[Lab] plastics source

[krazatchu .]

Not a clue about where in Ottawa but I'll give you some advice on milling plastics to make the choice easier... 
Milling plastic is often comparable to steel, low speed, coolant, hog it hard...
Some plastics are real nasty to machine, too fast on the cutter and they burn or form astro turf... 

Some forms of Nylon fall into this category ... I've had good luck with the Nylatron series (IIRC 908 & 808)...
But nylon is dimensionally unstable with respect to moisture if that applies to you app... 
UHMWPE is generally better for milling, as well as harder, slipperier and more expensive... 

The cheapest I've found is phenolic which doesn't have a great finish after milling and smells a bit if it gets too warm... 
The pump body here http://krazatchu.ca/?page_id=468 is phenolic, the wheel is 908....

There are lots of good charts online for deciding on what plastic to use ...
Here's one http://www.theplasticshop.co.uk/plastic_technical_data_sheets/engineering_plastics_machining_guide.pdf

And remember to use a sharp end mill, I used to keep one for plastic and wood only, it makes a big difference....

Michael


From: darcy at siteware.com
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:01:29 -0500
To: ORE_bits at yahoogroups.com; lab at artengine.ca
Subject: [Lab] plastics source

Where to buy good material for making stuff on a milling machine?
I want to make my mounts and was thinking that some 3/8 or 1/4 inch plastic sheet would be cool.




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