We machine PC windows, guards, manifolds and housings on 127 CNC machines, holding ±0.005 mm and Ra 0.8–1.6 μm. Send a drawing and we return a quote with DFM notes inside 12 hours.
PC machines cleanly when the setup is right. These are the four failures we see most often on the shop floor.
PC is notch-sensitive. A dull cutter or a feed rate that is too high leaves micro-cracks along the edge. A 20 mm thick window can crack from a 2 mm chip during assembly. We use polished carbide with positive rake and take light finishing passes to keep edges clear.
Extruded PC sheet carries internal stress. Machine away one side and the part curls. A 300 mm long bracket can move 0.3–0.5 mm overnight. Stress-relief annealing before and after cutting keeps flatness inside your drawing.
PC expands roughly 0.065 mm per meter per degree Celsius. A warm shop and a cold part measure differently. We control coolant temperature, let parts stabilize, and inspect at 20 °C so hole positions repeat from batch to batch.
PC is softer than aluminum. Bare handling, stacked parts and dry chips leave visible marks on optical surfaces. We bag parts individually, use protective film on windows, and keep air blow-off away from finished faces.
Three things decide whether a PC part meets print: stock selection, cutting strategy, and stress control.
Extruded PC is cheaper and fine for guards and covers. Cast PC has lower internal stress, better optical clarity and machines to a cleaner edge, so we recommend it for windows, lenses and any part that must stay flat over a long span.
Sheet arrives with residual stress from the extrusion line. Before the first cut we rough the part oversize, anneal it, then take a light finishing pass. This one step removes most of the movement that ruins flatness on a 300 mm part.
PC cuts like a soft, gummy metal. A sharp two or three flute carbide end mill with polished flutes clears chips instead of rubbing them. We run spindle speeds around 2,000–4,000 rpm and keep the chip load light so the cutter shears rather than tears.
Coolant choice matters. Compressed air or a mist removes heat without soaking the part. Flood coolant works too, but the chips must be flushed away, because PC swarf melts and welds onto the cutter if it recirculates.
Use this to decide whether PC is the right call before you send a drawing.
| Material | Impact strength | Machined clarity | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polycarbonate (PC) | Highest of common plastics | Good, not optical grade | Guards, windows, housings |
| PMMA (acrylic) | Brittle under sharp load | Excellent, polishes clear | Displays, light guides |
| PEEK | High, but costly | Opaque, tan color | High temp, chemical service |
| ABS | Moderate | Opaque, easy to machine | Enclosures, brackets |
| PA (nylon) | Tough, absorbs moisture | Opaque | Wear parts, gears |
One shop for the full part, from first prototype to production runs.
3-axis and 4-axis milling for covers, panels, manifolds and pockets. We rough, anneal and finish to hold flatness on long parts.
Bushings, spacers, rollers and threaded parts turned on lathes with soft jaws to avoid jaw marks on the surface.
16 simultaneous 5-axis centers cut contoured windows and angled features in one setup, cutting the number of re-clamps.
One-off and low-volume PC parts for fit checks. No minimum order, so a single window or housing is fine.
Bead blasting, tumbling, brushing and polishing. Laser marking with a minimum character height of 1.5 mm.
100% inspection before shipment with raw material checks, in-process monitoring and final reports on request.
Numbers from our process sheets, not marketing claims.
| Item | Capability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm | On critical features, PC stable after annealing |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2–0.8 μm fine | Ra 0.8–1.6 μm standard on PC |
| Maximum size | 4,000 mm | 4,000 × 400 × 150 mm travel |
| Rotary work | Ø400 mm table | For round and contoured PC parts |
| Lead time | 3–5 days | Production can start within 24 hours |
| Order size | One part to 10,000+ | No minimum order quantity |
Fifteen years of machining engineering plastics, backed by process control and inspection.
We have machined PC, PMMA, POM, PA, PEEK and ABS since 2011. The feeds, fixtures and annealing steps are already proven on the floor.
16 simultaneous 5-axis, 12 four-axis mills, 27 three-axis machines and 16 mill-turn centers. Plastic jobs do not wait behind metal work.
Stress relief plus temperature-controlled inspection lets us hold ±0.005 mm on critical PC features without chasing the part after the cut.
Raw material check, in-process monitoring and final inspection. Reports available when your quality file needs them.
Send a STEP file and drawing. You get pricing plus notes on wall thickness, corner radii and any feature that will crack.
ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, ISO 13485:2016 and ISO 27001:2022 cover industrial, automotive, medical and data security.
Industrial machinery needs impact resistance plus clear sight lines. We machine PC guards up to 4,000 mm and finish edges clean.
Medical work demands dimensional repeatability and clean surfaces. PC parts are inspected 100% and reports are available.
Automotive programs need stable flatness and traceable quality. Annealed PC parts hold shape through assembly.
Electronics parts need clean edges, accurate holes and no surface scratches. We bag each part and protect finished faces.
No. Machining leaves fine tool marks, so a cut PC surface is translucent, not optically clear. It can be sanded and polished to improve clarity, but it will not match molded optical parts.
If the part needs to see through with low distortion, use cast PC and plan a polishing step, or switch to PMMA, which polishes to a clearer finish but cracks more easily.
It depends on the part. Thin covers and short brackets usually hold shape without it. Long, flat parts and parts with a lot of material removed benefit most.
We rough oversize, anneal, then finish. On a 300 mm part this is the difference between staying flat and bowing 0.3–0.5 mm after a day or two.
We hold ±0.005 mm on critical PC features when the part is annealed and inspected at a controlled temperature. That is realistic on holes, bores and locating faces.
General non-critical dimensions are usually held to ±0.1 mm. Tight tolerance everywhere raises cost without adding function, so we flag where it matters.
Sharp tools, light finishing passes and no dwell in the cut. A dull cutter rubs and tears, and the micro-cracks grow later under load.
We also avoid sharp internal corners. A small radius at the corner spreads stress and cuts the chance of a crack during assembly.
For impact, yes. PC takes far more impact than acrylic and will not shatter the same way. For optical clarity, acrylic wins.
Machined windows in guards and machine doors are usually PC. Display covers and light guides are usually acrylic.
Both. Sheet covers plates, windows, panels and housings. Rod is used for bushings, spacers, rollers and threaded parts on the lathe.
Tell us the stock form on the drawing. It changes the fixture, the cut strategy and how much material we remove.
Yes. We check raw material on receipt and can supply mill certificates with the shipment. Inspection reports are available on request.
Every order gets raw material verification, in-process monitoring and a final inspection before it leaves the shop.
Quotation and free DFM analysis come back within 12 hours. Production can start within 24 hours of approval, and parts ship in 3–5 days.
Large PC windows and parts needing annealing take longer because of the ramp and cool cycles. We confirm timing when we quote.
Upload a STEP file and drawing. We review wall thickness, corners and fixturing, then return pricing with DFM notes. One prototype or 10,000 parts, the same process.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo minimum orderNDA on request
Trusted by engineers and manufacturers worldwide
Upload your 3D model or 2D drawing and get a quotation with a free DFM analysis. Maximum processing size 4,000 mm.
CNC Metals 13 grades
CNC Plastics 10 grades
Machines & processes 12 options
Surface & post-processing 10 options
Material: not selected Machine: not selected Post-process: not selected
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