Surface finishing plastic sheets

Hi everyone,

I know the McFly surfacing cutter is for wood only but considering how soft plastics are, I thought the McFly would work. I tried to use it and sparks came up for some reason.

I’m pretty sure it just hit sometime metallic but considering I was trying to machine acetal plastic sheet, I’m still confused about all this.

What tool would you guys recommend for surfacing finish plastic sheets?

I use a #201 for most surfacing efforts.

Maybe static discharge?

2 Likes

Did you use metallic clamps to hold the stock?

1 Like

I didn’t. I used double-sided tape, so I’m still confused overall to be honest. I’ll just try again, but with a #201.

Then I think @neilferreri is onto something with static electricity.

2 Likes

What are the chances that the acetal you used was recycled? When I set up my machine last week, I took light surfacing cuts with a McFly, on clear acrylic, (plexiglass). No sparks. Recycled plastics are more likely to have foreign material in them than virgin plastics.

I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like that, but I couldn’t think of anything else.

@brainy19 Can you get a video?

@Steve.Mc I bought the plastic from a wholesaler distributor, who sells raw plastics.

If anything, I’ll just try the surfacing again with a #201 mill. I do know the router isn’t trammed properly, so I’ll need to do that first. That would explain the uneven machining at least.

Wow! That looked exciting! Not what I pictured in my mind.
How’s the cutter look? Did you lose an insert?

1 Like

Yep,

That’s 4th July grade interesting. Is that machine in the trunk of your vehicle?

It definitely looks like hot metal being thrown not just static, either something came loose on the cutter or there was something metallic in the stock.

Got pics of the cutter or the remaining stock after that event?

1 Like

Read section 5. This stuff is flammable and static combustable.

https://www.slideshare.net/emcoplastics/acetal-sheet-material-safety-sheet

1 Like

@neilferreri all inserts are present.

@LiamN one insert got a little chipped, but it’s just one side. And yes, it’s in my vehicle.

@MrGNY oooooo…and it makes formaldehyde too when exposed to a lot of heat…not good. You think the #201 mill would experience the same problem? It’s a smaller diameter, so I would guess not as much heat would be generated.

I think something happened with the cutter. That really looked like metal on metal.
Acetal is a commonly machined material… Even with the info in the data sheet, static induced combustion seems like the less plausible cause.

That was wild!

I injection mold a range of parts at work different acetals, and boy oh boy does that formaldehyde stink when you cook the material in the barrel.

I’m just gonna try the #201 end mill to make a smooth surface finish after I tram the router.

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.