We machine PA nylon engineering plastic into functional parts: gears, bushings, insulators, wear pads. Dry or coolant-assisted cutting, annealed blanks, ±0.005 mm on critical features.
PA absorbs moisture from shop air and grows. A bore cut to nominal in the morning can close or open by the afternoon, and the mating pin no longer fits. We anneal and condition blanks before the finishing cut.
Nylon cuts into stringy chips that weld to the flutes, rub the finished wall and leave chatter marks. Tool geometry, feed and air blast have to be set for the grade, not copied from an aluminum program.
Unfilled PA moves with humidity and heat, so a 0.01 mm callout on a 120 mm length is a fight you lose. State which features carry the load, and we will tell you what is repeatable.
A mirror polish on a wear pad holds no oil and scuffs fast. For sliding contact we leave a controlled as-machined texture instead. Cosmetic faces get the fine cut.
Grade selection, stock conditioning and tooling set the result before the first cut.
PA 6, PA 66 and PA 6/66 behave differently at the spindle. Unfilled grades cut clean and hold impact strength, but they move with moisture. Glass-filled grades add stiffness and creep resistance, and they wear the tool edge about as fast as mild steel.
Extruded plate and rod arrive with internal stress. We rough, anneal, then take the finishing passes so the part does not bow after it leaves the machine. Wall thickness and gate location on the original molding also decide how much stock we can safely remove.
Nylon does not break a chip. It pulls a string that wraps the cutter, packs the flutes and rubs the wall you just finished. Sharp positive geometry, high rake and a strong air blast clear the cut. Where the grade tolerates it, a light coolant stream helps heat leave the zone.
Heat is the other limit. A dull edge smears the surface instead of cutting it, and the smeared layer reads as a rough finish on the CMM. We hold Ra 0.8–1.6 μm on sealing faces and leave Ra 1.6–3.2 μm on sliding surfaces where texture helps.
What the part has to survive decides the grade, not the other way around.
| Grade | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| PA 6 unfilled | Bushings, wear pads, insulators | Moisture growth, lower stiffness |
| PA 66 unfilled | Gears, rollers, brackets | Higher melt point, still absorbs water |
| 30% glass-filled PA | Structural brackets, housings | Abrasive to tooling, lower impact |
| MoS2-filled PA | Cams, slides, low-friction parts | Limited color options, harder to bond |
| PA 6/66 copolymer | Parts that see warm, wet cycles | Slightly higher cost per kg |
| Cast PA (MC nylon) | Large, thick-section wear parts | Thicker stock, longer lead time |
Complex contours, undercuts and angled holes on nylon and metal parts in one setup.
Prismatic and turned nylon parts, mill-turn work for parts that need both.
Machined PA prototypes that behave like the production part, not a stand-in resin.
Bead blasting, tumbling, brushing and polishing tuned for plastics.
Frames, brackets and enclosures to pair with your plastic components.
Bridges and fit checks before the machined nylon parts are released.
Numbers our scheduling team works from.
| Item | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Max part size | 4,000 mm | Larger travels on 3-axis platforms |
| Tolerance | ±0.005 mm | On features that support it |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2–0.8 μm | Fine finish on request |
| 5-axis centers | 16 | Simultaneous, one setup |
| Mill-turn centers | 16 | Turned and milled features |
| Inspection | 100% | Raw material to final check |
Fifteen years of machining engineering plastics on the same floor as metal work.
Held on features that support it, verified on the CMM before the run closes.
Drawing feedback inside 12 hours, with grade and feature advice you can act on.
One prototype or a 10,000+ part run, on the same process sheet.
Reports available on request, with the measurement method noted.
Parts ship in 3–5 days once the process and material are set.
Under-hood brackets, clips and insulator bodies. The requirement is vibration and heat resistance, and we hold wall thickness and hole position through the run.
Wear pads, guide rollers and feed components. The requirement is low friction and long service, and we leave the surface texture that holds up in sliding contact.
Insulator sleeves, spacers and connector bodies. The requirement is dielectric strength and flatness, and we machine dry where moisture control matters.
Gripper jaws, cam followers and pivot bushings. The requirement is repeatable fit across a batch, and we hold bore size after conditioning the blanks.
Start with unfilled PA 6 or PA 66 if the load is moderate and the part runs dry. They give low friction and good impact.
Add glass fill only when stiffness or creep resistance is the limiting factor. The fill raises friction against a metal shaft and speeds up tool wear, so the bore finish changes too.
Unfilled PA takes up moisture until it reaches equilibrium with the air around it. A part machined dry and measured immediately will not match the same part after a week on a shelf.
We anneal the blank, take the finishing cuts after stress relief, and note on the report whether dimensions were taken dry or after conditioning. Tell us the service environment and we plan around it.
Yes, on features that support it, such as a bore with a solid wall and a short length. Long thin sections and large flat faces are a different problem.
Glass fill reduces thermal movement, which helps. The limit is usually the part, not the machine, so we flag the features that will not repeat before the run starts.
Ra 0.8–1.6 μm on sealing faces and Ra 1.6–3.2 μm on sliding surfaces. A fine cosmetic finish is available on request.
A polished wall on a wear part often performs worse than a controlled texture, because it holds no lubricant. We match the finish to the function rather than to a default callout.
Yes. Cast PA comes in thicker sections and machines well for large wear parts, though the blank costs more and takes longer to source.
For most parts under 100 mm we stay with extruded rod or plate. Tell us the section thickness and we will say which stock makes sense.
A 2D drawing with tolerances, a 3D model if you have one, the grade or the service conditions, and the quantity. That is enough for a DFM review.
If the grade is open, describe the load, the temperature and whether the part runs wet or dry. We will suggest a grade and note the trade-offs.
Yes, and it is common. We check draft angles, wall thickness and gate locations to see how much stock the part needs.
Some features that mold cleanly are hard to cut, and the reverse is also true. We mark those on the DFM sheet so you can decide before the mold is cut.
Uploads stay confidential, and we sign an NDA on request before any file changes hands. Files are not shared outside the job.
Access is limited to the engineers and machinists who need the drawing to make the part.
Upload the drawing and we will come back with a grade recommendation, a DFM note and a price.
12-hour quote100% inspectionNo minimum order
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
