Good Plastic For Machining

Plastic manufacturing processes are constantly evolving and the inflection points where it makes sense to move from one technique to another are shifting due to improvements in equipment materials and economies of scale.

Good plastic for machining.

We re looking for some hard plastic for some fixturing that will support some thin wall parts during machining. Essentially the plastic will act as plugs but it needs to be really precise in overall length and diameter. 3d printing is a more recent but rapidly maturing set of technologies opening up to a wider range of low to mid volume. Acetal peek and pvc plastic materials have superior machining characteristics plus they resist melting and chipping while offering good dimensional stability.

Their precision rigidity and power output allow them to process even hardened plastics with ease. Plastic machining guidelines plastics generally allow for higher feed rates and create less wear and tear on machines and cutting bits as compared with metals. Acrylic clearest polycarbonate clear pvc polysulfone ultem. I should note that woodworking machine tools won t do as good of a job though since their rigidity is lower.

We want something that handles threaded and or tapped holes nicely. Polishing methods are direct machine polish vapor polish flame polish and buffing. Delrin is a good plastic for these or any other applications that will experience lots of friction require tight tolerances or need a high stiffness material. Our first thoughts are nylon.