CNC Routing Services
CNC routing works like a precision-controlled cutting tool, the process is ideal for cutting and shaping plastics and composites as well as metal sheets and wood. The routing works by securely placing a sheet of material on the CNC machine bed, and a high-speed rotating cutting tool follows programmed instructions (taken from a CAD model) to carve and cut out a desired shape. Unlike CNC milling or CNC turning, where either the material or the tool moves, CNC routing involves the cutting tool moving across the stationary material to achieve the programmed cuts and patterns.
CNC routing is ideal for creating detailed components, such as panels, housings, and custom parts, particularly in industries like automotive, aerospace, and electronics. The precision of CNC routing ensures high-quality, repeatable results, especially when working with complex designs or tight tolerances.
Benefits of CNC Routing
Precision and Accuracy: CNC routing allows for detailed and accurate cuts, making it ideal for creating and handling detailed designs and complex shapes. The precision of the machine ensures that each part meets exact specifications – especially useful when working with tight tolerances.
Consistency and Repeatability: As with the other CNC services like CNC milling and CNC turning, once a design is programmed into the CNC machine, it can produce identical parts consistently with uniform quality through production runs.
Versatility: CNC routers can handle a wide range of materials, particularly plastics and composites, but often metal sheets and wood sheets are used too to create anything from simple cut-outs to complex 3D shapes.
Efficient & Cost-Effective: CNC routing is a highly efficient manufacturing process, reducing material waste and speeding up production. These benefits make it a cost-effective solution, especially when manufacturing high quality, high precision parts in low production runs.
Customisability: With CNC routing because it’s easy to create a sample or a prototype, you can easily modify designs or create custom components tailored to specific requirements, allowing for flexibility in product development, without huge costs.
Surface Finishes: The smooth, clean cuts produced by CNC routers often result in superior surface finishes, reducing the need for additional finishing to the product.
Our CNC Routing Services for Plastics
We specialise in CNC routing for plastics and composites. With our extensive CNC routing experience and state-of-the-art CNC technology, we can provide and deliver a range of CNC machining services tailored to your unique requirements. This process is highly versatile and so are the amount of different plastics and composite materials we can use. This offers our customers great flexibility as each plastic type has different benefits and characteristics.
The plastic materials we work with often are:
Acetal / Delrin is often used to produce precise mechanical parts such as gears, cams, and valve components due to its low friction and high dimensional stability.
Nylon is excellent for creating wear-resistant parts like bushings, washers, and bearings, commonly used in industrial machinery.
Polycarbonate, known for its impact resistance and clarity, is ideal for fabricating protective covers, machine guards, and transparent panels.
Acrylic is frequently used for display items, signage, and light diffusers, offering excellent optical properties and a polished finish.
PTFE is chosen for its exceptional chemical resistance and low coefficient of friction, making it perfect for seals, gaskets, and insulation components in harsh environments.
Contact Us for CNC Routing Services
Ready to start your project with precision CNC routing? Our state-of-the-art routing equipment is designed to handle a wide range of plastics and composites, matched with our skilled team who can deliver intricate and high-quality components tailored to your exact specifications. We specialise in creating complex parts for industries such as Automotive, Aerospace, Consumer Electronics, Medical, Research, Signage, and more.
Contact TK Fabrications today to discuss your CNC routing requirements. Whether you need large production runs or custom prototypes, our skilled team can provide cost-effective solutions with quick turnaround times. See our conventional machining services.
GET A QUOTE TODAY
To discover what our team of experienced plastics and composite machining engineers in Essex can do for your business, please don’t hesitate to contact us for a free initial quote. With a comprehensive in-house manufacturing service, we can offer a range of solutions to suit your plastic or composite parts requirements.