UHMW 48" long. Had to cut out the center leaving .5" at each end full diameter. Like machining a garden hose.
Shrinkage is a pita also. The print calls for 48" oal but it will shrink by .250"+- just from necking the center so you have to start out longer and sneak up on it. And for a couple of days it might shrink some more.
plastics grow and shrink with temperature changes, and they do not have to be extreme changes to measure the change. some experience less than others. it can be quite frustrating while trying to maintain tolerances.
Nice job getting it done! I can definitely appreciate the improvisation and ingenuity. I really dislike having to turn UHMW but it seems to mill decent (the same can be said for nylon IME)
The finish was great and no thousand foot curls to manage. I ground the hss end mill razor sharp and added a small corner radius. It was set about 2° off perpendicular so it didn't drag.
Awesome. In the unfortunate event where I’m backed into a corner and forced to turn that stuff, I peck turn it to break the chips. Not exactly feasible in a manual lathe though I’m lucky enough to work for a company that (most of the time) we are the end user, so whenever I can I talk to engineering and see about using delrin rather than UHMW. Nice work with your “live tool” setup
