Plastic Machining FAQ

Machining plastics can be a good choice for plastic products that have low volume, high precision, or difficult injection molding. There are many plastics suitable for machining, from low cost and general level performance to high-end, precise, and highly engineered. It is difficult to choose an appropriate plastic for your particular application.

1. Impact Resistance

Impact resistance is a critical property for many machining plastic products. You can choose machining Polycarbonate, UHMW, Nylon, or Peek for better impact resistance. Please do not choose machining Acrylic and Polyester.

2. Optical Clarity

If you expect the optical clarity of your plastic component, the best choice is machining Acrylic. In many cases, you even don’t need any further polishing. Clear PVC and polycarbonate are also good. But you need plastic polishing after machining.

3. Temperature Resistance

If you need plastic components that can work under a high-temperature environment, you’d better choose machining PEEK, Ultem, or PTFE. Please do not choose machining Acrylic, ABS, PVC, or UHMW.

4. Cost

If the cost is your priority, choose machining HDPE, Delrin, Polypropylene, or Polyester. If you need higher performance engineered plastics, you should choose machining PEEK, machining PPS, or Vespel.

5. Chemical Resistance

Machining Teflon, PEEK, UHMW, and Polyester have good chemical resistance; while machining Acrylic, ABS and Polycarbonate are not so good.

6. UV Resistance

UV resistance is another critical property for your plastic components for outdoor use. Poor UV-resistant plastics could change color, reduce impact resistance, and tensile strength faster. Then, it will cause tons of problems.
In this case, please choose UV-resistant Polycarbonate, Acrylic, or PBT. Do not use non-UV-resistant polycarbonate, Nylon, or Acetal.

7. Dimensional Stability

If you need precision plastic machining for your products, you should choose machining PEEK, Polyester, Ultem, or PPS. Please do not use machining HDPE, LDPE, UHMW, Nylon.

8. Food Grade

If you need food-grade plastics, you can choose Polyester, PEEK, HDPE, Polycarbonate, or Delrin.
WeProFab is the right plastic machining company you should choose. We are glad to support you, helping you make the right choice on machining plastics. At the same time, we are glad to offer custom plastic machining for you. We have only listed the most common machining plastics.

Plastic Machining: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

What is Plastic Machining?

It refers to the process of shaping a relatively large piece of plastic material sheet.

It is something similar to shaving silvers from a branch using a sharp knife.

Plastic machining

Why Machine Plastics?

It helps several plastic machining companies to capitalize on utilizing all the raw materials hence helping in minimizing waste.

Machining plastics is also significant when it comes to cutting or reducing operational costs.

This is a result of the fact that it uses all the raw materials accordingly and other elements surrounding the process.

It is the ideal alternative for fabricating plastic sheets that require precision irrespective of the material’s close tolerance and non-standard shapes, among others.

Machining plastics helps in the manufacturing of complicated parts with much consistency and rapidity.

Of course, this is beneficial, especially when you need to produce a large number of parts of high quality within the shortest time possible.

Plastic machining is essential in producing high-quality parts, given that internal quality assurance is fixed inside the systems.

These detectors detect any error likely to occur to help in performing counteractive measures.

Machining plastics also allows you to produce parts for a wide range of applications for various industries, including communications, aerospace, and defense, among others.

How Many Plastic Machining Methods are there?

They are quite a number and the include the following;

• Turning – It is the type of plastic machining designed for attaining a round-shaped plastic part.
• Drilling – it involves cutting the plastic materials to create a cross-section.
• Die-cutting – it is mostly used in cutting plastic materials to produce a simple component.
• CNC machining – It involves using computer programs to cut the plastic component, especially if it has complex shapes.
• Water jet cutting – it is the best type of machining plastic components that would be somewhat difficult to trim using other techniques.
• Hot knife cutting – It is an ideal way of cutting softer and less rigid plastic materials
• Milling – It is used for manufacturing relatively complex shapes.
• Sawing – It solely involves parting off parts of the plastic sheet from bar to stock to enable usage in subsequent working by other plastic machining operations.
• Punching – It is used for cutting thinner thermoset and thermoplastic sheet
• Separating – it is about extricating plastic materials by means of scoring using a relatively sharp knife.
• Ultra-sonic cutting – It is a method that integrates computer profile control to cut somewhat softer and thinner plastics.
• Laser cutting – it used an industrial laser for melting plastic sheets normally with a subsequent computer-controlled profile.

What Should You Consider When Machining Plastics?

• Type of plastic material for machining
• The general measure of the cost of material and the process as well
• Type of machine you are using
• Spindle speed
• The angle of plastic orientation
• Feed rate
• The particular type of machining and application for the machined part
• Features of the plastic material including, tensile strength, temperature, and chemical resistance, dimensional stability, and biocompatibility among others
• Temperature requirements

Is PVC Machinable?

Most definitely.

PVC is highly machinable to close tolerances owing to the fact that it exhibits high chemical resistance, resistance to corrosion, low moisture absorption, and excellent insulating properties.

Are there Limitations of Plastic Machining?

• The cost of block plastic sheets can be relatively high in some instances
• It is difficult for plastic materials to conduct away any form of heat generated during the machining process
• The heat generated during the plastic machining process might result in thermal expansion, which might subsequently lead to altering the dimensions.
• The ability of plastic machining is limited to more rigid plastic materials
• It can result in a high quantity of waste products compared to other forms of plastic fabrication.
• It requires complex fixes and jigs to produce a large volume of parts
• Can experience difficulty especially due to high volume of swarf

What Plastic Machining and Assembly Services Does WeeTect Offer?

• Adding fittings
• Fixing threaded inserts
• Drilling and tapping holes
• Packaging
• Boring and turning of molded plastic components
• Shotblasting of molding with plastic media
• Punching, cutting as well as bandsawing molded plastic parts

Are there any Milling Tips for Successful Plastic Machining?

 CNC plastic milling

It is vital to assess the 3D files since the analysis gives you information regarding the feasibility of the project as well as the cost.

You need to determine heat tolerance: You should always consider the ideal temperature before beginning the machining process.

When choosing suitable plastic machining equipment, it would be ideal also to identify its potential problems.

It is also important to have a sharp cutting edge as a way of ensuring that clear shearing of the plastic, which helps in reducing burrs occurrence.

You should decide on the right tool since it is integral in determining whether or not you’ll attain an excellent final component.

What is CNC Plastic Machining?

It refers to the concept of fabricating plastic material with the aid of computerized programs and devices.

CNC is incidentally an abbreviation for computerized numerical control.

Can You Mill Plastic?

Not all plastics can be milled.

The best plastic materials to the mill are those that are somewhat rigid.

They produce higher quality results when milled than flexible and softer plastics.

What Can You Cut Hard Plastic With?

There are three main elements that you can use for cutting hard plastic, and they include the following;

 Laser cutting plastic

• Saw (Jigsaw, hacksaw circular saw)
• Drill (electric drill, drill bit, and utility knife)
• Slicing with a thread

Can CNC Router Cut Acrylic?

Definitely yes.

However, it is important to understand that for the final quality product, there is a need to look into a few aspects.

Some of these aspects include;

• Using a specialized bit
• Choosing a relatively large bit size
• Fastening the acrylic
• Cutting a balanced rate
• Regulating the temperature by maintaining the acrylic is cool

How do You Cut Hard Plastic without a Saw?

It is all dependent on the type and the thickness of the plastic material that you are cutting.

One way is by getting the cleanest cut possible and the experiment using a heat gun as a way of softening the cut area.

The other alternative would be using a heated wire knife or a hot knife.

The simplest way of attaining this is by attaching the Xacto knife blade to a soldering iron.

If you are cutting a circular or round material, you can always use lazar to mark then start cutting using a sharp and tight blade

Can Dremel Cut Plastic?

Yes. In fact, it is one of the best options for cutting plastics and related products since it makes it relatively easy for you to take on most of the cutting tasks.

https://youtu.be/CcJ_4rQbLBc

Why is Prototype Plastic Machining Important before Mass Production?

It is an ideal way of ensuring that you eliminate all the potential threats before your products go to the end-user.

It is also a way of reducing time and cutting costs in finding detailed flaws within the designing stage.

For that reason, prototype plastic machining enables you to comprehensively understand faulty areas as well as ensuring you are safe both lawfully and financially.

Can You Thread Polycarbonate?

Yes, you can as long as you are using the right types of tools and at the same time factoring all the necessary parameters for threading polycarbonate material.

Threading plastic

What is Micro Plastic Machining?

It refers to an advanced technology that makes it possible for microplastic components to be fabricated using microfabrication methods.

It has become a common method for producing plastic mold inserts with micro-structures and features for duplication on polymer surfaces.

Why is Annealing of Plastic Crucial After Machining?

It helps in creating high consistency when it comes to the quality of plastic material from one rod to the next one in attaining the highest possible precision machining.

It is also crucial because it helps in enhancing some components, particularly those in the relatively hard materials.

Post annealing of plastic machining is also crucial as it helps in attaining the lowest possible stress as well as the most stable component.

What Plastics Can WeeTect Machine?

Weetect can machine quite a number of plastic types including the following;

• ETFE
• Acrylic
• Aluminum composite material
• PBT
• PVC
• Nylon
• FE
• ABS
• Polyimide
• Acetal
• HDPE
• FEB
• Nylon

What are the Benefits of Machining Plastics on Lathe?

Figure 5Turning plastic on the lathe

• It makes it possible for you to attain the desired shape from the particular plastic material you are machining.
• Machining plastic on lathe also useful in producing axisymmetric components that have several features, including holes, diameter steps, contoured surfaces, as well as grooves and threads, among others.
• It is also helpful in refining or adding features on plastic parts that were manufactured using different techniques.

Is Plastic Fabrication the same as Plastic Machining?

No.

Plastic fabrication refers to creating or building plastic structures by involving different techniques such as cutting, bending, and assembling processes.

We can say that it is a process that adds value and involves the creation of components from plastic raw materials.

Plastic machining, on the other hand, refers to a subset of plastic fabrication operations where the plastic material is eliminated from the parent workpiece.

What Plastic Cutting Tips do you Recommend?

• Always ensure that saw blades are sharp whenever you’re using them to cut any type of plastic material.
• When using a circular saw, ensure that the blade is specifically designed to cut the non-ferrous material.
• You need to also use a ventilation system as a way of providing cool air on the saw blade
• Using a nylon thread is recommended since it is strong enough to cut the plastic material
• Always use a jigsaw if you want to cut curves on the plastic
• The hook knife is the best option for cutting any thin form layer of plastic material that is less than 3/8 inches without breaking it.

How do you Choose Plastic Machining Coolant?

During plastic machining, there is a tendency for heat buildup both in the component and in the tool bit.

Therefore, to regulate the temperatures, you need to use coolants often.

Some of the common types of coolant mediums include the following;

• Water-soluble oils
• Clean compressed air
• Light cutting oils
• Mist sprays

How Does Plastic Machining Compare to Metal Machining?

Plastic machining and metal machining have quite a number of major differences between them such as the following;

• Metals ordinarily tend to have higher melting temperatures than plastics
• Metals have less elasticity than metals
• Plastics exhibit a higher thermal expansion of up to about 10 times more than what metals exhibit.
• Metals tend to dissipate heat at a faster rate than plastics

How Does Cutting Tool Affect Plastic Machining Process?

It determines all the plastic machining parameters, including cutting speed, depth of cut as well as feed rate, which are significant in attaining desirable results in the machining process.

How Do Plastics Respond to Machining Process?

The response of plastic materials as far as the machining process is concerned tend to vary depending on a wide range of elements which include the following;

• When machining most of the relatively soft plastics like polypropylene and polyethylene, they tend to exhibit long curly chips
• When machining hard plastic such as ABS and polycarbonate, they form short crystal-like shards.
• You need to have sharp tooling of specific geometries when machining reinforced plastics that have abrasive fibers.

What are the Common Plastic Machining Challenges?

Cutting plastic with a rotary tool

• Some types of plastics are highly abrasive; thus can be challenging to the machine since most cutting tool manufacturers do not produce tools specifically designed for non-metallic materials.
• Laminate thermosets are also susceptible to delamination when machining, which implies that tool path design changes might be essential.
• Maintaining a clean working environment might be difficult during machining, given that these materials form a significant amount of abrasive dust.

How Do You Select Plastic Material for Machining?

The basic properties to consider when choosing plastic material for machining include;

• Dimensional stability
• Limiting PV
• Bio-compatible
• Chemical resistance
• Impact resistance
• Cost
• Thermal stability
• Steam cleansing
• Clarity of the plastics
• UV resistance
• Loading strength
• FDA

Does WeeTect Provide Samples for Plastic Machines Parts?

Yes.

And we also provide a wide range of samples for plastic parts design at no cost, which also helps significantly in making it easy to choose from.