Drilling of Glass Fiber/Vinyl Ester Composites with Fillers

The design requirements in various engineering applications have necessitated the development of novel materials. The Glass Fiber (GF)/vinyl ester composites are one such class of materials finding widespread application owing to their superior mechanical and chemical properties. The addition of fillers has further increased their application spectrum. Although these materials can be produced to a near-net shape, but still drilling of holes is necessary to ascertain the assembly of complex products. With an increase in demand, it becomes imperative to develop high quality cost effective technology for their manufacturing. The present research initiative is an attempt to experimentally investigate the drilling characteristics of GF/vinyl ester composites. The effect of drill geometry, the cutting speed and the feed rate has been found on the drilling forces and the surface roughness of the drilled hole wall. The relative significance of the various parameters has been found using ANOVA. The results of the experimental investigation bring out certain important facts in context of the drilling behavior of GF/vinyl ester composites filled with fillers.