Posts Tagged ‘milled’

Tips for Customers and Engineers Who Want Vapor Polished Plastic Parts

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Here is set of photos showing the progression of vapor polishing a plastic part.  The first shot is of the part before polishing.  The second is during vapor polishing.  We only polished half of it to show the difference in finish that vaporing can offer.  The final photo is of the part fully vapored.  Many potential customers ask about having us vapor parts that they machined.  Normally, we do the machining in house but we also offer vaporing as a service.  The thing about vapor polishing though, is that any surface imperfections can be magnified.  For example, if you give us a piece of machined acrylic, ultem, or polycarbonate that has heavy feed lines or chatter, the vaporing will bring out the poor finish.  The truth is, poor finish in = shiny poor finish out.  If your machining is fundamentally good and your surface finish is smooth, vapor polishing can brilliantly polish your plastic parts.  Engineers and Machinists should also know that overly aggressive machining can impart stress in the finished parts.  This can be problematic during the vapor polishing process because the parts may end up with crazing visible inside the material or on the surface.  Ultimately, we like to do our machining in-house so we can be sure the parts our customers receive will be as good as possible.  However, If your in-house machining work is strong, you will be very satisfied with East Coast Precision Manufacturing’s vapor polishing service.  Can’t wait to hear from you!

Polycarbonate Handle 01

Polycarbonate Handle 02

Polycarbonate Handle 03

East Coast Precision Manufacturing

Plastic Polishing

Secondary Plastic Machining

G10, FR4, and Fiberglass Machining at East Coast MFG

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

At East Coast Precision Manufacturing, we not only provide our customers with machined plastic but also other composites.  This is an example of G10 machining.  Some engineers may recognize it as FR-4 but we often refer to it as “fiberglass” here at the shop.  It is a laminated composite held together by an epoxy binder.  It is mainly used in circuit board applications but is also structurally superior to many other materials and finds its way into applications that can take advantage of that.  For some, it is difficult to  machine.  It is very abrasive to tooling, easy to burn, and may de-laminate if the machinist is not experienced in cutting it.  Here at East Coast, we do an excellent job of cutting it due to our time proven methods.  Send us an RFQ, we’d love to work with you.

G10 Milled Part 01


G10 Milled Part 02

Milling at East Coast Precision

FR-4 Wikipedia Page

Clear Polysulfone Machining at East Coast Precision Manufacturing

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

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.

Machining Plastic Machined clear polusulfone milled and turned engraving

Machining Plastic Machined clear polusulfone milled and turned engraving

Machining Plastic Machined clear polusulfone milled and turned engraving

Polysulfone on Wikipedia

CNC Milling at East Coast Precision

Not enough capacity? Outsource your plastic machining to us

Milled & Vapor Polished Polycarbonate Coverplate

Monday, September 14th, 2009

This part is an example of our milling department’s capabilities.  It is machined out of a sheet of polycarbonate and vapor polished to a perfectly clear finish.  Engineers designing parts that require visually or optically clear finishes should know that polycarbonate is an excellent material choice.  Acrylic works well too but polycarbonate polishes to a clearer finish almost every time.

This part is used in a light housing and is implemented as a lens.  The inside of the lens has been cosmetically machined to help with light diffusion.

Machining Plastic Machined vapor polished Polycarbonate light lens with engraved dimples for light diffusion

Machining Plastic Machined vapor polished Polycarbonate light lens with engraved dimples for light diffusion

Outsource your plastic machining needs to us

Polishing Q&A

Polycarbonate Wikipedia page

Teflon Insulator with C-axis work

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

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.

Machining Plastic Machined micromachining micromachined teflon with end milled notch and flat and counterbore

Machining Plastic Machined micromachining micromachined teflon with end milled notch and flat and counterbore

Machining Plastic Machined micromachining micromachined teflon with end milled notch and flat and counterbore

About Teflon

Plastic Turning Page

Teflon Parts

Machined Teflon / PTFE Manifold

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Here is a PTFE manifold we recently machined on one of our mills.  We have developed techniques that allow us to mill Teflon in such a way that burrs are either minimized or eliminated, thus saving part deburring time.  This customer has East Coast do some light assembly work for them as well.  We install the push to connect fitting you see in the first picture.

Teflon (PTFE) is often selected for manifolds for its inert qualities.  Many chemicals do not affect PTFE.

Machining Plastic Machined Teflon Milled Manifold with threadmilled ports and fittings assembly

Machining Plastic Machined Teflon Milled Manifold with threadmilled ports and fittings assembly

Machining Plastic Machined Teflon Milled Manifold with threadmilled ports and fittings assembly

Machining Plastic Machined Teflon Milled Manifold with threadmilled ports and fittings assembly

East Coast Precision can work with you to produce great parts in Teflon or any other plastic material.

Teflon Machining

Milling Department

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Machined & Vapor Polished Polycarbonate Lens Housing

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Polycarbonate is a material often found in environments where it may be subject to impact forces.  This lens that we machined is no exception.  It was milled on East Coast’s state-of-the-art vertical machining centers.  To ensure a clear finish, the polycarbonate was vapor polished after machining.  In some cases, our customers are not sure what they ultimately need in their plastic parts.  When questions, concerns, or changes need to be addressed, our customers speak directly with engineers and machinists that are directly working on their part.  That is one of the many benefits of working with East Coast Precision Manufacturing.

Machining Plastic Machined vapor polished Polycarbonate light lens

Machining Plastic Machined vapor polished Polycarbonate light lens

Machining Plastic Machined vapor polished Polycarbonate light lens

Machining Plastic Machined vapor polished Polycarbonate light lens

If you need plastic machining of polycarbonate or any other materials, we would love to be considered.

Vapor Polishing

Vapor Polishing FAQs

Milling Department

Customer Service

Machined Polysulfone

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

This part is made out of Polysulfone. Polysulfone is known for being tough, wear resiting, and high temperature stability. It is also a dielectric material that can be used in capacitors. Dielectric means that it will not transmit electricity.

09-06-17-polusulfone-button-01

This part is milled in the milling department here at East Coast Precision. It is approximately 1.5 inches square. It features a milled out body, some threaded holes and a polished top. Due to the geometry, the part is actually able to spring a little bit.

09-06-17-polysulfone-botton-02

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Round Acrylic Manifold

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

09-06-04-round-acrylic-manifold-03

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.

09-06-04-round-acrylic-manifold-02

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.

09-06-04-round-acrylic-manifold-01

Common polishing questions

www.eastcoastmfg.com

Milled and Vapor Polished Acrylic Manifold

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Take a look at this acrylic manifold we made for one of our customers. It features four ports connected to a main track. Each port features thread-milled threads.

This part also showcases our vapor polishing process. Not only can we polish the exterior of a part, we can polish interior features that would not normally be able to be polished otherwise.

09-06-04-square-acrylic-manifold

The mainfold is approximately 3″ x 1″ x 3/4″

Milled Plastic Parts Page

Polishing and Finishing Page

Vapor Polishing Page