I am always looking for unique stock to mill on my CNC milling machines and routers.

I have been experimenting with polymer clay as a medium. The gear shown on the right was milled out of a 1/4" thick piece of cured polymer clay.

In this project, I will show you how I created the blanks.

What You Will Need

First, lets take a look at what you will need to create the blanks.

You can find a complete bill of materials with links here:

Bill of Materials

Polymer Clay Preparation

You will need to prepare and bake you blanks.  Instructions can be found here:

Clay Preparation

 

Milling the Plolymer Clay

See more here:

Milling Polymer Clay


The Results

Overall I am very happy with the results.  I tried several versions of Sculpey and FIMO clay.


Sculpey Original

Machines well but is a little too flexible for most gear work.  If you need a part with a little give, then this material will fit the bill.  It is also the cheapest. Another downside, this clay is only available in two colors.

Sculpey Premo

While this material cures a little harder than the original, it takes more time to condition as it starts out harder. It is also more expensive than the original Sculpey. I don't recommend this one.

Sculpey III

This one is available in many colors. Its easy to condition, and it machines well. It cures harder than the original and its cost is about the middle of the road.

Super Sculpey

This is one of the hardest once cured. It's perfect for mechanical parts. It's a little pricey, but Its worth it if you need to make a gear or similar part.

Sculpey Living Doll

This one is very similar to Super Sculpey.

FIMO Soft

About the same as Sculpey III


More Detail

I decided to take things to the next level and see what kind of detail I could get out of the clay.

More Detail

Conclusion

I am going to be be doing some more tests soon, I will post the results as soon as I complete them.