. Under the Create Vector menu, select the Create Rectangle tool.
2. Click on the grid to make a midpoint for your rectangle, then click another point on the grid to form the perimeter.

3. Under the Parameters menu, set the following values:
1. Width: 3.00 in.
2. Height: 1.25 in.
3. Radius: 0.35 in.
4. Corners: Fillet.

You can adjust these settings to your liking or to fit your name.

Write Your Name

4. Under the Create Vector menu, select the Create Text tool.
5. In the type bar underneath Create Text, highlight the text and type your name.

6. Under the Font menu, select a font style of your choice. For this example, we’ll be using Impact.
1. Set the Font Height to 0.85 in.
2. Set the Spacing to 100%.
3. The Alignment does not matter in this case, as we’ll be repositioning the text in the next step.
7. When you’re happy with your text, click Done.

Keep in mind that certain fonts will be too thin for the mill to carve, so you may have to change your font later.

Moving and Aligning the Vectors

8. Now to reposition the text to fit better in the name tag. Select your text and click the Move tool.
1. You’ll see a bunch of little squares surrounding your text. You can select a square to drag it in its given direction to a place you like
2. You can also type in your numerical values into X and Y boxes in the Position section
9. When you’re happy with your placement, click Done.

10. If you want to align the two vectors perfectly, you can do so by using the Align Vectors tool
1. Hold Shift on your keyboard and click the text and outline, then select Align Vectors.
2. Use the options under Align to align the two vectors how you want. You can align the centers and/or the inner and outer edges.
11. When you’re happy with your placement, click Done

Add a Hole

12. Now to add a hole for a clip. Select the Create Circle tool. Plot the center point on the grid and the diameter.
13. Type the radius of the hole in the Radius tab under Parameters. You can make it any size you wish, but it must be greater than 0.125 in.
1. You can reposition the circle using the steps above.

Saving Your File

14. You can now save your file’s progress by hitting Ctrl+S or at the top click File→ Save in the top left corner. Name your file “YOUR NAME” Name Tag Milling, and hit Save. This is now saved as a Carbide Create File, or a .c2d file.
15. We can come back to this later if needed. Whenever you come back and modify the file, hit Ctrl+S to save your progress.

Before we start, we have to know the two types of toolpaths we’ll be using, Contour and Pocket.

• Contour- Offsets the cutting bit in different directions
• Inside- carves along the inner edge of the selected line(s)
• Outside- carves along the outer edge of the selected line(s)
• No Offset- carves directly on the selected line(s)

Pocket- Carves the entirety of the space inside the selected line(s)

Set Up the Toolpaths

1. Now we can set the program to engrave your name. At the top of the left menu, click the Toolpaths tab next to Design
2. Select Pocket to create the engraving.
3. Select Use Current Selection on the pop-up window to confirm your line selection

Setting our End Mill

4. In the Tool panel at the top of the screen, select the Edit button. Click the Select Tool button to choose a new end mill.
1. For Machine, select Nomad 3 from the dropdown menu
2. For Material, select Soft Plastic from the dropdown menu
3. Click End Mills to open the dropdown list, select #102 End Mill ( 1 /8”), and click the Select button at the bottom.

Setting Our Mill Speed

5. Change the Speed and Feeds of the end mill.
1. Change the Feed Rate to 75.
2. Change the RPM to 22000.
3. Click OK.

Create Your Name Toolpath

6. Set the Cutting Depth of the pocket. They have to be less than the thickness of our material, so set the Max Depth (D) to 0.125 inches.
7. Name this toolpath Name Pocket Toolpath, and click OK.

Create Your Outline Toolpath

8. Now to carve out our nametag. Select the outline feature and click the Contour button to create a contour toolpath.
1. Make sure that the Tool and Speed and Feeds are the same as before

9. We need to make sure that the toolpath cuts all the way through the material. On the Max Depth box, set the input to 0.236 in. or click Use Stock Bottom.
10. Set the Offset Direction to Outside/Right
11. Name the toolpath Outline Contour Toolpath, and click OK.

Create Your Hole Toolpath

12. To cut out the hole, repeat the steps above, BUT MAKE SURE you change the Offset Direction from Outside/Right to Inside/Left. This will preserve the diameter you set for the hole.
13. Name this toolpath Hole Contour Toolpath, and click OK.

Create a Simulation

We can now preview a simulation of how the final product should look.

14. In the Material menu under the Simulation tab, select Aluminum. There is no plastic material in this menu, so this option will do.
15. Deselect Show Toolpaths and Show Rapids, leaving only Show Simulation selected.
16. Select Show Simulation to preview your toolpaths

17. With this preview, you now have a general idea of how your final product will look. You can use your mouse to move the view of the simulation around. To exit the simulation, select Hide Simulation.
1. If you are not happy with the text or anything at this stage, you can go back to the Design tab and modify the text or shapes, and the toolpaths will automatically update to match.

Save Your G-Code

If you’re happy with it, you can go ahead and save the g-code in order to send it to the CNC mill.

18. At the bottom of the Toolpaths screen on the left, click Save Toolpaths.
19. Select Save toolpaths to a new C2D file, and click OK.
20. When the Save Window pops up, name the file “YOUR NAME” Final Milling.

You’re all done and ready to send to the Nomad 3!

Connecting to the Nomad 3

1. To connect the Nomad 3 to Carbide Motion,
1. Connect the USB cable of the Nomad 3 to your computer
2. Start Carbide Motion 5 on your computer.
3. Power on the Nomad 3.

2. In Carbide Motion, click Connect to Cutter.
3. To home the Nomad 3, click Initialize Machine.

Secure Your Stock

4. To secure your polycarbonate stock to the waste board, apply three strips of double sided tape to one side of the stock.
5. Peel the protective backing off and place it on the waste board.
6. Apply firm pressure for a few seconds to make sure you have a strong adhesion. This is important in order to keep the stock from shifting during the milling process.

Insert the End Mill

7. Using the two wrenches included with the Nomad 3, unscrew the collet so that it is loose but still connected.
8. Insert the back end of the mill into the collet, leaving about an inch sticking out.
9. Tighten the collet to secure the mill. DO NOT TIGHTEN WITHOUT AN END MILL INSERTED.
10. Click Resume. The Nomad 3 will now calibrate and measure the length of the tool.

Finding Your X-Zero and Y-Zero

11. Click the Jog button in the menu bar. We need to tell the Nomad 3 where the stock is by setting a Job Zero
12. Use Carbide Motion to jog the spindle to the lower-left corner of your stock:
1. The Y- button moves the build tray back, and the Y+ button moves it forward
2. The X- button moves the spindle to the left and the X+ button to the right
3. Use the Increment+ and Increment- buttons to adjust the speed of the machine’s jogging.
13. Use the Z buttons to position the spindle down closer to the top of your stock so you can set X and Y more accurately. Go slowly and make sure it doesn't touch the top of the stock.

Setting Your Job Zero

With the end mill now positioned in the lower left hand corner, we have to set the machine to recognize this point as our job zero.

14. To set the job zero, click the Set Zero button to bring up the Set Current Position screen.
15. Click the Zero X button to set your X-axis to 0.00. Do NOT click the Zero All button.
16. Click the Zero Y button to set your Y-axis to 0.00.
17. Click Done to return to the Job screen.

Finding Your Z-Zero Point

Now that the Job Zero for the X and Y axes are set, we need to set Z-Zero

18. It’s easier to set Z-zero when the end mill is fully over the stock, so use the X and Y Jog buttons to jog the spindle a few millimeters inward from the corner (on both the X- and Y-Axes).
19. Open the cover and place the magnetic key on the cover lock to trick the Nomad 3 into thinking it is closed.
20. Use the Z- button to begin lowering your cutter.
21. As the cutter moves closer to the material, reduce your increment, by clicking the Increment– button, accordingly. You do NOT want to plunge the cutter directly into the material. We are trying to get the cutter to touch the very top of the material, but no further.

22. Continue moving the cutter down until it is within about 1mm of the material. Slide a small scrap of regular paper between the cutter and the material.
23. Very slowly, and with a very small increment, resume lowering the cutter towards the material while wiggling the paper to check the mill is touching.
24. When the cutter grabs the paper and you can no longer wiggle it back and forth, stop lowering your cutter; you have found Z-zero.

Setting Your Z-Zero

25. In Carbide Motion, select Set Zero.
26. Click the Zero Z button to set your Z-axis to 0.00. Do NOT click the Zero All button.
27. Click Done to return to the Jog screen. Use the Z+ button to raise the cutter to release the paper, and shut the protective cover.

Now your Nomad 3 knows exactly where to begin milling from

Load Your G-Code

28. In Carbide Motion, click the Run button in the menu bar to open the Run screen, and select Load New File.
29. Select your project and click Open. Once the .nc file loads, you will see the approximate runtime, tools used, and other job info.
30. Click Done
31. On the starting screen, click Start Job.

Start Milling

32. Click Start.
1. During the initial startup sequence, Carbide Motion will prompt you to make sure the correct tool is installed in the spindle. If it’s not, this is your last chance to correct that.
2. Click Resume once you have confirmed that the correct tool is installed and milling will begin

The Nomad 3 will now begin milling out your name tag. make sure to stay and pay attention to the Nomad as it runs to make sure all goes well.

Cleaning Up the Nomad 3

1. When the program is complete, the spindle will automatically stop, park, then home. The table will move all the way towards you so you can easily remove the stock.
2. Now we have to clean up the mess we’ve made, so vacuum up the plastic shavings from the Nomad 3.
3. Pry the stock off the waste board and remove the double-sided tape.
4. Peel the protective film off the polycarbonate stock.

Shut Down the Nomad 3

5. Now that we’re done milling, we can hit the Stop button under the Position section. When the program asks to confirm the shutdown, click Yes.
6. You can now disconnect the Nomad 3 from your computer and shut if off.