{"id":4641,"date":"2022-09-01T18:02:42","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T21:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/blog\/machining-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work-in-plastic-materials\/"},"modified":"2022-11-08T18:05:49","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T21:05:49","slug":"machining-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work-in-plastic-materials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/blog\/machining-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work-in-plastic-materials\/","title":{"rendered":"Machining: what is it and how does it work in plastic materials?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Find out everything you need to know about machining, from defining this process to top tips for your factory.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p>In many industries, such as automotive, shipbuilding, aerospace, electronics, and home appliances, machining is an extremely <strong>versatile process that can be used on various types of materials<\/strong>. Even the vast majority of industrialized products go through this process in some of their production phases.<\/p>\n\n<p>To get an idea of how important this process is for manufacturing, did you know that <strong>80% of holes in the industry are made through machining<\/strong>? In addition, <strong>100% of the surface quality improvement processes<\/strong> are carried out using the same method.<\/p>\n\n<p>But is it the same in the plastics industry? We will talk about this next.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is machining?<\/h2>\n\n<p>First of all, it is important to discuss the meaning of this term. Machining concerns the entire process where <strong>material is removed<\/strong> in the form of chips. Chips, in turn, are a portion of material from the workpiece, removed by a tool.<\/p>\n\n<p>This means that machining is a <strong>process that allows parts to have a shape, dimensions, or even a surface finish<\/strong> (or a combination of all these results).<\/p>\n\n<p>The material is removed due to <strong>interference between the tool and the workpiece<\/strong>, and the tool is composed of a harder and stronger material, compared to the workpiece to be shaped.<\/p>\n\n<p>It is worth mentioning that nowadays this process has also come to be known as precision machining. This is because, while previously the processes were completely manual, <strong>today high-precision machines are used<\/strong>. The machines even have a precision equal to 1 micron, which corresponds to 0.001 millimeters.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does machining work?<\/h2>\n\n<p>You already know that machining consists of using a tool on the workpiece to be produced. But <strong>these tools can offer different results<\/strong>. Next, let&#8217;s talk about the main ones:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Planing:<\/strong> This method makes surfaces flat, whether horizontal, vertical or slanted.<\/li><li><strong>Turning:<\/strong> in this process, the workpiece moves around its own axis. For this reason, it is widely used in cylindrical parts, for example.<\/li><li><strong>Milling:<\/strong> This method is ideal for creating gears, grooves and sprockets. After all, the teeth, grooves, and threads are cut gradually, with a series of cuts made by a tool known as a Caracol.<\/li><li><strong>Drilling:<\/strong> As you may already have guessed, this type of machining consists in opening, enlarging or finishing parts with holes.<\/li><li><strong>Broaching:<\/strong> this method consists of the progressive removal of material from the surface of the workpiece.<\/li><li><strong>Electrical Discharge Machining:<\/strong> in this case, the grinding does not occur through mechanical contact between a tool and the workpiece, but through electrical capacitor discharges.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Machining types<\/h2>\n\n<p>As you can see, machining allows numerous changes to be made to the workpiece. But what you may not know is that <strong>these changes can be carried out by different machining processes<\/strong>. Next, you will learn about some alternatives to traditional methods, which can guarantee greater precision, less waste generation and lower energy consumption.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a>LASER MACHINING<\/h3>\n\n<p>Also known as laser micromachining, this is a <strong>thermal process<\/strong>, which uses high temperatures. In this way, it allows the elimination of chips through melting and evaporation.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a>ULTRASONIC MACHINING<\/h3>\n\n<p>Ultrasonic machining uses the <strong>tool&#8217;s vibration in combination with an abrasive liquid<\/strong> to eliminate excess metal from parts and components. This process is considered a support procedure to other traditional forms, such as drilling and turning.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a>ROLLER BURNISHING<\/h3>\n\n<p>Roller burnishing is a surface finishing technique. It <strong>uses hardened and highly polished steel rollers, which are pressed against a softer workpiece<\/strong>, ensuring the required finish.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a>WATER JET CUTTING<\/h3>\n\n<p>Widely used in sheet profile cutting, this method consists of the <strong>application of water jets with great pressure<\/strong> on the workpiece to be worked, leading to a high cutting resolution.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a>Machining in plastic materials<\/h2>\n\n<p>In plastics, machining is usually done when the cost of obtaining a particular design on the workpiece is not worth it compared to traditional shaping methods. This process is also widely used to <strong>correct small defects<\/strong> that the final product may present, due to design flaws in the shape, machine adjustment difficulties, among other factors.<\/p>\n\n<p>But, despite being increasingly common, machining in polymers demands attention. After all, <strong>materials behave in different ways<\/strong>. Want an example? PP is a very flexible plastic. And because it is more elastic than metals, it can suffer a great deal of deflection during machining, and can even tear if it is subjected to a concentrated load, such as that of a drill.<\/p>\n\n<p>To avoid this type of problem, it is important to be aware of the following factors:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Physical properties<\/strong> of the material, mainly the flexural modulus and hardness;<\/li><li><strong>Thermal properties<\/strong> of the material, especially the coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, and glass transition temperature;<\/li><li><strong>Stress effects<\/strong> on plastic, which include both internal effects from shaping and external effects caused by further processes.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Machining tips<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>To avoid warping, make sure that the thermoplastic parts are very well <strong>secured and supported<\/strong> during machining;<\/li><li>Remember that <strong>cutting forces should be kept to a minimum<\/strong>;<\/li><li>The cutting tool needs to be <strong>polished and have clearance<\/strong> between it and the workpiece to avoid excessive friction and temperature increase;<\/li><li>Remember that the coefficients of thermal expansion for plastics are relatively high. This means that they <strong>regain elasticity<\/strong> during and after machining. Therefore, threads and holes can end up with smaller diameters than the tools;<\/li><li>Plastics may need to be <strong>quenched before finishing<\/strong> to prevent the internal stresses of the workpiece from causing surface cracking or warping;<\/li><li>Use tools with <strong>high cutting power<\/strong>;<\/li><li>Remember that thermal expansion can lead to <strong>dimensional instability<\/strong>;<\/li><li>To reduce heat buildup, use <strong>coolants<\/strong>;<\/li><li>In most cases, <strong>high tool speed and slow material feed is recommended<\/strong>;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you want to know more?<\/h2>\n\n<p>Now that you know everything about machining with plastic, <a href=\"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/blog\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"220\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">visit the Lamiex blog<\/a> to stay on top of our content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find out everything you need to know about machining, from defining this process to top tips for your factory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-more"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamiex.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}