General Plastic Fabrication Questions

Can the customer supply material?
Certainly. However Connecticut Plastics has many sources for plastic sheet and rod. We can usually purchase these materials at a better price through volume discounts.

Can you make my plastic parts?
Connecticut Plastics has specialized in plastic machining for over 20 years. We have fabricated thousands of parts in virtually every material. We frequently produce components that are considered among the most difficult to machine. A number of our customers have been buying plastic components for 10 years--without a single rejection. We know plastic machining. If your work is not appropriate for us, we'll tell you and will suggest an alternate source.

How fast can you produce parts?
Typically, on most orders, we deliver parts in 3 to 4 weeks. Rush orders or specials can be produced in as little as one week.

How flat can milled components be held?
The answer depends on the component and material selected. For high flatness requirements with a symmetrical component and stable material, flatness can reach 0.002" over a 4" x 4" piece. Some components though, with a lot of machining only on one side and a softer material, can severely curl. Alternating cuts with heat treatment may reduce the problem.

I am a young Colombian Chemical Engineer who is pursuing graduate studies at Los Andes University in Bogota. I am conducting some research studies about polymeric materials and I would like to know whether it would be feasible to purchase some samples of the materials you produce. I really appreciate your attention and I look forward to your reply.
Sorry we cannot help you on this. We only machine plastics and do not produce the plastic material ourselves

I am interested in getting a quote for a 1\" diameter 5 1/2\" acryilic rod machined to a depth of 3 3/4\" with 5/16 bit. Fixed end radiused with a 1/4 bevel at a depth of 1/8 one inch from the radiused end, whilst the last 1/2 inch is tapered to 1/2 diameter at the open end.
While we can produce mostly any type of plastic part, we are best suited for more difficult to produce components. One piece runs of simpler components can be best purchased at a local shop

I am interested in getting approximately 500 copies of 2 rear tailight covers (left and right) for a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle made in translucent orange (i.e. the color of a typical blinker). I have attached a picture to give you a better idea of what I am referring to. I would like to know if you undertake projects like this, and if so do you have any estimates of the cost?
Thanks for inquiry. However these parts are typically molded and do not lend themselves well to plastic machining. Understandably, the cost of these is high from the factory but a custom machined plastic component would be more. Our focus is medical, electronic and semiconductor plastic machining.

I am looking for a 10"-12" half sphere, made of clear plexiglass, lexan, or whatever is appropriate. I am using this as an enclosure for 2 small outdoor cameras. The surface would have to be visually clear with no magnification abnormalities. It would also need to be very resiliant so I would like to know what thicknesses are available. One other item would it be possible to get said sphere with a lip around its edge.
Unfortunately while your project is interesting it is not a fit for our production capability. We focus on production plastic machining for the industrial, medical and electronic use typically in the 25+ pc quantities.

I am looking to get a custom Lite-Brite pegboard made for an art project. Basically I need a sheet of plastic, maybe 1/4" by about 27" x 40" with holes all through it (probably talking about 10,000 holes). Before I have an autocad drawing done up I was just wondering if you could suggest the cheapest/easiest manufacturing process for doing this. I know there are a lot of options. Any information would be helpful. Would it be cheaper to do a smaller piece (maybe 6" square) and just have a bunch of that piece made up and then fit them together afterwards?
The best way to produce large flat pieces (non precision) is with a router. The display industry uses a lot of these and they are very cost competitive. The accuracy is not what you would get from our equipment however in your case it would probably be appropriate. I would locate someone who specializes in acrylic fabrications.

I cracked the windshield on my boat and was needing to replace it, is this a project that you could do. I could send you the broken windshield so you would have the exact measurements
Sorry that is nothing we can help you on. We only machine plastics and do not do large bending or fabrication

I'm currently designing a plastic optical part that I hope you may be able to help me with. The part is an elliptical reflector, approximately 2.5" diameter and 3" deep. This part is to generate a high-intensity light spot, so there is a very high power (~100 W) light source located at the focus of the ellipse. Therefore, there is a large amount of heat being generated, so I require a high-temperature plastic for this reflector. We've been looking into using Ultem or BMC. If you have other recommendations, I'd appreciate that info. My current need is a small number of functional prototypes, after which we'll probably move to injection or compression molding for larger volumes.
Sorry, we will have to pass on this one. We try not to get involved in components that will be ultimately injection molded. For difficult components, our startup costs are high and we typically do not recoup our labor until after multiple runs on a part.

Interested in getting a few items made out of acrylic for a consumer product. Would like an estimate on 50 5x7 block 1 inch thick quantity 50 8x11 block 1 inch thick quantity 50. Cylinder 30 inches high 9 inch diameter. Would also like to know if products can be colored interested in amber, pink, yellow colored acrylic.
Sorry but we are strictly limited to industrial/commercial applications

Should I mold, machine, or cast my component?(See machining versus molding)
Each fabrication method has its advantages and disadvantages, fitting with particular configurations and material requirements. Molding gives low piece price with high tooling costs. Machining allows economical low-quantity production with maximum flexibility. Some materials such as nylon are well matched with casting for large components.

We are looking for micro plastic machined parts for implantable devices. Have you ever done parts for medical industry? Do you have particularly clean environment for milling? What is you typical turn around time?
Micro plastic machined parts are one of our core competencies. Approximately 60% of all plastic machining by Connecticut Plastics is plastic components for the medical industry. We try to maintain a very high cleanliness. In particular, we do not run metal parts in our machines to avoid contamination. Typical turnaround times, quantity dependent, are about 4 - 6 weeks.

What colors are available?
Most material is available in black or natural/white. Black is a consistent color. White depends on material choice. Some materials, such as nylon, are an off-white color, and others are bright white. Additional colors are available in select material.

What is an easy machining plastic?
The most popular easy machining plastic is Acetal (Delrin®).

What is an inexpensive material?
Materials such as polypropylene, HDPE, UHWM, PVC & acrylic are fairly inexpensive. Typically, the higher the performance requirements, the greater the cost.

What is the typical surface finish?
On average, a typical component in turning or milling can be machined to a 32 finish even with the softer materials like polypropylene. Special tooling combined with harder materials can reach 10 - 16. Polishing can improve the finish further.

Where do I find material information?
One of the best places for plastic information online is MatWeb.

Why do costs vary with quantity?
One variable of costing is set-up time. This variable represents the time required to set up a machine to fabricate a plastic part. As this is a fixed cost (does not vary with quantity of parts), its effect on the per-piece price varies with the quantity. For example, a one piece lot price is virtually entirely set up with little run time. Conversely 10,000 piece pricing is all run-time costing with negligible setup.