The effect of fiber orientation on tool wear in edge-trimming of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) laminates

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of fiber orientation on tool wear when edge-trimming carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) with particular ply angles of 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135° with 6.35 mm diameter tungsten carbide end-mills at a constant feed of 0.3 m/min under two spindle speeds. The tool wear progress was examined qualitatively and quantitatively using the scanning electron microscopy and digital light microscopy at eight cutting distances between 0.25 and 8 m. The 45° plies resulted in extensive flank wear while the 90° plies yielded the worst edge radius rounding and worn area regardless of the rotational speed. Edge rounding is related to aggressive 2-body abrasion by the broken carbon fibers interacting with the cutting edge. The 0° ply angle has the least amount of tool wear due to the minimal interactions between the carbon fibers and cutting edge with the delamination in the chip formation.