YES-Selecting the right vendor is crucial, especially when selecting a plastic machining vendor.  Select an expert for the best results.  To be a true plastic machining expert, a vendor must provide the following necessary benefits:

1- Highest Quality
2- Competitive Cost
3- Fast, On-Time Delivery
4- Exceptional Customer Service

The highest quality can only be obtained from plastic machining experts. Don’t risk contamination, and a trial-and-error material selection process. Plastic machined components can be rendered useless due to contamination, and due to a failure to meet specifications and requirements. Additionally, the right vendor is an ISO Certified vendor. An ISO Certified plastic machining vendor will be able to guarantee predictable high-precision. Avoid the unnecessary cost and hassle of replacing faulty components by initially contacting a plastic machining expert.

Plastic machining experts will be able to provide competitive cost by having the appropriate processes, materials, and equipment in place. Specifically an ISO Certified plastic machining expert has processes streamlined in order to reduce idle time and eliminate waste, saving the manufacturer money. The production and overhead cost savings will lead to lower costs to the vendor’s customers.

A plastic machining expert provides faster delivery than a non-expert, as production times are shorter due to having the right equipment, processes, and materials. An ISO Certified vendor is able to reduce production time due to refined supply chain management, allowing for the assurance of fast, on-time delivery.

A plastic machining expert has all the knowledge essential in order to produce the highest precision plastic machined components. Exceptional customer service should go hand in hand with that knowledge and expertise. A plastic machining expert should provide assistance to a customer every step of the way, throughout both the engineering and purchasing processes.

When selecting a plastic machining vendor, choose an expert. In order for a vendor to be a real plastic machining expert, it needs to provide the necessary benefits: highest quality, competitive cost, fast, on-time delivery, and exceptional customer service, EPP Corporation offers the above benefits to all customers.

1. Material Knowledge
2. Purchasing Practices
3. Equipment
4. Quality and Price
5. Looking For the Best

Be sure to ask potential plastic machined parts vendors how they comply with these guidelines.

If you have a need for plastic machined components, request a quote!

EPP Corporation: America’s Premier Plastic Machining Supplier- an ISO Certified American supplier of machined plastic parts with over 35 years of experience, specialized in custom plastic machining for the aerospace, instrumentation, medical, fluid power, oil and gas equipment, semiconductor equipment, and military industries. Capable of short-run, quick-turn plastic prototypes, CNC Milling, CNC Lathe, Screw Machining, and Custom Plastic Manifolds.  For more information or to request a quote, please free to contact usat 847-952-8400 or sales@eppcorp.com

How to Use the Design Guide

1. Refer to the Design Considerations at the bottom of this page. Consider whether each item on the checklist is a factor in the application or affects performance requirements for the component design.
2. Select the categories that have the greatest affect on your application.
3. Review the materials in the Plastic Properties Handbook and make a list of possible material candidates.
4. Contact our technical support to discuss options or ask additional questions.

Plastic Machining Design Considerations

• Thermosensitivity – tolerance can change in different temperature conditions
• Sensitivity to humidity and hygroscopic absorption affects tolerance
• Sensitivity to chemicals and oils
• Notch sensitive corners and square ID’s
• Tolerances
• High loads
• High impact
• Fatigue loading or cycle loading requires consideration of flexing, deflecting, and compression
• Temperature – max/min extent of time
• Electrical considerations such as insulating properties
• Wear resistance or abrasion resistance
• Dimensional shape retention (load, cold flow, temperature)
• Regulatory requirements (FDA, UL, etc.)
• Appearance (color, texture)
• Optical requirements
• Outdoor use

Now that you’ve identified the important factors in your application, evaluate material specs in the Plastic Properties Handbook and select your material!

Yes, selecting an ISO certified plastic machined components vendor ultimately provides an assurance that purchasers of plastic machined components will receive  parts that meet their individual specifications and requirements.

The ISO system allows the producer to not only ensure that they meet or exceed specifications and requirements, but also allows for consistent day-to-day quality control procedures, and process that are predictable and repeatable.

With good process control, ISO manufacturers are also able to reduce waste, and lower operating costs and idle time in production, resulting in savings to their customers. Having good process control also allows the ISO manufacturer the tools to track production which guarantees on-time deliveries.

Well implemented ISO processes can produce cost-effective custom plastic machined components with minimal production times, on-time delivery with predictable quality.

For high quality custom plastic machined parts, contact ISO 9001:2008 Certified plastic machining experts EPP/Engineered Plastic Products Corporation.

1. Material Knowledge
2. Purchasing Practices
3. Equipment
4. Quality and Price
5. Looking For the Best

Be sure to ask potential plastic machined parts vendors how they comply with these guidelines.

If you have a need for plastic machined components, request a quote!

The simple answer to this question is…NO

If components are ordered from a foreign firm, the move can be far more costly than doing business with a domestic plastic machining specialist. At EPP Corporation, we serve and specialize in custom plastic machined parts for critical industries such as the aerospace, medical, instrumentation, fluid power, and military industries, the highest precision is required. These critical industries cannot use custom plastic components that do not meet strict specifications. By purchasing overseas, the risk of purchasing from a plastic machining company without certification, as well as not being able to have an open line of communication alone are huge risks. Errors would garner components useless, and replacement plastic machined parts would take long to be reordered and received (10-16 weeks on average), hindering the possibility of meeting deadlines, as well as no guarantee that the proper materials and processes are being utilized. The additional risk of items being damaged through their long transport to your doorstep, can be costly both to the pocket book, as well as creating vast time constraints. Companies often seek domestic firms to correct the errors of overseas vendors after having been put into a time crunch.

That being said, selecting the best domestic plastic machining company does require some due diligence. Not all plastic machining vendors are equipped to offer all parts. Others may not be able to give you the best prices
The following guidelines can help you locate a fully-qualified, cost effective plastic machining specialist:

At EPP Corp we pride ourselves in the value proposition of combining the highest quality, competitive cost, and fast, on-time delivery. EPP is also here to provide its customers assistance throughout the purchasing and engineering processes of our custom plastic components. From the simplest to the most complex component or plastic prototype, EPP assures high precision plastic machining and on-time delivery (2-3 week turnarounds, as well as one week or less delivery for short-run, quick-turn custom plastic prototypes).

Stay domestic, and choose the best, EPP Corporation

It does matter. If you’ve wondered whether you should have a metal machinist produce your plastic machined parts, The Short Answer Is – No, You Should Not

Here’s why:

Cutting fluids for each material are crucial: Equipment used to machine metal – even if only used for metal occasionally – can contaminate parts with oil-based cutting fluids. Many plastics are also very sensitive to petroleum based cutting fluids and will degrade if they come into contact with these fluids. Additionally, many plastics are hydroscopic and will absorb the cutting oils. If the parts are being manufactured for FDA-approved uses or medical applications, they will not meet standards.

Metal fragments contaminate plastic parts: It is difficult to adequately clean a machine that has been working on metals, especially if it has been working on stainless steel. This can lead to another contamination problem. If the plastic material is soft, residual metal fragments can become embedded in the plastic machined parts.

Metal shops are experts in metal, not plastic: Metal machining companies rarely have any in-depth knowledge of plastic materials, or more specifically, which material to use in an application. Plastic machining experts know what plastics are best for any function, and can produce the plastic part you need without the “trial-and-error” processes a metal machinist would use. A good plastic machining firm will have the material knowledge and the right machining processes to consistently give you the highest quality plastic machined parts.

If you’ve got plastic machined components, EPP Corporation can help.

The two major factors needed to reach your conclusion are quantity of parts and level of dimensional tolerance. As a general rule, you should consider plastic machining when lower volumes are needed or tighter tolerances on the dimensions are needed – or both.

Quantity of parts is significant because of the tool cost of a molded part. If you are injection molding your part, the molding tool will typically cost several thousand dollars and tooling for complex parts can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tool costs can make injection molding unfeasible for a low volume run.

Quantities between 100 and 1,000 – on some parts even up to 5,000 – are usually good candidates for conventional or milled plastic machining. Screw machining of plastics can be practical and cost effective from 500 pieces all the way up to 100,000 pieces or more.

Tolerance is a factor because plastic machined parts can typically be produced at a tighter tolerance than molded parts. Each plastic material behaves differently, but you can generally achieve tolerances +/- .005” for molded parts. Plastic machined parts can be produced +/- .001” or better depending on the material and design. This is why critically precise industries – like instrumentation, medical equipment, aerospace, fluid power, telecommunications, and many others – have turned to plastic machining for component needs.

One last advantage to plastic machining is flexibility of design. Once an injection mold has been produced, it can create only that design and any modification to the design requires expensive changes in the mold. Design changes to plastic machined parts are immediate and have virtually no impact on tooling costs.

1. Refer to the Design Considerations at the bottom of this page. Consider whether each item on the checklist is a factor in the application or affects performance requirements for the component design.
2. Select the categories that have the greatest affect on your application.
3. Review the materials in the Plastic Properties Handbook and make a list of possible material candidates.
4. Contact our technical support to discuss options or ask additional questions.

Plastic Machining Design Considerations

• Thermosensitivity – tolerance can change in different temperature conditions
• Sensitivity to humidity and hygroscopic absorption affects tolerance
• Sensitivity to chemicals and oils
• Notch sensitive corners and square ID’s
• Tolerances
• High loads
• High impact
• Fatigue loading or cycle loading requires consideration of flexing, deflecting, and compression
• Temperature – max/min extent of time
• Electrical considerations such as insulating properties
• Wear resistance or abrasion resistance
• Dimensional shape retention (load, cold flow, temperature)
• Regulatory requirements (FDA, UL, etc.)
• Appearance (color, texture)
• Optical requirements
• Outdoor use

Now that you’ve identified the important factors in your application, evaluate material specs in the Plastic Properties Handbook and select your material!