CNC Machining Materials

  • ABS
  • Acrylic
  • Aluminum
  • Brass
  • Bronze
  • Cast Iron
  • Copper
  • Delrin
  • Garolite G-10
  • HDPE

ABS


ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) is an affordable thermoplastic that has become popular for pre-injection molding prototypes. It is a versatile material known for its strength, durability, and resistance to impact and heat. ABS plastic is widely used in the automotive and consumer electronics industries due to its excellent mechanical properties and ease of processing. Additionally, it can be easily modified with other additives to enhance specific properties such as flame retardancy or UV resistance.


Mill Lead Time：As fast as 3 days

Colors：Black, neutral matte finish


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Hobbing vs Wire EDM vs Sinker EDM


Hobbing



EDM



Sinker EDM


Tolerance level



ISO grade 6 to 12



ISO grade 7 to 12



ISO grade 8 to 12


Part size


Min: 1.0x1.0x0.3mm

Max :500x500x800mm



Min: 3.0x3.0x0.3mm

Max: 300x300x200mm



Min: 3.0x3.0x0.3mm

Max: 200x200x150mm


Top use cases


External gears



hExternal gears, shafts with gears, helical gears



Internal gears and features< which are not through hole, internal features requiring minimal fillets such as a hexagonal shaped cutouts in a part



Materials


All materials



All metals



All metals


Minimum fillet radius


n/a



0.05mm standard

0.01mm premium precision



0.05mm standard

0.01mm premium precision


Lead time



As fast as 12 days



As fast as 7 days



As fast as 7 days

About Electrical Discharge Machining

Hobbing is a machining process for cutting gear features on both metal and non-metal parts. The gear teeth (or splines) are progressively cut into a cylindrical piece of material by a series of cuts made by a cutting tool called a hob. Hobbing allows you to achieve various gear shapes and sizes such as spur gears, worm gears and bevel gears. Although gear hobbing can be used for prototyping small quantities, this process is best suited for higher volume production.

Our manufacturing partners have various hobbing tools in stock which allow for quick turnaround times. If a custom gear profile is desired that is not part of our standard hobbing tool library, customers can order custom hobbing tools to be built. If you want to create internal gear features, we offer Electrical Discharge Machining (wire and sinker), as internal gear features cannot be achieved with hobbing.

CNC Machining FAQs

Technical FAQs
What kinds of gears can JingYu make with gear hobbing?

Gear hobbing can be used to make external gears. There are multiple types of external gears, but gear hobbing can be used to make spur and worm gears.


What materials can JingYu cut with gear hobbing?

Any material, including plastic, can be used to make gears with the gear hobbing process.


What size gears can JingYu make using gear hobbing?

The maximum size for gear hobbing is 200 x 200mm (7.8 x 7.8in) with a 300mm (11.8in) thickness.


General FAQs
What is the difference between gear shaping and gear hobbing?

Gear hobbing is a widely used cutting process with great versatility, often used for creating gears and spurs. Hobs involve a cutter that rotates in sync with the workpiece that is being "hobbed."

Gear shaping is a cutting method that uses reciprocating action of the cutter to create the gear teeth in the blank . Shapers may cut one tooth at a time, whereas others make multiple passes to cut teeth with a rotating cutter.

Only shapers have the ability to cut internal gear teeth, whereas hobs can cut external spur and worm gears.


What is indexing in gear cutting?

Indexing in gear cutting is a method where the periphery of a cylindrical workpiece is divided into an equal number of parts with the assistance of an index crank and plate.

There are 4 indexing methods for cutting a gear:

Simple Indexing / Compound Indexing / Direct Indexing / Differential Indexing

How are internal gears made?

When manufacturing an internal gear the usual gear hobbing used in spur gear production cannot be used because of its shape. It is generally made using gear shaping that is equipped with a pinion cutter.


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