I have some projects coming up requiring turning of polyproplyne. I have turned it before without any problems but am wondering if any of you have a method of turning it without the long strings winding themselves around everything. It just takes more time to stop every inch or so and remove the buildup.
oh, thats nothing.. try to turn some wood... Louisiana Gum Tree wood.. the stuff they use for alot of pallets that they make in Louisiana... when turning the wood nothing chips off, it all goes around the object like a big coating of string... real cheap wood, but make good shipping pallets...
If you are talking about sweetgum trees, they are a real PITA, here in Louiniana. Beautiful color in fall, but make tons of gumballs, and are damned near impossible to kill. Only thing worse is the tallow tree!
I haven't tried, but have thought about mounting the shop vac hose so it will suck up the long string. I don't do plastic often enough to anticipate the problem before it reoccurs!
Paul
I have used the shop vac trick with success. Ken.
I suppose it depends upon the nature of the turning operation.
I do a job turning UHMW PE in which I turn the spindle much slower than the tool/work is capable of, and stop periodically to remove the chips.
Get a nice razor sharp two flute LEFT HANDED endmill and stick it in your tool holder at a very slight angle away from your work piece, , adjust for proper center height. Feed at high rpms and fast feed rates and when the long stringer comes off the tool,, toss it over your shoulder and step back. If done quickly the long streamer of string can be directed directly into a waste basket.
You can do the same with a Right Handed endmill, but it has to be put on the far side fo the work, and the spindle run backwards (of course)
I taught this trick to a guy who had to run a moderate shitload of poly parts about 8" long by 4" in diameter. He had problems with a standard tool bit, gumming up the machine etc. He bought me dinner a week later for showing him the trick, and making the job go like a champ.
Gunner
The two highest achievements of the human mind are the twin concepts of "loyalty" and "duty." Whenever these twin concepts fall into disrepute -- get out of there fast! You may possibly save yourself, but it is too late to save that society. It is doomed. " Lazarus Long
Ha. "Chip control" was half the battle when I worked at night, turning nylon parts. It was not uncommon to fill ten full sized trash cans with nylon chips during one night. We had a baler, and would bale all the chips and they were sold for injection molding material.
At one point they began to use a material called Calumet which had a formed-in aluminum center. Horrible stuff to machine, strong, stringy chips that could not be broken.
They finally decided to a) rough the parts using a very fast peck cycle, and b) to leave the door on the Okuma open during the machining. Because the spindle turned the part in the conventional direction, and the tool threw the chip up, the peck cycles ejected five foot long strings of material up and out of the machine, where they would land on the overhead lights. After every few parts the operator would have to stop and gather them up.
Jim
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