Polystyrene Machining

Mech_kumar225 · Aug 19, 2020

Hi everyone,

I am machining polystyrene on a 3-axis CNC milling machine. if anyone could help me with some parameters like feed, rpm and what tools should i use??
My material is expanded polystyrene 80mm thick. i am thinking of using ball nose for curves and simple one flutes endmill cutter. but as you know higher spindle speed might burn the form. AS of now this is what i know and am looking to justify machining parameters to my supervisor so if anyone could shed some light on it will be helpful

thanks a lot

DavidScott · Aug 19, 2020

Extruded or expanded, ie beadboard? There is so much air in it that I doubt you will burn it, but the rule of thumb when machining plastic is to run the feeds as fast as the machine will allow and then turn the spindle speed down until the surface finish is as rough as you can live with. I have never tried it but have heard that burrs work very well on foams when machining on VMCs. So much depends on what surface finish and tolerance you need.

What machine and spindle speed?

Mech_kumar225 · Aug 19, 2020

hey David,

Thanks for the reply. I am working with rolland 3 axis milling machine and ma still looking for a good spindle speed. So far i have read and what my technician told me 6000-7000 rpm would work. I am using industry grade high density expanded polystyrene. If you have any idea for speed or feed i would love to have your opinion on it.

cheers

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