The effect of fiber orientation on tool wear in edge-trimming of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) laminates

This paper investigates the impact of fiber orientation on tool wear when edge-trimming carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) with particular ply angles of 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees with 6.35 mm diameter tungsten carbide endmills at a constant feed of 0.3 m/min under two spindle speeds. The tool wear progress was examined qualitatively and quantitatively using the scanning electron microscopy and digital light microscopy at eight cutting distances between 0.25 and 8 m. The 45 degrees plies resulted in extensive flank wear while the 90 degrees plies yielded the worst edge radius rounding and worn area regardless of the rotational speed. Edge rounding is related to aggressive 2-body abrasion by the broken carbon fibers interacting with the cutting edge. The 0 degrees ply angle has the least amount of tool wear due to the minimal interactions between the carbon fibers and cutting edge with the delamination in the chip formation.