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ABLE1[_4_]

On 6/21/2019 7:51 AM, wrote:
I am trying to help a guy who is opening a machine shop. Which is kind of comical since I have no experience in commercial machining.

He has a job machining peek plastic. And has a problem with long strings of the plastic jamming the chip conveyor. Now I am a novice but do know enough when confronted with a problem the first thing to do is find out what others have done. So how do you deal with strings of plastic?

When manual machining plastics I just pause feeding te avoid having one long chip. But maybe there is a better way. This is being done on a cnc turning center.

Dan

Haven't thought about this stuff for many years.
Having 22 years in the Plastic Industry tells me I should
chime in with some thoughts.

Not visually knowing exactly what process or kind of plastic,
but. my first thought would be to set up a 1-1/2" pipe with
an inserted 1/4" air line about 4" from one end that protrudes
into the pipe and is angled in line with the pipe. The 4" end
would be the entrance port and the "other end" maybe 3' long
with a radius that would discharge into a box or barrel for the
scraps. Turn on the air line and it will create a Venturi Effect
which will suck the chip strings from the machining area.

I built a couple years ago. The were used to move plastic granules
from a barrel on the floor up to a 12 foot high 30" diameter hopper.
The hopper sat on the back of plastic extruders.
It was easier than carrying 50 lb bags up a ladder.

You can Google Venturi and see a lot of pictures.

There are a number of commercial units that can be purchased.
However, you can get a little creative to see the effects.
A cheap one can be made up just to see if the theory will work.

Needless to say, some experimenting will be needed.

However there is a downside. Your air compressor will run more
just to keep it operating. Would be wise to do a little math
to determine the economics.

Good Luck.

Les