At Lampin, our employee-owners take pride in providing our customers with consistent quality and reliable customer service. When one of our clients was seeking help completing a small batch order of complex components for a prototype project they were working on, our team was happy to help.
Machining Small-Batch, Complex Parts for Prototype Development
The client, who had worked with our team in the past, needed a precision machine shop that would be able to produce a series of complicated parts for a new prototype ordinance detection device. The parts were made of nickel-plated aluminum and glass-filled PEEK, an engineered plastic.
PEEK, or Polyetheretherketone, is widely considered to be the toughest, highest-performing plastic material available on the market. It is a high-performance thermoplastic that offers excellent thermal and chemical resistance. It is able to withstand shape operating temperatures up to 480º F without fatiguing. Glass-filled PEEK is Polyetheretherketone can be reinforced with glass fibers, reducing its expansion rate and further improving its stability at temperatures above 300º F.
Applications for Glass-Filled PEEK:
- Bearings
- Piston Components
- Ordinance Detection Devices
- Compressor Plate Valves
- Nuclear Power Plants
- Cable Insulation
The customer required a series of precision machined, very high-level parts. The tolerances for the parts were as tight as +/-.0005” and the process largely consisted of turning and milling operations only. Because the glass fill in the PEEK material is highly abrasive, our machinists would need to clean and dress the tooling frequently, in order to avoid damage to the wheel that could effect finishes and tolerances.
The client was very satisfied with the quality of the completed parts. This will be the first prototype assembled, and Lampin will be involved in the development process up to the point that a final design is approved for largescale manufacturing. To learn more about precision machining services for high-level components, contact the experts at Lampin, today.
