Evaluation of the total cutting force in drilling of CFRP: a novel experimental method for the analysis of the cutting mechanism

The CFRP drilling process has not yet been fully mastered, which is due to the fact that it is not possible to measure all the cutting force components. In order to gain new insights into the drilling process, a novel experimental setup is being developed in order to record all cutting force components (cutting force, feed force, passive force). The results show that the force components are strongly dependent on the fiber cutting angle θ and the wear condition. Thereby, it will be possible to draw conclusions about the cutting mechanics in the drilling of unidirectional CFRP based on the transformation of the forces perpendicular and parallel to the fiber. © 2018, German Academic Society for Production Engineering (WGP).