One of the most important things to keep in mind about plastics machining services is that this term is actually a bit more broad than a lot of people realize.
Whenever you decide on a plastic machining method for a particular part or component, it is imperative that you keep in mind factors like A) the design, and B) the construction material in question. Both of these will dramatically impact the decisions made during the production process, which has a direct effect on the final result as well. Our skilled planning and engineering experts can help you and guide your project to the best results.
Depending on the intended application of the machined part in question, there are actually a wide array of different services for you to choose from depending on your needs. While it’s absolutely true that we’ll go over everything with you at JMJ Profile so that you know exactly what to expect, it’s still important to have an understanding of some of the more sophisticated services that may be necessary to help you accomplish your goals.
Your Plastic Machining Guide to Services: Breaking Things Down
One of the most common plastics machining services that many projects require is called cutting, which is exactly what it sounds like. Here, the plastic in question is cut to a desired form factor given the specifications you provide to us. But there are a variety of cutting techniques that may take place depending upon the type of material and the type of project, or desired end product. And there are also special procedures to consider when using these plastic cutting techniques.
A major reason why it’s so important to choose your plastics machining partners carefully is because cutting usually generates a certain amount of heat, which can damage the material unless the proper level of care is taken. Operators need to avoid causing any type of thermal warping that could cause issues with production and, in certain situations with tight tolerances, may need to avoid cutting altogether in favor of a technique like sawing. Reductive processes also introduce certain hazards in plastic machining which we have written about before. For this reason having an expert like JMJ Profile is always a good idea to help guide your project, and take the highest level of care.
Another common plastics machining service is called turning, which typically occurs on a lathe. The lathe rotates and manipulations the workpiece being used to allow an associated stationary cutting tool to both cut and remove excess material, all in an effort to get the plastic down to your precise required design. This technique in particular is reductive, which means that layers of the material are slowly removed to properly shape and form the end component.
Plastic Machining Services
Plastic Routing takes advantage of different plastics sheets to both cut out the plastic part out of the sheet, as well as cut special grooves, holes and shapes into the parts themselves.
Plastic Milling is another common service in plastics machining, which is different from turning in that it requires the rotation of the cutting tool in addition to the workpiece. This allows an operator to remove chips of plastic from the stationary workpiece, thus arriving at your desired specifications. The actual type of milling you use will vary on a number of factors, including that some forms of milling just work better with specific plastics than others.
Plastic Drilling is a service you may have heard of and, like cutting, it can be risky unless the proper care is given. Without the right expertise, drilling can easily result in overheating (and thus thermal warping) or shearing if the wrong drill is used. But in general, the goal here is to create both large and small holes in a piece of plastic material WITHOUT compromising its structure in any way.
Tapping is a special cutting technique that places a thread into drilled hole so that screws or bolts can be inserted into the plastic components. This is useful for manufacturing where another part will be secured to the plastic machined component, at a later point.
Finally for cutting, there is plastic grinding – which is similar to milling in that it removes portions of the plastic to alter its shape but is also unique unto itself. With grinding, the goal is to continually shear plastic from the product in question, thus achieving a smoother shape and surface when everything is said and done. Depending on the requirements of your finished component, this may be the most effective way to meet your needs.
After the cutting techniques there are also a wide variety of finishing, assembly, and decoration services to consider as well. These all help reduce costs for our customers by having a one-stop-shop capable of producing everything our customers’ projects need.
Hardware Installation, involving adding other components, like screws, posts, and metallic elements is a common service we provide that saves our customers time, and can help reduce their costs by keeping the manufacturing of their end product (part) in one place avoiding transportation, and additional logistics for tracking and inventory control.
Many of our customers also take advantage of JMJ Profile’s in-house plastic silk screening capability, for adding things like logos, or part numbers, or other useful text of decoration to their parts. We can take client supplied graphics, and apply them to items, with fine precision.
If you’d like to find out more information about the various plastics machining services that are available to you, or if you just have any additional questions that you’d like to discuss with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t delay – contact JMJ Profile today.
Experts in G10 Machining for over 25 years
JMJ Profile are experts in G10 Machining. We invite you to contact us for a free consultation on your next plastics machining project.
