Whats the best prototyping material?

[LockTech]

I am looking for something to use to mill out parts in to verify function and fit before milling steel. I am thinking some type of plastic but wanted to see what others use?

Also what is your source for getting it?

Thanks

[Tormachmaster]

If you are just testing your ideas out I would say go with whatever you want to make it out of in the end simple you will know what you are going to get, if you make it out of another material and you love how it works when made out of something different it will be different. This is if you are modeling it up and checking fits from the cad software and you use "best practice" in mind for tolerances. This is my job sure it is a little more work then busting a piece of alum or plastic out but you have to turn right around and start over when you go with the material you want in the end anyway.

[LockTech]

I agree it will have differences for sure. Let me explain my situation. I have a small tabletop mill, so cutting steel is not really something I want to do more than I need to. And this particular project has approx a good 15-20 hours of milling time (on my mill cutting steel). The precise fit was not really the main goal of using plastic but more less to try to avoid the end resulting thought like" ahh, I should have done this like this instead of like that, so it would work better like this" which I tend to always have.

Plus it would have given me that part in approx an hour instead of a day.

[LeeWay]

Soft woods, wax and plastics are all decent things to mill on. If using coolant, turn it off for those. You will have varying degrees of goodness and badness with each. Depends on what you are doing as to which of those might be best. There are other things too.