An experimental study on milling of natural fiber (jute)- reinforced polymer composites

The interest in materials having natural, environmentally friendly, renewable and low density/cost is increasing day by day due to sanctions imposed to reduce the emission rates, especially the Kyoto Protocol. In recent years, the use of environmentally friendly composites by using natural fibers such as flax, jute and sisal has increased in engineering applications. Milling operation has frequently been an important method of machining which can achieve the desired dimensions and tolerances for the plate-shaped parts. In this study, the effects of cutting parameters such as cutting speed and feed rate on cutting force, delamination factor and surface roughness in end milling of jute fiber-reinforced polymer composite plates with different orientation angle (0 degrees/90 degrees, 30 degrees/-60 degrees and +/- 45 degrees) were examined by using the cemented carbide (WC) end mills (two, three and four number of flutes). Cutting force, deformation factor and surface roughness were found to be influenced by the feed rate and cutting speeds. In addition, increasing the number of the flutes of the cutting tools reduced the cutting force, delamination factor and surface roughness.