Characterization of the dry high speed drilling process of woven composites using Machinability Maps approach

Damage to woven carbon fiber composites and high tool wear are the main challenges in drilling processes. The effect of speeds and feed rates on the damage mechanisms, namely, delamination, surface roughness, fiber pullout, thermal damage, hole circularity and hole diameter error were established using a newly introduced concept of Machinability Maps. Using an instrumented tool, the cutting temperature was measured. The results showed that the effect of tool wear on the quality maps can be established through the changes in the thrust and cutting forces. (C) 2009 CIRP.