Vibration Assisted Machining of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers

Carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) are essential for high performance sectors like the aerospace industry because of their high stiffness, tensile strength and special properties like corrosion resistance and low coefficient of thermal expansion. The most important facts, that reason the light weight potential, are the high specific mechanical properties. Also, the automotive and the mechanical engineering sector attempt to use the advantages of such composites in an economical way. Despite the fact that products made of such materials are produced in a near net shape manufacturing, reasons like assembling make a mechanical finishing like the production of bores and grooves necessary. This paper shows a possibility to reduce fraying, which is one of three major damage types while machining fibre reinforced polymers (FRP). Therefore vibration assisted machining is used. Especially the vibration characteristics like form, frequency and amplitude should be analysed to find out how they affect the fraying behaviour in milling and drilling processes with uncoated solid carbide tools (VHM). Frequencies up to 300 Hz and amplitudes up to 4 μm are used for the experiments. It is shown that this machining technology can improve the fraying behaviour.