ENGINEERING PLASTIC PRODUCTS

MAC HINING INS T R UC T IONS FOR E NGINE E R ING PL AS T IC S

in association with:
1
Q U AD R AN T Engineering Plastic Productsstock shapes can be easily m achined on ordinary
m etalw orking and in som e cases on w oodw orking m achines. H ow ever, there are som e points, w hich are
w orth noting to obtain im proved results.
In view of the poor therm al conductivity, relatively low softening and m elting tem peratures of
therm oplastics, generated heat must be kept to a minimumand heat build up in the plastics part
avoided. This is in order to prevent deform ations, stresses, colour changes or even m elting.
Therefore:
tools m ust be kept sharp and sm ooth at all tim es,
feed rates should be as high as possible,
tools m ust have sufficient clearance so that the cutting edge only com es in contact w ith the plastics
m aterial,
a good sw arf rem oval from the tool m ust be assured,
coolants should be applied for operations w here plenty of heat is generated (e.g. drilling).
Machining forces / clamping
[
M achining forces being low er for engineering plastics than for m etals and the form er deform ing m ore
easily if clam ped too tightly, clam ping pressures should be reduced. H ow ever, avoid any unsafe condition
w here the plastics part could com e out of the clam ping tools.
As engineering plastics are not as rigid as m etals, it is essential to support the w ork adequately during
m achining in order to prevent deflection or deform ation, e.g. thin w alled tubes often require the use of an
internal plug at the chucked end in order to allow accurate m achining of bushings w ith respect to
roundness and tolerances.
Tools
H igh speed steel (H SS) tools w ork w ell w ith m any plastics. H ow ever, tungsten carbide (ground cutting
edges!), ceram ic or polycrystalline diam ond (PC D ) tooling is preferred for long production runs. This is
essential w hen m achining glass and/or carbon fibre reinforced or graphite filled m aterials (long tool life and
good surface finish). W hen m achining C ELAZO LE

PB I or TO R LO N

PAI, diam ond coated or

polycrystalline diam ond tooling provides optim um results, but carbide tipped tools can be used in case of
very short production runs.
[
Machining instructions
[
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2
Coolants
[
Apart from drilling and parting, coolants are not typically necessary for therm oplastic m achining
operations. Keeping the cutting area cool generally im proves surface finish and tolerances.
W hen coolants are required, w ater-soluble coolants generally do very w ell. They should, how ever, not be
used w hen m achining am orphous therm oplastics, such as PC 1000, PPSU 1000, PEI 1000, PSU 1000
and SEM ITR O N

ESd 410C , because these m aterials are susceptible to environm ental stress-cracking.
The m ost suitable coolants for these m aterials are pure w ater or com pressed air.
W hen the use of w ater-soluble coolants or general purpose petroleum based cutting fluids cannot be
avoided during the m achining of am orphous therm oplastics (e.g. during drilling of large diam eters and/or
deep holes or during tapping operations), the parts should im m ediately after m achining be thoroughly
cleaned w ith isopropyl alcohol first and rinsed w ith pure w ater afterw ards in order to reduce the risk of
stress-cracking.
A strong jet of com pressed air or coolant also directs or rem oves chips from the w ork area, avoiding them
to interfere w ith the cutting tool and the w orkpiece.
Machining tolerances
The m achining tolerances that are required for therm oplastic parts are in general considerably larger than
those norm ally applied to m etal parts. This is because of the higher coefficient of therm al expansion, low er
stiffness and higher elasticity, eventual sw elling due to m oisture absorption (m ainly w ith nylons) and
possible deform ations caused by internal stress-relieving during and after m achining. The latter
phenom enon m ainly occurs on parts w here m achining causes asym m etric and / or heavy section
changes, e.g. w hen m achining a U -shape from a plate or a bush from solid rod. In such cases, a
balancedm achining on both sides of the stock shapes centreline, reducing w arpage, or a therm al
treatm ent (stress-relieving) after pre-m achining and prior to final m achining of the part m ay prove
advantageous (see Annealing instructions for Q U AD R AN T Engineering Plastics Products).
As a guideline, for turned or m illed parts, a m achining tolerance of 0.1 to 0.2% of the nom inal size can be
applied without taking special precautions (m in. tolerance for sm all sizes being 0.05 m m ). In this
respect, the ISO 2768, the D IN 7168 as w ell as the Sw iss VKI-R ecom m endation "Toleranzen spanend
hergestellter Kunststoff-Fertigteile" ("Tolerances for m achined plastic parts") can be used as a guide.
H ow ever, tighter tolerances are possible w ith very stable Advanced Engineering Plastic Productssuch as
C ELAZO LE

PB I, TO R LO N

PAI, KETR O N

PEEK and TEC H TR O N

PPS.
[
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3
Turning
The continuous chip stream produced w hen turning and boring m any therm oplastics can be handled w ell
using a com pressed air pow ered suction system (directly disposing the sw arf onto a container), in this w ay
avoiding the chip w rapping around the chuck, the tool or the w orkpiece.
See table below for tool geom etry, cuting speeds and feeds.
Milling
Tw o flute end m ills, face m ills and shell m ills w ith inserts as w ell as fly cutters can be used. C lim b m illing
is norm ally recom m ended to help reduce heat by dissipating it into the chip, and m elting and poor surface
finishes are m inim ised.
See table below for tool geom etry, cutting speeds and feeds.
Drilling
H igh speed steel tw ist drills w ork w ell, but plenty of heat is generated so that a cooling liquid should be
applied, especially w hen hole depths are m ore than tw ice the diam eter. In order to im prove heat and sw arf
rem oval, frequent pull-outs (peck drilling) are necessary, especially for deep holes (pull-out the drill every
tim e a depth 1.5 x the diam eter is attained). For large diam eter holes, it is advisable to use drills w ith a
thinned w eb (dubbed drill) in order to reduce friction (shorter chisel edge) and consequently heat
generation. It is also recom m ended for large holes to drill stepw ise; e.g. a bore diam eter of 50 m m should
be m ade by drilling successively w ith 12 and 25 m m , then by expanding the hole further w ith larger
diam eter drills or w ith a single point boring tool.
For C ELAZO LE

PB I, TO R LO N

PAI, K ETR O N

PEEK -H PV, K ETR O N

PEEK -G F30, K ETR O N

PEEK C A30, TEC H TR O N

H PV PPS and SEM ITR O N ESd 410C rods over50 m m diam eter, ER TALO N

66-G F30, ER TALYTE

, ER TALYTE

TX and KETR O N

PEEK-1000 rods over 100 m m diam eter, as w ell as

for ER TALO N

/ N YLATR O N

rods over 200 m m diam eter, it is even recom m ended not to use high speed
tw ist drills at all in order to avoid cracks, but to "bore" the holes on a lathe using insert drillsor a rigid, flat
boring tool w ith its cutting edge perfectly set on centre-height (see picture below ).
For these m aterials, som e m achinists prefer to heat the stock shapes up to
about 120-150C prior to drilling. H ow ever, care has then to be taken that
after drilling and before starting the finishing operations, the plastics piece is
com pletely cooled off to room tem perature (uniform tem perature all over the
section prior to drilling as w ell as prior to finishing !)
W hen drilling or boring through-holes, feed should be reduced at the bottom
of the cut in order to prevent the drill or flat boring tool from pulling through at the exit-side, causing
chipping or breaking out. It is not recom m ended to hand feed the drill because the drill m ay "grab" and
stress the m aterial.
See table below for tool geom etry, cuting speeds and feeds.
[
[
[
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4
Sawing
B and saw s, circular saw s or reciprocating saw s that have widely spaced teethin order to assure good
chip rem oval can be used. They should also have enough set to m inim ise the friction betw een the saw
and the w ork and also to avoid close-in behind the cutting edge, causing excessive heat build-up and
even blocking of the saw .
Proper clam ping of shapes on the w orktable is required to avoid vibrations and consequent rough cutting
or even rupture.
Important: Reinforced materials such as ERTALON

66-GF30, TORLON

4301 PAI,
TORLON

4501 PAI, TORLON

5530 PAI, KETRON

PEEK-HPV, KETRON

PEEK-GF30,
KETRON

PEEK-CA30, TECHTRON

HPV PPS, SEMITRON

ESd 410C and SEMITRON

ESd
520HR are preferablycut with a band saw which has a tooth pitch of 4 to 6 mm (CELAZOLE

PBI: 2 to 3 mm). Do not use circular saws, as this usually leads to cracks.
[
Moisture protective packaging
[
Q uite som e polym ers absorb m oisture from the environm ent. In tim e, this can cause sw elling and affect
part dim ensions. Therefore it is im portant that high tolerance com ponents m achined from ER TALO N

/
N YLATR O N

, C ELAZO LE

PB I, TO R LO N

PAI and SEM ITR O N ESd 225 stock shapes are kept dry prior
to installation. They should be stored in sealed bags w ith dessicant. An additional coatingof all surfaces
w ith a film of pure m ineral grease or oil also helps to m inim ise m oisture absorption.
M achined parts, w hich have absorbed m oisture and consequently have changed in dim ensions, can be
dried to regain their original m achined size because m oisture absorption is a reversible process. This is
preferably done in a vacuum oven until constant weight is achieved (60 70C for ER TALO N

/
N YLATR O N

, SEM ITR O N

ESd 225 and 150C for C ELAZO LE

PB I and TO R LO N

PAI). The drying tim e

obviously depends on the m oisture content of the parts as w ell as on their thickness, but a m inim um of
24 hours per each 3 m m of part thickness should be considered.
Safety
G eneral industrial safety recom m endations as w ell as eventual specific directions given in the Q uadrant
Engineering Plastic Products "M aterial Safety D ata Sheets" should be observed.
[
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5
ERTALYTE

/ ERTALYTE

TX / CELAZOLE

PBI / TORLON

PAI /
KETRON

PEEK-HPV / KETRON

PEEK-GF30 / KETRON

PEEK-CA30 /
TECHTRON

HPV PPS / SEMITRON

ESd 410C / SEMITRON ESd 520HR

[
Some tips:
Alw ays use light to m oderate clam ping forces. N ever try to force the plastics part.
Avoid sharp internalcorners. The radius of curvature should be at least 1 m m . R efer to figure 1.
To avoid chipping the edges during turning, boring or m illing, cham fered edges are advantageous,
providing a sm oother transition betw een the cutting tool and the plastics w ork. R efer to figure 2.
Sharp V-threads should be avoided (plenty of notch-sensitive areas); threads w ith a rounded root should
be applied w henever possible.
The use of thread cutting and thread form ing screw s is not recom m ended. Particularly the latter create
trem endous stresses around the hole and are m ost likely to cause cracking at that point.
W hen tapping threads or assem bling bolts in blind holes, do not force the bottom of the holes by the
tap- or bolt-tip since this is likely to induce cracking.
W ith respect to their hardness and m oderate toughness, it is recom m ended to observe som e additional
m achining and design rules next to w hat has already been said earlier. This should prevent prem ature
failure of these m aterials.
Saw ing and drilling operations particularly, require a gentle m achining approach. In design and assem bly,
stress concentrations should be avoided.
Especially C ELAZO LE PB I can be very challenging to m achine and requires particular care. W e
recom m end to use low cutting speeds and sm all cutting depths (m ax. 1 m m ).
R

1

x

4
5

Fig. 1 Fig. 2
All inform ation supplied by or on behalf of Q uadrant Engineering Plastic Products in relation to its products, w hether in the nature of data, recom m endations or otherw ise, is
supported by research and believed reliable. Q uadrant Engineering Plastic Products assum es no liability w hatsoever in respect of application, processing or use m ade of the
afore-m entioned inform ation or products, or any consequence thereof. The buyer undertakes all liability in respect of the application, processing or use of the afore-m entioned
inform ation or product, w hose quality and other properties he shall verify, or any consequence thereof. N o liability w hatsoever shall attach to Q uadrant Engineering Plastic
Products for any infringem ent of the rights ow ned or controlled by a third party in intellectual, industrial or other property by reason of the application, processing or use of the
afore-m entioned inform ation or products by the buyer.
CESTIDUR

, ERTALON

, ERTACETAL

, ERTALYTE

, NYLATRON

, KETRON

, TECHTRON

, FLUOROSINT

and SEMITRON

are registered trade m arks ofQuadrant.

CESTILENE, CESTICOLOR, CESTILITE and CESTITECH are trade nam es ofQuadrant Engineering Plastic Products.
SYMALIT

is a registered trade m ark ofSymalitAG.

CELAZOLE

is a registered trade m ark ofHoechst Celanese Corporation.

DELRIN

and TEFLON

are registered trade m arks ofDuPont.

KETRON

PEEK is m ade from genuine VICTREX

PEEK
TM
polym er.VICTREX

is a registered trade m ark ofVictrex plc.PEEK

TM
is a trade m ark ofVictrex plc.
RADEL

and TORLON

are registered trade m arks ofSolvay Advanced Polymers.

STANYL

is a registered trade m ark ofDSM.

ULTEM

is a registered trade m ark of General Electric Co. USA.

www.theplasticshop.co.uk
6
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s v s v
5 - 15 0 - 10 0 - 45 0.05 - 0.5 200 - 500 5 - 15 0 - 15 < 0.05 200 - 500 10 - 15 3 - 5
5 - 15 0 - 10 0 - 45 0.05 - 0.5 200 - 500 5 - 15 0 - 15 200 - 400 5 - 10 3 - 5 < 0.05
5 - 15 0 - 10 0 - 45 0.05 - 0.5 200 - 400 5 - 15 0 - 15 < 0.05 150 - 300 5 - 10 3 - 5
5 - 15 0 - 10 0 - 45 0.05 - 0.4 200 - 400 5 - 15 0 - 15 < 0.05 200 - 400 5 - 10 3 - 5
5 - 15 0 - 10 0 - 45 0.05 - 0.3 100 - 200 5 - 15 0 - 15 < 0.05 50 - 150 5 - 10 3 - 5
5 - 10 3 - 5 0 - 45 0.05 - 0.3 25 - 100 5 - 15 0 - 15 < 0.05 25 - 75 5 - 10 3 - 5
8 - 12 0 - 5 0 - 45 0.75 - 0.4 150 - 400 5 - 15 0 - 15 < 0.05 50 - 150 5 - 10 3 - 5
s v
c

c
t
c
v
c

b

b
t
b
v
b
90 - 120 0.1 - 0.3 50 - 100 10 - 15 0 - 15 8 - 45 25 - 40 0 - 8 4 - 10 50 - 500
90 - 120 0.1 - 0.3 50 - 100 10 - 15 0 - 15 8 - 45 25 - 40 0 - 8 4 - 10 50 - 500
90 - 120 0.1 - 0.3 50 - 80 10 - 15 0 - 15 8 - 25 25 - 40 0 - 8 4 - 10 50 - 400
90 - 120 0.1 - 0.3 50 - 100 10 - 15 0 - 15 8 - 25 25 - 40 0 - 8 4 - 10 50 - 400
90 - 120 0.1 - 0.3 50 - 80 10 - 15 0 - 15 8 - 25 25 - 40 0 - 8 4 - 6 50 - 200
90 - 120 0.1 - 0.3 25 - 50 10 - 15 0 - 15 8 - 25 25 - 40 0 - 8 2 - 3 25 - 100
90 - 120 0.1 - 0.3 50 - 100 10 - 15 0 - 15 8 - 25 25 - 40 0 - 8 4 - 6 50 - 200
ERTALON /NYLATRON
CESTILENE
SYMALITPVDF 1000
ERTACETAL
SEMITRON ESd 225
ERTALYTE
TORLON 4203 PAI
KETRON PEEK-1000
PC 1000
PPSU 1000
PEI 1000
PSU 1000
ERTALON 66-GF30
TORLON 4301 PAI /5530 PAI
KETRON PEEK-HPV /GF30 /CA30
TECHTRON HPV PPS
SEMITRON ESd 410C
CELAZOLE PBI
FLUOROSINT207 /500
SEMITRON ESd 500HR

r = 0.5 1 mm
A
B

A
B
Circular saw
(carbide tipped)
Band saw
t
c
X
X
X X
= 10 15
t
b

b
: side relief angle ( )
: rake angle ( )
: side cutting edge angle ( )
v : cutting speed (m/min)
s : feed (mm/rev.)
: relief angle ( )
: rake angle ( )
v : cutting speed (m/min)
s : feed (mm/tooth)
: side relief angle ( )
: rake angle ( )
: top angle ( )
v : cutting speed (m/min)
s : feed (mm/rev.)
c : circular saw
b : band saw
: relief angle ( )
: rake angle ( )
t : pitch (mm)
v : cutting speed (m/min)
TURNING
QUADRANT
Engineering
Plastics
MILLING DRILLING SAWING
1
,
0
0
0

-

3
,
0
0
0
Section AB Section AB
Table: Tool geometry, speeds and feeds for sawing, turning, milling and drilling.
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