hdpe machineing

[danielhobby]

i have a job to quote and am not familiar with one aspect of the job,machining hdpe round bar.i have to get it to a tolerance of about .5mm on 150diam about 350mm long.will it behave?it will be pressed into water pipe.stock will be 160mm.thanks danny

[Michael G]

I think you are going to have to try it as it will depend on the grade you are using. Staying within 0.5mm should not be difficult, but I've had situations where I've drilled a hole and then a few minutes later the drill won't go in the hole. Only by a little bit, but it means another pass. I think the material was just relaxing back.
The most important thing to remember with PE is decent DOC and feed rates otherwise you get lots of fluffy stuff coming off.

Michael