Investigation of CFRP cutting mechanism variation and the induced effects on cutting response and damage distribution

Machining of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) still remains a difficult procedure in the whole manufacturing process. One of the reasons is the cutting mechanism varies during machining, causing the inconsistency of surface integrity. This study intends to investigate the continuous variation of cutting mechanism and the induced cutting responses and damages. A novel experiment, with square and circular workpieces involved in cutting, was designed. A three-dimension micro-scale cutting simulation model was built. The experiment and simulation were combined to analyze the evolution and the correlation of cutting forces, machined surface roughness, sub-surface damage and the burr formation. The effects of rake angle and tool edge radius on chip formation and sub-surface damage were also presented. The conclusions are helpful to understand the damages generation during machining of CFRP.