Milling ABS plastic sheets

[Boatman37210]

Hi. New member and first time poster.

I would like to mill sheets of black ABS plastic no thicker than a quarter of an inch. The size of the sheets will either be approximately 10.5"W x 13”L or 10.5”W x 18.5L”. My thoughts were that milling ABS no thicker than one quarter inch would be less strenuous that milling wood and therefore the machine would give fewer problems. The ABS is not as hard as wood and would not produce dust. Would my assumption be valid that milling ABS would create fewer problems?

The purpose is to create a one piece picture frame by cutting out the center of the sheet. What will be cut out of the center is a square leaving a one piece four sided picture frame. Two opposite ends on the frame will need a groove routed to allow for the glass, or in this case plexi, to be inserted.

Normally you would cut 4 pieces, miter the corners, cut grooves in all 4 sides for the glass, and piece them together to make the frame. I want to avoid that.

I assume the CarveWright would make one pass on all 4 sides and cut out the center. Then it would ask for a different bit for the grooves to be cut in each end. Is this a correct assumption and can the CarveWright do what I want it to do?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[AskBud]

Carving plastics can be very hard on the machine if the proper
material is not used of if the chips are not regularly removed
from the machine.
o Only Polycarbonate or Cast Acrylic plastics are approved for use in
this machine. Most other common plastics melt during cutting and will
damage the machine if used.
o The maximum cut depth for plastics is 0.1 inches per pass.
o Plastic shavings are prone to clogging the machine and must be
vacuumed out regularly.
o If possible remove any thin protective plastic from the surface to avoid
wrapping it around the spinning bit.
o Because of the smooth slick nature of the plastic surface, the
workpiece must be mounted to a backing board so that the Board
Tracking Sensor will perform properly.
o Make sure that any hardware used to affix the plastic to the backer
board resides outside of the cutting area.
o If cutting in clear plastic the machine may have trouble locating the
edges at startup. To avoid this simply place masking tape along the
edges of the workpiece.
• CLEAR DUST AFTER EACH OPERATION. It is important that any
dust on or near the Squaring Plate and the Sliding Guide Plate be
removed before starting a cutting operation to ensure that the sensors
can find the board edges accurately. A simple wipe will usually suffice.
If using compressed air, always make sure to use low-pressure air (<80
psi) around the electronics and sensors. High-pressure air can damage
components and actually push dust into them.

[Digitalwoodshop]

To hold the plastic to your carrier board or sled and then hold each piece that is cut out will be a challenge. You can use tabs but I would fear the cracking of the tabs to give you unreliable smooth cuts. The tabs could fracture.

I plan to build a vacuum sled with the whole sheet being held by the sled and as each tag in my case 1.5 x 3, being held by vacuum holes too. The vacuum provided with a continuous duty pump and a Vacuum switch in line to the sled. A loss of vacuum would open the electrical switch that would be hooked in series with the cover switch. This would stop the machine in the event of a vacuum loss.

I think my Vacuum sled will have a criss cross of #### connected all the way through and a replaceable Masonite top. The Top would be drilled with the CW under each tag and waste area to match the pattern.

A good dust collection system is a must too. Something like my above the unit collector.

Good Luck,

AL

[LittleRedWoodshop]

Please feel free to contact me - I cut plastic on regular basis. Including carbon fiber matting, vinyl PCV, acrylic (corian), etc...