CNC-assisted milling of deep drawing parts
Technology
Technology
Precise plastic processing through CNC milling
Plastics and thermoplastics are replacing metals and other materials due to their advantages such as mouldability, resilience and efficiency. CNC-based plastic milling gives swissplast’s moulded parts, prototypes, tools and trays the precision for which our plastics technology is renowned.
We manufacture technical plastic moulded parts and plastic transport containers through our plastic deep drawing process before the 5-axis CNC milling centres fine-tune the products.
Plastic milled into shape: CNC milling at swissplast
At swissplast we manufacture thermoformed parts using the latest CAD-CAM-CNC technology. These are machined – according to customer requirements – to such an extent that they can be installed directly. When CNC milling our plastics, we always pay attention to high quality – our error rate of 0.3 percent has proven our precision standards for many years.
Since we know that a lot depends on the choice of tool and the right cutting speed when processing plastics, we always use the latest technologies in plastics technology at swissplast. If the cutter is too blunt, the plastic can melt due to the friction-induced heat and have unclean cut edges. If the cutting speed is too low, it can also happen that the chip is torn off and not cut cleanly. At swissplast, we therefore work exclusively with sharp cutters and high cutting speeds in order to produce plastic mouldings with perfect surface properties.
Trust the specialist for CNC milling of plastic deep drawing parts
Hire the experts in plastics processing: swissplast uses vacuum forming and plastic deep drawing processes to produce exceptional plastic parts, packaging and plastic prototypes. We excel at providing an excellent service that includes complete finishing options such as CNC milling, sawing or drilling. You can rely on the quality of our plastic production, which can also realise small series and pilot series cost-effectively. Do you have any questions about our processes or would you like some advice? Then please feel free to contact us by phone or e-mail.
Precise processing of plastic sheets by cutter trimming: 2D-planar trimming
As a further service, swissplast offers 2D planar trimming or digital Zünd 2D cutter routing. A distinction is made here between 2D trimming, 2.5D trimming and 3D trimming, with the numbers indicating the number of trimming dimensions in each case. With 2D cutting, the workpiece or the plastic sheets are machined in two spatial directions (X and Y). The machining depth (Z) is set in advance and cannot be changed later. Thus, only planar plastic sheets that have not been curved or produced via deep drawing can be trimmed with this method.
Special features of the cutter trimming in the 2D cutter routing area
tool changer, which are adapted to different requirements and applications.
The digital Zünd 2D cutter-trimming machines from swissplast consist of a special vacuum table with two high-performance vacuum pumps and automatically controlled vacuum zones, so that no special vacuum gauges or vacuum devices are required. This means that orders and special requirements can be implemented quickly and precisely.
Working areas of the Zünd 2D cutter
The digital Zünd 2D cutter routing or 2D trimming machine has two working areas:
| Single workspace | Tandem operation | |
|---|---|---|
| Mode of operation | The entire surface of the machine is used here. | For tandem operation, the working area of the machine is divided, resulting in an increase in productivity. |
| Depth | 3100mm | 3100mm |
| Width | 3100mm | 1500mm |
| Thickness | 2 bis 10mm | 2 bis 10mm |
| Special feature | The mirroring of the first working area of the cutter-trimmer in tandem operation makes it possible to process several plastic parts at the same time. |
Single working area: The entire surface of the machine is utilised.
The working area dimensions are:
- Depth = 3100mm
- Width = 3100mm
- Thickness = 2 to 10mm
Tandem operation: For tandem operation, the working area of the machine is divided, which increases productivity.
The tandem working area dimensions are:
- Depth = 3100mm
- Width = 1500mm
- Thickness = 2 to 10mm
Mirroring the first working area of the cutter trimming machine in tandem operation makes it possible to process several plastic parts at the same time.
The output speed of the machine depends on the thickness of the plastic sheet being processed. For thin-walled plastic sheets with a thickness of up to 3mm, the feed rate is a maximum of 20 metres per minute. For plastic sheets between 4 to 10mm, the processing feed (F) is adjusted to achieve the desired trimming result and quality.
Plastic milling with CNC by swissplast
In the plastics processing industry, the optimal and precise realisation of products is a central point. Where some companies only mould the plastic, swissplast thinks further and offers post-processing by CNC milling in addition to deep drawing of moulded plastic parts. CNC plastic milling is an important step in this respect, since you, the customer, receive the finalised and ready-to-install plastic component. In our production, this can be, for example, plastic covers, plastic panelling, plastic housings, but also shower trays for camping vehicles. We supply you with the desired moulded part that can be installed immediately. All recesses, notches, mouldings and holes are already included in the product. So you don’t have to do the plastic milling yourself and save time and money with CNC milling of plastic by swissplast.
CNC plastic processing for deep-drawn products
The great advantage of CNC plastic milling machines is that they work very precisely and very quickly. The technological developments of the last few years in the field of CNC plastics, CNC milling plastics and CNC plastics processing enable computer-controlled, fully automated finishing of the moulded plastic parts. At swissplast, we stand for special plastics, simple communication and precisely machined plastic parts. This includes making full use of our technical possibilities such as plastic CNC milling. After the deep drawing process, in which the basic shape of the plastic part is determined, the fine work follows with the plastic CNC milling machine. This works on five axes and reliably implements milling orders in the range of tenths of a millimetre. Please feel free to contact us with your project and your enquiry for plastic milling using CNC. We will advise you non-bindingly.
CNC-milled plastic
swissplast also makes use of the modern production methods CNC, CAD and CAM. All three abbreviations stand for computer-controlled processes in production. CNC is short for Computerized Numerical Control. This refers to the computer control of work steps such as plastic milling. CAD stands for Computer-aided Design, i.e. design with the help of computers. The digital creation of models is a common step in production today. CAM is the abbreviation for Computer-aided Manufacturing. In this area, too, the use of computers has long been state of the art and swissplast is no longer imaginable without them. We will be happy to create a 3D model of the plastic part you want to manufacture and work out a production plan with you – including everything from deep drawing to CNC milling. Contact our professionals for CNC milling of plastics today.
Further areas of interest
