East Coast Precision Manufacturing » lathe

Clear Polysulfone Machining at East Coast Precision Manufacturing

eastcoastmfg — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:45:09 +0000

Here are some photos of a plastic part machined out of clear polysulfone. Engineers choose polysulfone for their applications because it has a very high service temperature. This allows it to be used in assemblies where high temperatures are encountered regularly, such as autoclaves. Polysulfone can also be used as a membrane in filtration systems.

Polysulfone on Wikipedia

CNC Milling at East Coast Precision

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Teflon Insulator with C-axis work

eastcoastmfg — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:09:31 +0000

Teflon work has been a core component of East Coast Precision’s lathe department. Teflon is often used as an insulator in radio connections or as a gasketing material due to its inert qualities.

This is an example of some micromachined Teflon parts we made a few weeks ago. This part was cleanly machined with no burrs in just one operation. We were able to turn, drill, bore, mill a flat, and mill a notch in the part with a single setup.

About Teflon

Plastic Turning Page

Teflon Parts

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Vapor Polished Polycarbonate Button

eastcoastmfg — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:47:11 +0000

Take a look at some more of our work in polycarbonate. This part was turned on a cnc lathe out of polycarbonate, sometimes referred to as lexan. It features a vapor polished finish and concentric grooves on the face. This part is a button that is backlit by a light. It is believed that the concentric grooves will help diffuse the light.

During the initial quoting and machining phase, we worked closely with the customer while they finalized their design. Sometimes that means making a few, sending them out, and waiting to hear back from them. This close relationship is one that not many other shops can offer. The size of East Coast Precision allows us to be nimble when working with our customers.

Our goal is for each customer to feel as if East Coast Precision is an extension of their business and for them to know their parts are as important to us as they are to them.

CNC Plastic Turning

Vapor Polishing

Our Commitment to Customer Service

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MicroMachined Teflon Components

eastcoastmfg — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:59:17 +0000

Here are some small Teflon parts we recently shipped. The first thing to notice is the size of these parts. They feature a blind hole and micro-grooves on the OD. We made a custom ground groove tool so they could be machined with no burrs and come off the machine clean.

Click on images to see them a bit larger:

Plastic Turning at East Coast Precision

Teflon Machining at East Coast Precision

What is Teflon?

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Happy 4th of July!

eastcoastmfg — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:57:56 +0000

Happy 4th of July from East Coast Precision Manufacturing!

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Plastic Machining – Art or Science?

eastcoastmfg — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:09:09 +0000

Plastic machining is both an art and a science. Plastics can change dimensionally due to humidity, temperature and machining process and there is an “art” to keeping machined components within stated tolerances. All polymers and copolymers react differently to coolant and machining technique- the science required to properly machine plastic.

Plastic can be machined or molded to create plastic components. Plastic machining is typically used for low volume components or components that may have a short life span. While creating a mold is costly up front, each individual component created from the mold is a cost effective way to produce high volume, long life span components.

Machining a plastic component can allow an OEM to test certain materials for reactivity as well as tolerance to stresses. Parts can be turned or milled or both turned and milled. In selecting a shop for plastic machining, it is important that the shop have experience in both the science and art of plastic machining. Plastic only shops in particular will help to avoid contamination with coolants and metal fragments usually found in a metal shop. They are also familiar with both annealing and polishing of your plastic component.

In selecting a shop for your plastic machining, three criteria are important:

Does the shop have the expertise and experience to produce your component within your stated tolerances?
Does the shop use up-to-date equipment and machining techniques?
Does the shop care about quality and producing quality parts 100% of the time?
In order to find the answers to these questions, review the company’s web site and talk to their salesperson.
Additionally, ask for a sample lot before full production in order to review your component.

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PTFE (teflon) Machining at East Coast MFG

eastcoastmfg — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:30:23 +0000

Take a look at an example of some PTFE (teflon) turning we do at East Coast Precision Manufacturing. The part you see here is thin walled. It features a OD grooving with a notched feature on one end.

PTFE is often used in the electrical and chemical industries. It is very chemical resitant, stable, and a good insulator.

Teflon machining is one of our core competencies here at East Coast Precision. We have been working with it for a long time and look foward to quoting on your teflon work today!

East Coast Precision

Outsource your plastic machining work

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Ultem Machining at East Coast MFG

eastcoastmfg — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:16:50 +0000

This a sample of some turned Ultem we have been working on at East Coast Precision Manufacturing. Ultem is known for its resistance to chemicals, solvents, and heat. It is often used for instrumentation and reusable medical components. More information about Ultem.

On this part, each end is bored to a very tightly toleranced TIR (total indicated runout). The outside diameter is nicely contoured as well.

East Coast’s machining processes allow for thin walled parts like this to be manufactured very little stress. This makes for a more durable and longer lasting part.

Some Machining Challenges

Turning Plastics

East Coast Precision Manufacturing

Customer Endorsements

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Turned Acrylic Video

eastcoastmfg — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:27:29 +0000

Here is a video of East Coast’s

This is the machining of the part we first featured on the blog a week or so ago. The process for other materials is very similar. We chose acrylic because the chip we produced was easy to blow off with a blast of air. Other materials would require cutting fluids and would have made it difficult to record and see clearly. Hope you enjoy.

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that the sound track to the video was quite obnoxious. Problem fixed. Apparently, youtube offers stock music for videos you upload. Pretty Cool.

Customer Service

Request a quote today

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Round Acrylic Manifold

eastcoastmfg — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:33:04 +0000

Sometimes it is necessary to utilize multiple machines to effectively produce a part for our customers. This is an example of that. This manifold is machined from acrylic. A turning center (lathe) is used to turn the outside diameter and round features that are concentric to the center of the part. A vertical machining center (mill) is used to complete the rest of the features. On this part, we can see some port work, deep hole milling, and thread milling.

The manifold is also vapor polished for a nice finish. Acrylic vapor polishes quite well but if you need “optical” clarity, polycarbonate would be the way to go.

Common polishing questions

www.eastcoastmfg.com

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