Five Axis CNC Machine Tool: Precision Machining of Carbon Fiber Composite Materials

Further CNC cutting and drilling of raw carbon fiber parts is necessary to meet the precision requirements or assembly needs. According to new material introductions, carbon fiber reinforced composite materials have complex internal interactions between the matrix and fibers during the processing, resulting in fiber pull-out or detachment of the matrix fiber. Furthermore, carbon fiber composite materials have high heat and wear resistance, which require high standards in equipment and process levels. Using carbon fiber CNC machining process as an example, subtle factors such as tool and drill forces, direction, time and temperature will have different effects on the appearance and performance of carbon fiber parts.

Carbon Fiber CNC Machining Finishing

Carbon fiber CNC machining is required for carbon fiber product production, including pre-impregnated material cutting, pre-impregnated material laying, machining of carbon fiber parts, carbon fiber part painting, and carbon fiber part inspection. Assembled parts also require multiple rounds of inspections, including verifying the size accuracy of critical hole positions, points, lines, faces and appearance standards such as clear lines, smooth surfaces, no disorderly lines, no burrs etc. Additionally, on-site testing of the samples is necessary to judge whether the part's performance can meet application requirements. Of course, the on-site testing phases usually occur during the proofing stage. Only when the proofing is qualified, can it enter the mass production stage.

In short, as the deepening application of carbon fiber parts in the industrial field, the application objects are also increasingly demanding high-performance levels of their carbon fiber parts.

Carbon Fiber CNC Machining Technology

The mechanical properties of carbon fiber composite materials are good, but their hardness is high and their brittleness is significant, making it a difficult material to process. Traditional twist drills are particularly prone to produce quality defects, such as delamination, tearing, burrs, etc. Currently, high-precision, high-efficiency OEM CNC machining is gradually replacing traditional twist drills.

Since carbon fiber composite materials have high hardness and are sensitive to cutting forces, electroplated superhard abrasive drill cutter can be used for drilling processing of carbon fiber composite materials. This type of drill has different particle size abrasives for the expanding and correcting sections, with coarse abrasive grains used for the expanding section to improve the surface quality of the bore walls and processing accuracy. The center of the drill bit is a through-hole with a waste-cutting groove in the end face, which is conducive to the removal of cutting chips.

During drilling, like traditional twist drills, the shear forces along the linear velocity direction can cause surface defects such as tearing and delamination in the surface of carbon fiber products. As the drill bit continues to penetrate, the expanding section of the drill bit also plays a certain role. Due to the tapering of the expanding section, a force perpendicular to the fiber can be formed on the carbon fiber composite material, which can effectively suppress the occurrence of defects such as tearing and delamination at the entrance of the bore. This new type of electroplated superhard abrasive cutting tool has great advantages in processing carbon fiber composite material products.

During the expansion process, due to the small machining allowance, the expanding section removes the defects generated by the front-end drilling of the drill bit while forming a good machining surface. When the drill bit penetrates near the outlet side of the carbon fiber composite material, the residual portion's load-bearing capacity is low. Under the axial force, defects such as delamination, cracks, and burrs are likely to occur. When the correcting section enters the cutting, since the machining allowance is very small at this point, the drill bit only functions to correct the surface while removing any remaining minor defects and rough surfaces. This process not only ensures a higher surface quality of the bore wall but also guarantees high machining accuracy around the bore.

As a leading CNC China company, Richconn provides quality custom CNC machining solutions with varied CNC machining materials, including carbon fiber composite materials. Feel free to contact us at any time for further info.