Thread: Cutting gears - CNC vs laser
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01-03-2018 #1
I have a job that requires cutting some spur gears (50-150mm dia) out of 10mm delrin/acetal/nylon sheet and I'm trying to decide between the two processes.
I have the DXF file in 2D, plus I can offset the path to suit the machine and tool bit, so that's not a problem.
On one hand, I can laser cut them and achieve (maybe!) a nice 0.03mm tolerance on the top plane, but it has that dreaded taper/cone and given the thickness of the sheet - I'm afraid the taper will ultimately dictate the final tolerance. I'm not sure if I can keep it under 0.1mm, which will make the gears just about functional.
On the other hand, they could be CNC milled but I'm having trouble getting quotes for the job. An end mill of 1.5mm dia is needed to cut the profile, and the problem is a standard end mill of 1.5mm only has a length of cut of about 5mm, then it tapers into a larger diameter for better support. So a special 'long neck' bit is needed to cut through 10mm sheet, and 4-5 passes with the right bit. I understand that, but is it so much of a problem that shops would refuse the job? Is there something else I'm missing?
For what it's worth, the original steel gears were also CNC milled, I can count 7 passes on the outside edge of the gear.Last edited by Miller; 01-03-2018 at 04:02 PM.
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