Skunk Works

The Lens of the Camera

Actually what you see here is a lens cap being machined in the lathe from black Delrin to fit the lens of my pocket camera.
Delrin is a crystalline plastic that offers an excellent balance of properties that bridge the gap between metals and plastics.
Delrin possesses high tensile strength, creep resistance and toughness. It also exhibits low moisture absorption.
These properties along with its fatigue endurance make Delrin ideal for the many antenna projects that I have used it in.

Delrin also takes on a nice finish, by using a cutter with the proper radius applied to the cutting surface. In this photo, I am using a boring-bar that accepts replaceable carbide insert cutters to machine the inside of the lens cap, All the various toolholders that I use in my lathe, use replaceable carbide inserts.

It goes without saying that machining Delrin does not need a carbide cutter, however I find the nose radius of the carbide inserts provides a nice finish to the Delrin.
Also required is to crank the spindle speed up, something that most homeshop machinists fail to do, regardless of the material they are machining, creating a rough surface finish.

When finished , this lens cap made from Delrin will be up to the task of protecting the lens on my pocket camera.

See the finish lens cap and why it was required here.....
http://www.jerryclement.ca/HamRadio/VE6AB-Technical/i-nppJqdn

spacer1