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What's ABS like to machine?

RJT

Titanium
Joined
Aug 24, 2006
Location
greensboro,northcarolina
I have machined lots of delrin, UHMW, nylon, polycarbonate, PVC, phenolic, bet never this stuff. What is it most similar to? Anything to watch out for? I'm quoting and looking for some pointers from someone with experience machining this stuff.
 
It's easy...no big deal.

It's a bit softer then Delrin and melts at quite a bit lower temp. Like 350 vs 250 degrees.

Only thing to watch out for is it can be grabby. Its not difficult to fling parts out of the vise. I've been caught a time or two when I've tried to go too fast.
 
I agree with the other replies with the rider ;- if it has to be machined dry or with no oil coolant (say food application) - it's a bitch.
 
Cutting Plastics

Grind a 15 degree relief angle on your cutting tools and that should be wonderful.

On standard cutting tools ground for metal, the plastic will spring back and sort of wrap around the cutting edge and rub, creating heat enough to melt the plastic. This "trick" works oh' so wonderful on nylon type materials. Please give it a try. :)

Regards,

Stanley Dornfeld
 
Extremely close to PVC. Air works fine for most milling. As with anything getting the right tools is money well spent. I have only tried Onsrud plastic specific mills and will never waste my time with aluminum mills in plastic. They have around a 10 deg helix so you don't pull the parts up. Works great for profiling, not so great of finish on the bottom of the pocket.
 
Dead sharp HSS with a lot of back rake works for me. I mentioned this on this site some years back but I will mention it again for your benefit. If you are turning plastic in a lathe that produces "strings", they can be a real pain. They wrap around the stock so tightly that they have to be cut off and just generally get in the way. To eliminate this, set your tool at the end of the stock deeper then your next cut. Draw the cutting edge across the stock with the long feed and cut a thin slice in the stock. Go back to the beginning and start. The "chips" will no longer be strings but C shaped chips which just fall away. Only takes a second and saves a lot of time in the end.
 








 
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