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Model Forum / General / Models / February 20081/32" edge strips
Hi all, I am looking for a source for edge strips to cover the edge of a 1/32" thick glass slide, made of machinable plastic, preferentially acrylic or polycarbonate. I currently machine the strips on a Bridgeport, which is very inefficient since I need ~100 of these things. here is a drawing of what I want. The edge groove is the most important feature, the rest of the dimensions are not as important. http://picasaweb.google.com/runcyclexcski/Prototypes/photo#5161803826100056690 The following company sells profiles that *almost* work, but they are made of SuperStyrene, which is way too soft, plus the profiles' walls are too thin for my application (all the way at the bottom). http://www.raboesch.com/english/cat1_profiles1.htm > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > http://www.raboesch.com/english/cat1_profiles1.htm Have you thought about making a die and extruding lengths of material instead of machining it?  Signature- Rufus > Have you thought about making a die and extruding lengths of material > instead of machining it? > > -- > - Rufus Good idea. I actually have contacted an extrusion company, but haven't heard back from them yet. I don't know anything about extrusion do-it-yourself style. Is it reasonably affordable? Can you point to a good source? >> Have you thought about making a die and extruding lengths of material >> instead of machining it? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I don't know anything about extrusion do-it-yourself style. Is it > reasonably affordable? Can you point to a good source? I can only think of how I'd do it myself, based on my experience pouring hot aluminum, and working with jeweler's metals like silver and gold making centrifugal castings. First, you'd need a source of hot plastic to extrude - the type of material you require will dictate what sort of hot-pot you'd need. The simplest way would be a hand-pumped pressure vessel filled with hot plastic, and having a valve/die at the bottom of it. YOu could mechanically pressurize, or better yet use compressed air or nitrogen - some gas that won't affect the properties of the plastic. You could probably build such an apparatus to operate electrically - again - depending on the plastic you need to use and how hot you need to get it. Second, since you're handy with a Bridgeport I'd think machining your own die would be easy for you - in fact, if you do have an extrusion company lined up you may want to ask them for some tool specs and machine your own die and send it to them - I'd think that would save you a LOT of money. Remember that you need to adjust the dimensions of the die to account for the shrinkage of the material once it cools to insure you get the proper final dimension on the finished stock. ...looking at your drawings again, another REALLY easy thing you could do is make a series of draw plates - like progressive dies - to cut lengths of strip stock down to the dimensions you want. That's really the easiest thing to do, now that I think about it...and the most precise. I'd make them from stainless steel, mount them to the ways of a lathe bed, and use the lathe carriage hand wheel to pull the stock though, with a small machinist's vise mounted to the carriage in place of the tool head to grab the stock. Square dies would be easier to make than round ones, and you could even make them adjustable to any dimesion you like...yeah...I like this idea much better... Of course, I'm assuming that if you own a Bridgeport, you also own an engine lathe?.. Signature- Rufus > ...looking at your drawings again, another REALLY easy thing you could > do is make a series of draw plates - like progressive dies - to cut [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > -- > - Rufus Yes, I have access to a lathe as well. I don't own the Bridgeport and the lathe, but I have essentially unlimited access to a very well equipped machine shop. Making a dye would be very easy, indeed. I googled draw plates (learning something new every day), yeah, I guess that would work. I also found some edge trims at McMaster that have a 1/32 gap - will try those as well. >> ...looking at your drawings again, another REALLY easy thing you could >> do is make a series of draw plates - like progressive dies - to cut [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > I also found some edge trims at McMaster that have a 1/32 gap - will > try those as well. Fantastic! Signature- Rufus >>> Have you thought about making a die and extruding lengths of material >>> instead of machining it? [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] >Of course, I'm assuming that if you own a Bridgeport, you also own an >engine lathe?.. ========================================= I would think a setup like a router table will be more applicable. A 1/32 endmilling bit driven by a Dremel type motor is fixed firmly at the desired cut depth under a table. A jig with the profile of the plastic strip is then fixed over this bit. The plastic strip is drawn through the jig like a die. Alternatively instead of and endmill bit you can use a circular saw bit although I don't think the inside groove will be as square. A Dremel drill probably has too high a rpm and the cut will melt the plastic. The low speed high torque setup I use for drilling multiple holes in plastic, as in opening up the hull vents on a submarine model, is to use a 1/4 inch hex drive chuck adaptor with a power screwdriver. The 1/4 hex drive chuck adaptor in http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PROD/dremel-keyless-chuck/BEN95 is too crappy as it can never center a drill bit. Its good enough for what I need it for though. But it gives you the idea of an adaptor to grip the endmill bit and couple that to a low rpm motor. I have seen much better chuck adaptors in Canadian Tire. Or maybe just use a regular 1/4 drill chuck with a female screw-on end. You have the machine tools to make everything else. |
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