Thermoplastics

Thermoplastics can be shaped as required any number of times by means of various primary shaping and reshaping processes. The part in question maintains its shape after it has cooled down. The reason for this behavior are filamentous, linear macromolecules.

Among thermoplastics, which quickly become pasty or even liquefy during milling because of their chemical composition, acrylic glass (name: polymethyl methacrylate, often known as Plexiglas®) has, for example, proved to be suitable for processing in our production.

Using "Front Panel Designer" , you can select clear and red acrylic glass as your source material. Please refer to the following two tables for details of the machinable areas and the respective panel thicknesses available.

Thickness [mm]	Short side [mm]		Long side [mm]
	minimum	maximum	minimum	maximum
2.0	10	200	10	500
3.0		250		700
4.0
5.0
6.0
8.0
10.0

Machinable areas of acrylic glass panels

Acrylic color samples	color	Available panel thicknesses [mm]
Acrylic color samples	color	2	3	4	5	6	8	10
	Tolerance ± [mm]	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.6	0.8	1.0
	Clear
	Red

	In stock, front and reverse sides are flawless
	Normally available at short notice, front and reverse sides are flawless

color variations and thicknesses for acrylic glass panels

Polyoxymethylene (POM, also known as polyacetal or polyformaldehyde) is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic. POM has been on the market since 1956 and because of its high rigidity, low coefficient of friction and excellent dimensional stability, is used as an engineering plastic, especially for precision parts.

This material can be processed without test milling.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, occasionally polytetrafluorethene) is an unbranched, linear, semi-crystalline polymer of fluorine and carbon. Colloquially, this plastic is often referred to by the DuPont brand name Teflon®. Other commonly used brand names of other PTFE manufacturers include Dyneon PTFE (formerly Hostaflon) and Gore-Tex for PTFE membranes.

PTFE belongs to the group of polyhalogenated olefines, which also includes PCTFE (polychlorotrifluoroethylene). It is one of the thermoplastics, although it also exhibits properties which are rather more typical of duroplastics. Teflon® is a nonpolar polymer.

We require a test milling for this material.

Polyvinyl chloride is an amorphous thermoplastic. PVC (symbol) is hard and brittle and it is only the addition of plasticizers and stabilizers that makes it soft, pliable and suitable for technical applications. PVC is known for its use in floor coverings, window profiles, pipes, for cable insulation and sheathing and for records which in Anglo-Saxon are interestingly enough called vinyl.

This material can be processed without test milling.

We can also work on the engraving materials "Gravoglas" and "Gravoply" supplied by GravoTech GmbH:

•	"Gravoglas" is a clear acrylic glass panel that is coated in different colors.

•	"Gravoply" has a range of combinations of colored ABS panels with coatings of different colors.

Please search on the website of the globally active Gravograph Inc. for details of these engraving materials, which we can procure for you within a few working days.

Please contact us for a test milling of thermoplastics that are not listed here. We would be happy to extend the corresponding list.