Plastics machinery

Not so many years ago, the machining of plastics was more of an art than a science. The typical sheet fabricator or vacuum former utilized a variety of innovative techniques to perform some very challenging secondary machining functions. Unique fixturing of parts and positioning of machinery to attain the necessary results was commonplace.

The use of electric and air-driven routers and drills was the mode of operation, with cutting tool selection based on availability at the local supply house. Metal and woodworking cutting tools were utilized without regard to effectiveness or efficiency. Basically, the plastic machining industry was accomplishing a great deal without the benefit of much outside information or assistance.

This situation changed significantly with the advent of the CNC router in both the 3-axis and 5-axis modes. It became evident almost from the beginning that the method of holding parts and cutting tool selections of the past would not perform in the feed and speed environment associated with these new era machines.

Plastic fabricators demanded, and the cutting tool industry responded with, application-specific tooling and far more information on how these tools functioned.