Combined effects of various materials on tool wear in drilling of Ti/CFRP stacks

Abstract

Ti/CFRP stacks present the key function in the aviation field due to their excellent properties. However, both titanium alloy and CFRP are hard-to-cut materials and their requirements on cutting tool performance are significantly different. When drilling Ti/CFRP stacks using a compromised tool, tool wear is affected by two materials, resulting in extremely low tool life. This paper investigates the wear process of chisel edge and main cutting edge of carbide step drill bits in the drilling of Ti/CFRP stacks, titanium alloys and CFRP, and the combined effects of various materials on the tool wear are revealed. Based on the wear analysis, it is found that tool wear is more affected by the carbon fiber/Ti-adhesion interaction which makes the rake face more susceptible to occur adhesive wear and slows down the flank wear, and severe rake wear and flank wear have a sharpening effect on cutting edge. It also reveals the relationship between thrust force and tool wear, and results indicate that the variation of thrust force is related to the flank wear and the Ti-adhesion attached to chisel edge, but not to the edge rounding. The conclusions reported in this paper can provide guidance for structural optimization of long-life stacks cutting tools.