CFRP’s high elastic modulus makes it highly abrasive, causing challenges in tool wear and tool life that must be addressed. For example, while milling typical metals, clean chips are formed and ejected. But milling carbon fiber is like sanding, where material is removed in the form of dust particles.

In metal machining, the tool cuts away at material, forming chips. This is possible due to the formation of the metal having natural fracture and stress lines that can be wedged by the cutting tool to create a chip. Unlike metals, machining carbon fiber does not peel away material but rather fracture and break the fibers and resin.

As we innovate with new technology, it is important to consider its impact on our planet. Carbon fiber is an amazing material that can improve many aspects across industries; however, the waste generated is not going anywhere but a landfill. Many companies are investing in producing high-quality recycled carbon fiber. With a shift in focus to designing closed-loop systems for composite materials, the future looks bright.

Key Benefits: Eliminating the risk of material wrapping around the spindle by disintegrating them as they approach the face of the slicer.

To address the limitations of traditional honeycomb core finishing tools when cutting knife edge features, CoreHog offers Free Cutting Finishing Core Tools. The innovative design reduces tool pressure seen in both the Coreslicer and CoreHogger. The Free Cutting Coreslicer features a more acute and sharper angle, reducing the upward pressure exerted on the part during cutting.

Solvolysis uses a chemical solvent to break down the polymer encasing the carbon fiber cloth. The waste carbon fiber is shredded into smaller pieces, increasing the surface area. The solvent, chosen based on the polymers used in the carbon fiber, breaks down the polymer chains, separating the carbon fiber from the polymer. Techniques like centrifugation are used to separate the substances. The carbon fiber can be further purified to restore its properties and then combined with virgin fibers to create new fabric or used by itself. This process enables the recovery of carbon fiber without sacrificing material properties.

Conversely, compression cutters are designed with both up and down-cut flutes. The top portion of the length of cut, closest to the shank, has a left hand spiral, forcing chips down. The bottom portion of the length of cut, closest to the end, has a right hand spiral, forcing chips up. When cutting, the opposing flute directions generate counteracting up-cut and down-cut forces. The opposing cutting forces stabilize the material removal, which compresses the composite layers, combatting delamination on the top and bottom of a workpiece (Figure 2).

A material is classified as a composite if it is made up of at least two unique constituents that when combined yield beneficial physical and mechanical properties for a number of different applications. A binding agent that is the matrix material is filled with either particles or fibers of a second material that act as reinforcements. The combination of strength, weight, and rigidity make composites extremely useful for the automotive, aerospace, and power generation industry. Often the matrix material of particulate-reinforced composites is some form of plastic, and the reinforcement material is either glass or carbon particles. These are sometimes called “filled plastics,” and are typically very abrasive materials. Many composites are layered with varying fiber orientations, which increase the strength of the material and are called fiber-reinforced composites.

Designed to vastly reduce cycle times while finishing honeycomb core materials, this assembly style tooling removes large volumes of material quickly, while providing excellent surface finish and keeping tool pressure and heat low.

Composite materials are being increasingly utilized in today’s manufacturing world for their impressive strength to weight ratio. This growth has stimulated innovative techniques of cutting composites seen in the tool choices above. Harvey Tool’s variety of geometries helps any machine shop tackle composite cutting applications and will continue to offer groundbreaking solutions to these types of manufacturing problems.

In conclusion, choosing the right cutting tool is crucial for achieving precise results in composite manufacturing. While traditional finishing core tools excel in handling substantial tasks, they may pose challenges when cutting angled profiles in honeycomb core materials. CoreHog’s Free Cutting Core Finishing Tools offer a solution by minimizing pressure on the part, making them ideal for chamfering, beveling, and most other angled profiles. However, in finicky applications where the knife edge part is extremely shallow, a Valve Stem Cutter may still be necessary to achieve your desired cut. By understanding your specific cutting requirements, you can select the most suitable tool for your application, ensuring optimal results in your honeycomb manufacturing processes.

Howtogrindcarbon fiber

Due to carbon fiber’s abrasion on the cutting tools, a rapid decrease in cutting quality will occur as soon as the tool begins to dull. Fibers will be grabbed instead of fractured, causing fraying and damage to the part. Therefore, tool life should be vigilantly monitored to replace the tool before reaching the point of dullness.

The two options for dust extraction are using coolant (wet) or vacuuming (dry). Choosing between the two is dependent on the application, but mostly dictated by the size of the application. Smaller scale machining can be contained through vacuuming, but larger applications would require coolant as vacuuming a large area may be challenging. If a lot of heat will be generated, then it is necessary to have a water-soluble coolant. This would also benefit the use of diamond tooling as they will wear faster at lower temperatures in comparison to carbide tooling. Another would be the dust collection would remain contained with the liquid preventing any airborne exposure.

Tooling material type (substrate) and geometry both determine the quality of cutting the carbon fiber and durability of the tool.

Abrasion is a large issue in carbon fiber machining as it is responsible for poor tool life and dullness of the tool that can cause a part to be scrapped. As soon as a tool begins to dull, it will cause poor part finish and increase the chances of delamination and fraying.

Sign up to receive a monthly recap of: – The latest machining solutions – Machining tips and tricks – A recap of our most popular posts

Can you screw intocarbon fiber

In the aerospace industry, carbon fiber is used in plane structures to replace alloys, creating lighter planes and thus, reducing fuel consumption. Recreational sports also utilize carbon fiber to decrease weight. It is often seen as a leading material in skis, bikes, and tennis rackets, as the lighter weight can help improve performance. In professional sports leagues like Formula 1 and NASCAR, carbon fiber has grown in prevalence in recent years. Another advantageous quality of carbon fiber is its suitability in X-ray machines, allowing imaging to pass through without interruption, making it useful in many medical devices and implants.

Diamond Cut Composite Cutters come in two different geometries: End Mill Style and Drill Mill Style. Although the end mill style tool is center cutting, the drill mill style has a 140° point angle, making it more suitable for plunge cutting. This is great for clearing out pockets in the middle of composite sheets.

Solid Carbide Dagger Type Drill Bits

Key Benefits: This Medium Size Finishing Tool offering includes both carbide and high speed steel options. The carbide version is uncoated, whereas the high speed steel version is TiCN coated for extended tool life and improved wear resistance.

Machining Carbon Fiber can be challenging. The layered structure of the carbon fiber material can lead to delamination, uncut fibers, fiber tear-out, uneven tool wear, and poor surface finishes. Luckily, many cutting tool companies, like CoreHog, specially design tooling with different geometries that can help eliminate these manufacturing problems:

CoreHog’s offering of Assembly Style Tooling includes Small Size, Medium Size, and Large Size Finishing Core Tools, as well as Valve Stem Cutters and Rebating Cutters. The way in which each system is built varies by tool type.

Harvey Performance Company brand CoreHog, which focuses on the manufacturing of the world’s most advanced composite and honeycomb core cutting tools, fully stocks an array of “Assembly Style Cutting Tools,” which allow a machinist to build the perfect solution for their specific application’s needs. In doing so, a cutting tool can be optimized for specific materials, densities, and manufacturing styles to increase efficiency, decrease costs, and provide unbelievable machining flexibility.

Unlike metal machining where tools may be utilized until they show signs of wear, this method would be unideal for CFRP as the highly expensive part could be ruined or damaged causing scrapping costs and time. It is good practice to take preventative measures by taking note of typical wear of your tools and using that information to set tool changes before it dulls. Noting tool changes and having high interval checks on cutting and dimension quality will aid in avoiding poor finish or scrapping. Some machines are equipped with tool life management systems which will greatly reduce the chances of having to scrap a part because of tool dullness.

The diamond cut tools have a higher flute count, which some may intuitively think would lead to a better finish, but this is not the case as this line of tools contains right-hand and left-hand teeth. There is a trade-off between an increased ability to shear fibers and leaving a poorer finish. The chipbreaker style tool, although not as effective as shearing fibers, is ultimately designed for the same purpose but leaves a better finish as all of the flutes are facing the same direction.

Delamination occurs when high drilling forces cause laminated layers to separate, yielding less structurally-sound parts. The more blunt a drill point is, the more force it will take to move through a part, increasing the chance of delamination.

No composition of CFRP is made the same, meaning that operating parameters can vary. There is no one-solution-fits-all for every application, as it is often found to be less predictable than metals due to its varying properties. These varying components includes the fiber type, fiber density, resin type, layup orientations, thickness, matrix hardness, and heat sensitivity, which all must be taken into consideration.

CFRP drill bits

Precision cutting plays a pivotal role in the manufacturing of honeycomb core. CoreHog, a leading provider of composite cutting solutions, offers two distinct styles of Finishing Core Tools: Traditional Finishing Core Tools and Free Cutting Tools. In this post, we explore the advantages and limitations of both Traditional Finishing Core Tools and Free Cutting Core Tools, helping you determine the right choice for your unique manufacturing needs.

Designed for finishing honeycomb core materials, this assembly style CNC tooling is engineered for shaping smaller complex surfaces, bevels, and external radii. For this configuration, a Medium CoreHogger and a Medium Coreslicer must be utilized and fastened with a screw. Similar to the Small Finishing Core Tool options, this assembly can be used with a Smooth, Sawtooth, or Staggered Tooth Coreslicer edge.

Rather than leaving uncut fibers hanging on to a workpiece, dull tools can also grab fibers and tear them out of the material altogether. This can leave voids in your material and cause damage to even greater areas of the workpiece.

Drilling in composite materials is a unique challenge. There are a wide variety of regularly machined composites, each requiring different considerations and approaches. Overcome common composite holemaking problems by identifying and selecting the right tool for your job.

Pyrolytic utilizes heat to break down the polymer encasing the carbon fiber cloth. The waste carbon fiber is shredded into smaller pieces and then heated in a controlled environment with limited or no oxygen. At high temperatures, the polymer undergoes thermal decomposition, producing gases, vapors, and char. The gases and vapors can be used as an energy source or further processed, while the char, which is carbon fiber and any original additives, is purified to ensure mechanical properties are maintained. The resulting carbon fiber can be used alone or combined with virgin fibers. Pyrolysis is effective for high-quality fiber recovery and energy recovery from gas byproducts.

Different from CoreHog’s Finishing Core Tools, Valve Stem Cutters are assembly tooling engineered for machining honeycomb core materials and finishing thin features, such as bevels and knife edge parts. To build a Valve Stem Cutter, utilize an Arbor, a Valve Stem Slicer, and a screw to fasten the two together. Similar to Small and Medium Finishing Core Tools, the Valve Stem Slicer can feature a Smooth, Sawtooth, or Staggered Tooth edge profile.

When machining CFRP, the suggested running parameters are to have a high RPM with low feed rates. Feed rates will need to be adjusted to account for heat minimization, while RPMs may need to be dialed back to prevent excessive fraying, tearing, or splitting of fibers when cutting.

Tear-out can be more difficult to spot than uncut fibers. However, it is often seen as an area of material completely removed around the edge of a hole.

Key Benefits: The complex geometry of Sandwich Panel Cutters – Arbors helps to reduce tearing, flagging, and fuzz, while providing a rebated area to allow for edge filling or fasteners, later on.

CoreHog’s Free Cutting Core Finishing Tools are particularly well-suited for applications involving chamfering, beveling, and cutting angled profiles in honeycomb core materials. By reducing pressure and preventing lifting on the part, these tools ensure precise cuts without compromising part quality.

Key Benefits: The Stem design of CoreHog’s Valve Stem Arbors is optimized for free flowing applications, eliminating grabbing when machining Honeycomb Core Materials.

Machinists may opt to use a Modular Rebating Tool if they are aiming to reduce setup, minimize cost per cutter, and obtain flexibility with varying sandwich panel configurations. For this configuration, an Arbor connects to a Core Insert, Skin Insert, and is fastened with a screw. Here, the Arbor, which features a .500” shank diameter and a 3” overall length, can be paired with multiple sizes of Core Inserts. As of September 2022, CoreHog’s offering of Core Inserts range in diameter from .875” to 1”, with a length of cut spanning from .160” to .312”. All Inserts feature TiAlN coating, which provides high hardness and high temperature resistance. Finally, the Skin Insert features a ½” diameter, and provides a machinist with the option of DLC or CVD Coating. While DLC coating provides optimal performance, true crystalline CVD diamond coating works to significantly extend tool life.

For help mitigating the challenges of composite holemaking, read Overcoming Composite Holemaking Challenges and browse CoreHog’s offering of drills, specially engineered to mitigate all-too-common holemaking headaches. To achieve better finish and avoid delamination, it is recommended to utilize conventional milling over climb milling within composites contrary to what is recommended in metal machining.

In comparison to the cost of the part to be machined, the tool may be a fraction of the cost, making it worth spending the extra money to prevent greater costs that come with scrapping the part. Composite cutting tool manufacturer, CoreHog, stocks an array of PCD Diamond End Mills in Square and Ball Nose profiles.

Having a set process that is consistent and reliable is important in helping to prevent scrapping. Eliminating human error with machines that can monitor the entire process while automating tool changes when tools are worn, avoids issues before they can happen. A key factor is ensuring the setup is correct, having the right tooling, tool path, and coolant option to perform the operation effectively and accurately. With some parts serving critical functions and with a high cost, there is no exception for poor finish or incorrect cuts emphasizing the importance of having a procedure that gets the job done the right way.

Carbon fiber is a woven cloth made of crystalline filaments of carbon cured with a polymer, which can be layered and shaped around a mold. It is an ideal material due to its impressive strength-to-weight ratio , meaning it’s very strong, but not heavy. Carbon fiber is five times lighter than steel with an equal elastic modulus, making it a better choice for many applications. Further, it is corrosion-resistant, non-flammable, and non-toxic, properties that make it an ideal material to use in aerospace, medical, construction, and military industries.

www.harveytool.com www.helicaltool.com www.micro100.com www.titancuttingtools.com www.corehog.com www.valorholemaking.com

Harvey Tool’s Double Angle Composite Drills help combat delamination and push-out in layered composite materials with specialized point geometry. The primary 130° point angle allows the drill to efficiently engage laminated composites without lifting the top layer of material. The shallower secondary 60° point angle reduces the amount of force required to move the drill through the material, further reducing the probability of delamination. The higher shear angle also aids in reducing push-out at the back of the workpiece by more gradually breaking through the part.

Uncut fibers are largely caused by dull tooling. If a drill’s cutting edge is not sharp enough, fibers will remain uncut, frayed, or splintered, potentially ruining the part.

The separation of layers may be difficult to identify through visible scrutiny. Closely inspecting and testing the hole quality is ideal when looking for delamination.

Harvey Tool’s new Composite Drills are engineered with point geometry optimized for fibrous and layered composite materials. Each design is specifically built to overcome common composite drilling challenges and achieve excellent results.

CoreHog’s Finishing Core Tools are designed to handle substantial cutting tasks, efficiently. With three size ranges available, they excel at removing high volumes of material and boast excellent tool life, making them ideal for production applications.

Carbide drill bits forcarbon fiber

Carbon fiber sheets require a significant amount of energy to produce. These large sheets are then cut down to the part size needed, and the excess material is often discarded, increasing waste production. This material is not biodegradable and is typically sent to a landfill where it will remain permanently. Further complicating recycling, carbon fiber is built to hold its shape and strength and cannot be melted down and reshaped like many plastics. When recycled, its properties are heavily degraded, rendering it useless for applications that experience heavy forces or loads.

CoreHog’s Assembly Style Tooling works by taking multiple pieces and tool components, and assembling them together to create one finished cutting tool. The concept of assembling a completed tool allows machinists greater flexibility in choosing cutting edges that are best suited for their application or material type. Further, this type of tooling is often utilized by machinists because it’s often a less expensive alternative to solid round, non-assembled tooling, as a machinist would only need to replace the cutting end components when they begin to dull, and not the arbors or shank pieces.

Dagger drill bit

Being that chips are not formed when machining CFRP, and instead, the material is fractured, it creates dust that can spread throughout the air and other surfaces. Not only does this cause hazardous conditions for anyone nearby who may inhale the dust, but the dust is also conductive, which can ruin electronics. To avoid these issues, two different extraction methods can be used depending on the needs of the application.

Harvey Tool’s Brad Point Composite Drills are designed specifically for superior performance in fibrous materials. The trident-like brad point ensures that holes in fiber filled and reinforced materials come out clear and free of fraying. The outer points accurately score the outer diameter of drilled holes, eliminating uncut fibers, tear-out, and splintering.

Something as simple as choosing a tool suited to a specific composite material can have significant effects on the quality of the final part. Consider utilizing tools optimized for different composites and operations or learn how to select the right drill for composite holemaking.

Harvey Tool’s Miniature High Performance Composite Drills are specifically designed with point geometry optimized for the unique properties of composite materials. Our Double Angle style is engineered to overcome common problems in layered composites and our Brad Point style is built to avoid the issues frequently experienced in fibrous composites.

However, these tools may pose limitations in specific applications. Traditional tools exert tool pressure, but depending on the tool geometry and part profile, the pressure may be too much for the part. This becomes more pronounced when cutting knife edge features such as chamfers and bevels, where the pressure exerted by the tool can cause the part to arch, dislodging it from the table, and ultimately causing it to deviate from specifications.

Both the end mill and drill mill style share the same downcut geometry on the outside diameter. This diamond cut tool receives its name from the combination of left-hand and right-hand teeth. The tool is predominantly a downcut style – a geometry that allows for these tools to effectively rough and profile high fiber reinforced or filled composites, breaking up chips and shearing through fibers.

While composites such as G10 and FR4 are considered “fibrous”, composites can also be “layered,” such as laminated sheets of PEEK and aluminum. Layered composites are vulnerable to delamination, when the layers of the material are separated by a tool’s cutting forces. This yields less structurally sound parts, defeating the purpose of the combined material properties in the first place. In many cases, a single delaminated hole can result in a scrapped part.

These problems are all caused by unique conditions created by composite materials, and can be very tricky to correct.  The simple fact of cutting a combination of multiple materials at the same time introduces many factors that make it difficult to strike the right balance of the proper tool for the job and appropriate running parameters.  The following tool styles provide solutions for a wide array of composite concerns.  Composite Drilling Applications can face the same issues, and proper drill choice can help as well.

While every part is different, there is a method for reducing fraying, chipping, or delamination by cutting parallel to the fiber direction when possible. This can be like cutting along the grain of wood instead of cutting perpendicular or at an angle to the grain.

The use of coolant when machining CFRP can either benefit or negatively affect the part depending on the application. The preferred coolant of choice for machining carbon fiber is typically using water or a water-soluble coolant. This is due to composites having a porous surface that could allow contaminates to enter the part itself. By using water, it prevents any issues after machining where adhesives or paint may need to be applied to the part that otherwise would not have adhered properly with contaminates present.

The Chipbreaker Cutter is ideally suited for roughing and profiling composites with a high percentage of fiber fill. The notch-like chipbreakers shear fibers and shorten chips for improved material evacuation. This specialized geometry is great for keeping chips small and avoiding “nesting” of stringy fibrous chips around the cutter.

CFRP has a high resistance to being deformed without permanent effects (elastic modulus), resistance to tension, low thermal conductivity, and low thermal expansion. While many of these properties are ideal for many applications, there are unique effects that must be considered when machining.

When selecting a tool to machine CFRP materials, it is essential to opt for a tool that is strong, sharp, and resistant to the abrasive properties that CFRP holds. Many machinists opt for solid carbide cutters with diamond coatings such as DLC, CVD, or PCD, as they provide the tooling with increased tool life and improved cutting action. These tools provide added hardness and abrasion resistance to combat the effects of machining CFRP.

Large Finishing Core Tools require a slightly more complex configuration. This type of modular tool features an Arbor, which includes a washer and screw; Large CoreHogger; and Large Coreslicer. For this assembly, four types of Coreslicer edge options are available: Smooth, Sawtooth, Staggered Tooth, or Wavy. Wavy style options are best utilized in heavier density types of Kevlar®, Nomex®, and Aluminum Core, and are engineered to be useful when machining parts that contain bond lines.

While PCD diamond tools are considerably higher in price than other diamond coated tooling options, they provide the longest tool life and performance against abrasion and tool wear. Often, they are more cost effective in the long run due to their longevity, when compared to cheaper options that only save money in the short term.

Composite materials, especially those with glass or carbon fiber, can be particularly abrasive and have a tendency to wear down the cutting edge of carbide tools. If one is looking to achieve the best tool life and maintain a sharp cutting edge, then choosing an Amorphous Diamond coated tool is the best option. This thin coating improves lubricity and wear resistance over its uncoated counterpart. Using a tool with CVD diamond coating can be very beneficial in extreme cases, when fiber fill percentage is very large. This is a true diamond coating, and offers the best abrasion resistance, but a slightly less sharp cutting edge as it is a thicker coating. PCD diamond tooling offers the best tool life. If it a solid diamond wafer brazed to a carbide shank, and can maintain the sharpest edge of any diamond tooling. However, PCD is limited to straight flutes, and can come at a higher price.

Composite holemaking or drilling is found to be more challenging than milling carbon fiber. It generates more dust due to the drilling speed. Using specific tooling for composites will be crucial in effective drilling. When machining holes, the carbon fiber will relax, creating undersized holes which requires extensive adjustments that are best automated for efficiency.

Unfortunately, composite materials present some unique challenges to machinists. Many composites are very abrasive and can severely reduce tool life, while others can melt and burn if heat generation is not properly controlled. Even if these potential problems are avoided, the wrong tool can leave the part with other quality issues, including delamination.

Composites are a group of materials made up of at least two unique constituents that, when combined, produce mechanical and physical properties favorable for a wide array of applications. These materials usually contain a binding ingredient, known as a matrix, filled with particles or fibers called reinforcements. Composites have become increasingly popular in the Aerospace, Automotive, and Sporting Goods industries because they can combine the strength of metal, the light weight of plastic, and the rigidity of ceramics.

The geometry of a tool also plays a vital role in its machining capabilities of CFRP. There are many different geometry solutions, depending on your application, with different flutes, angle of cut approach, and profile. Corehog’s selection of CFRP Router Bits offer a great solution to your various CFRP needs.

Having high interval checks to monitor cutting and dimension quality to catch any errors before they may be irreversible is one way address CFRP machining issues. Another method to tackle CFRP would be through picking the right tool for the application.

Carbon fiberdrill bit

The Compression Cutter consists of an up cut and down cut helix. The top portion of the length of cut has right-hand cutting teeth with a left-hand spiral. The lower portion of the length of cut has right-hand cutting teeth with a right-hand spiral. This creates opposing cutting forces to stabilize the material removal process when cutting layered composites to prevent delamination, fiber pullout, and burs along the surface. Compression of the top and bottom of the workpiece keeps the layered bonded together.

Typically, in metal machining, most of the heat is transferred into the chips with a fraction of the heat into the part and workpiece. Due to CFRP’s low thermal conductivity and no chips formed to dissipate the heat, most of the heat is transferred to the tool and part. This heat is unideal, as it will cause more tool wear and potentially cause damage, resulting in delamination.

With CFRP’s wide range of uses and desirable mechanical properties for its applications, comes the effect of its challenges in machining and high cost of scrapping. Refining this process will be essential for the growing demand of carbon fiber machining in the near future. For more information on CFRP, specifically related to material properties and tool selection, read In the Loupe’s complementary post “Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP): Material Properties & Tool Selection”.

Cuttingcarbon fiber

One benefit of vacuuming over coolant is the disposal process. After machining, the coolant/dust mix would require post-treatment to remove excess water before being transferred to a landfill. This would incur additional costs to the process which may cause some to lean towards vacuuming if heat is not an issue.

Further, these tools feature a CoreHogger with a reduced diameter, allowing for greater offset between the CoreHogger and Coreslicer. This allows the Coreslicer to be more forward and free cutting, engaging with the material prior to the CoreHogger and reducing the resulting pressure typically exhibited by the CoreHogger.

Within the aerospace industry, drilling is the most common application in machining. Like milling, performing operations such as pecking may be preferred even with increased cycle time if it reduces any chances of error that result in scrapping of the part.

Many composite parts are unique in shape and size with custom molded designs that create a large initial cost prior to the machining stage. After the part is molded near to its shape, machining is often used to finish the part or drill holes where needed to finalize the part.

Since compression cutters do not pull up or press down on a workpiece, they leave an excellent finish on layered composites and lightweight materials like plywood. It is important to note, however, that compression cutters are suited specifically to profiling, as the benefits of the up and down-cut geometry are not utilized in slotting or plunging operations.

Composite materials are generally machined with standard metal cutting end mills, which generate exclusively up or down cutting forces, depending on if they have right or left hand flute geometry. These uni-directional forces cause delamination (Figure 1).

Key Benefits: The Arbors in this configuration are heat treated and finish ground for extremely tight tolerances in runout, concentricity, and perpendicularity. With tighter tolerances, harmonics are minimized while longer tool life and better part finish are observed.

The Composite Finisher has optimized geometry for finishing in composite. A slow helix and high flute count for more contact points ultimately renders a smooth finish by minimizing fraying of fiber-reinforced and layered materials.

Optimized to machine small, closed features in composites, such as pockets, joggles, and closed walls, Small Size Finishing Tools are engineered for the superior finishing of honeycomb core materials. This configuration includes a Small Coreslicer with three different edge options: Smooth, Sawtooth, or Staggered Tooth, and an optional Small CoreHogger. The right edge style for the Coreslicer depends largely on the material you’re working in. While a Smooth edge style works well in lighter density honeycomb core materials such as Kevlar®, Nomex®, and Aluminum, Sawtooth and Staggered Tooth options work best for honeycomb core materials with densities of 6 pounds or higher, such as aluminum core, Kevlar®, or Nomex®.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) is composed of carbon fibers, bound with resin, to create a groundbreaking material that has proven to have limitless application possibilities in a wide range of composite cutting industries. Due to its attractive properties of strength, durability, corrosion resistance, and its lightweight nature, there has been a rising utilization of carbon fiber in the aerospace and automotive industries. However, it does not come without its own set of challenges in comparison to typical metal machining.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) is a collection of carbon fibers that, when bound together via resin, creates a material with a wide range of application possibilities. It’s strong, durable, and resistant to corrosion, making it an advantageous material for use in several advanced industries, including the aerospace and automotive industries. Despite its unique abilities, however, machining CFRP is not without its set of challenges, all of which machinists must be cognizant of to achieve desired results. Once CFRP is properly understood and the right cutting tool is selected for the job, the next step is to properly set running parameters for your application.

Straight Flute Composite Cutters are designed to prevent delamination of layered materials by applying all cutting forces radially, eliminating axial forces from a typical helical cutting edge. Cutting action is improved with a high positive rake angle for shearing fibers and eccentric relief for improved edge life. Shallow ramping operations can be performed with this tool, but the largest benefits are seen in peripheral milling applications.