Plastic and Polycarbonate Parts and Components
You can find plastic parts in all sorts of products around you. Plastic is one of the most versatile and most-used materials. It’s easy to machine, lightweight, and fairly durable.
Spex uses CNC machines to manufacture high quantities of precision plastic and polycarbonate parts and components. We are an industry-leading machine shop and help our customers fulfill their part needs.
Benefits of plastics
Plastics can’t replace every metal part, but they can be used in a wide variety of situations. The main advantages of plastic parts are the weight reduction, lower costs, and more efficient machining. In general, plastic is a widely used material worldwide and it’s incredibly versatile.
Certain plastics offer good durability and strength, as well as resistance to certain chemicals. Plastics are used in a wide variety of industries, including: Medicine, Automotive, Aerospace, Optics, Electronics, and Consumer Products.
High quantities of plastic parts can be easily machined, and tight tolerances (±0.002″) can be maintained. We can also use a 3-D printer to create low-cost rapid prototypes.
Machining plastic parts
Aluminum is often chosen for a CNC machining project. The material is one of the easiest to machine, and CNC machines can form complex designs quickly.
Parts of any shape and size can be machined from plastic bar stock. Different CNC machines can cut angles, drill holes, slots, and form any other design features. For some parts, it’s better to use an injection mold.
CNC machining offers tight tolerances for plastic and polycarbonate parts, commonly reaching a ±0.002″ tolerance.
Spex machines thousands of custom plastic parts, including:
- Fittings
- Adapters
- Connectors
- Pipe Fittings
- Ferrules
- Stems
- Outlets
- Pins
- Inlets
- Manifolds
- Sleeves
- Nuts
- Bolts
- Screws
- Studs
Types of plastics
Like most metals, there are various grades or alloys of aluminum that each have slightly different properties. Pure aluminum is too weak to be used for parts, so it’s mixed with other metals to improve its structural properties. The various alloys indicate what other metals the aluminum is mixed with.
Common machinable plastics include: Nylon, PVC, Polycarbonate, Micarta, and Teflon.
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