Composite Fiber Reinforced Plastic one-shoot drilling: Quality inspection assessment and tool wear evaluation

Abstract This work focuses on the analysis of Composite Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) drilling performed during the assembly of aeronautical components. One-shoot operations are desired to minimize positional errors, enhance tight tolerances and reduce process time. Also, it is usually included the countersinking cycle to maintain the aerodynamic shape of the component. Wear testing was carried out on test specimens representative of aeronautical materials and with cutting parameters similar to real production in order to increase composites drilling know-how and improve efficiency of the operations by extending the useful life of the tools.