The Effect of Carbon Fiber Types on Tool Wear During Edge Trimming of 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135° Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Laminates

Abstract

Although carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) materials are widely used in high-strength and low-weight applications such as aerospace, defense, and automotive industries, they are one of the difficult-to-machine materials due to extensive tool wear. This paper investigates the impact of carbon fiber types on tool wear in edge-trimming CFRPs, each with particular ply angle of 0°, 45°, 90°, or 135°, using uncoated tungsten carbide endmills at a high spindle speed of 6000 rpm and a constant feed of 0.0508 mm/rev. Three distinct types of carbon fiber tows, including T300 as standard modulus (SM), IM-7 as intermediate modulus (IM), and K13312 as high modulus (HM), have been vacuum infused into CFRP laminates and edge-trimmed to investigate wear characteristics. Three wear criteria measured are flank wear, edge rounding radii, and worn area. The results show that tool wear is influenced by carbon fiber properties, such as fiber tensile strength, tensile modulus, and fiber microstructure. Overall, Intermediate modulus carbon fibers with the highest tensile strength produced the largest tool wear due to brushing effects by abrasive carbon fibers. Out of four fiber directions, the largest tool wear was obtained from the 45° angle while the lowest tool wear occurred in the 0° angle.