Hagino, M. and Inoue, T.

Paper:

Effect of Carbon Fiber Orientation and Helix Angle on

CFRP Cutting Characteristics by End-Milling
Masahiro Hagino and Takashi Inoue
Department of Material and Environmental Engineering, Daido University
10-3 Takiharu-cho, Minami-ku, Nagoya 457-8530, Japan
E-mail: ddz1101@stumail.daido-it.ac.jp
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Daido University

10-3 Takiharu-cho, Minami-ku, Nagoya 457-8530, Japan

E-mail: takinoue@daido-it.ac.jp
[Received November 13, 2012; accepted April 7, 2013]

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) have out-

standing lightweight material characteristics and ten-
sile strength. The use of CFRP in aerospace industry
has been successfully implemented and is expected to
grow in the future. However, the mechanical proper-
ties of CFRP are affected by differences in the distri-
bution and orientation of the carbon fibers and their
adhesion to the binding material. CFRP shows in-
tense anisotropy in strength of carbon fiber depend-
ing on its mechanical properties and the state of the
carbon fiber orientation. Therefore, the tool life short-
est and the surface finish quality of the material be-
comes unstable and eventually difficult to cut. This
paper presents the effect on carbon fiber orientation
and helix angle with CFRP cutting characteristics by
end milling. Here, three types of orientations were ma-
chined by straight type end mills and constant cutting
conditions with a cutting speed 70 m/min, a feed rate
0.056 mm/tooth and 3 mm depth of cut. Our results
showed that the tool helix angle 0 gave a better sur-
face finish than the other tools, irrespective of the fiber
orientation. The helix angle is greatly affected by the
exposure of the fibers from the surface. Axial force
F z ) is negligible quantity for helix angle 0 , and cut-
(F
ting force is low. The carbon fiber orientation of 45
and 45 has exfoliation-like dimples.
Keywords: CFRP, end milling, helix angle, carbon fiber
orientation, cutting force
1. Introduction
Recently, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP)
are expected to be used more in the aerospace [1] and
automotive industries [2], because of their outstanding
lightweight material characteristics and tensile strength.
This leads to improvement of fuel consumption and the
earths environment. The tensile strength is the same level
as high-strength steel, the elastic modulus is higher than
that of titanium (Ti), and the specific gravity is approx-
Table 1. Mechanical characteristics of CFRP materials.
Material type A B C
Carbon fiber orientation 0 90 45
Number of ply 17 (0.24/ply)
Thickness 4 (mm)
Tensile modulus of unidirectional fiber 235 (GPa)
Resin type Thermosetting
(Curing temperature of resin) 130 C
imately 60% that of aluminum (Al), so the range of use
reflects many superior characteristics. However, the me-
chanical properties are influenced by the difference in the
distribution state of the carbon fiber, and the adhesion in-
tensity of the binding material. Moreover, CFRPs have
the characteristic of intense anisotropy depending on the
carbon fiber strength and the orientation of the carbon
fibers [3, 4]. If machining is performed, the surface fin-
ish becomes unstable due to the strong anisotropic effect
of carbon fiber. Therefore CFRP is called difficult-to-
machine material [5]. A lot of work has been done on
research, the point of view of tool wear [6, 7], and cut-
ting mechanism [8]. Especially, research on machining
method of turning [912], drilling [13] and milling [1]
has been carried out in great details. However studies on
interrupted cutting such as end milling seems to be in-
sufficient. Establishing the optimal cutting conditions to
solve such problems also from an economical viewpoint
is essential. In this study, side milling operations of dif-
ferent carbon fiber orientation CFRP composite material
were investigated with three kinds of different helix an-
gle end mills. Evaluations were based on the surface fin-
ish, cutting force and cutting temperature. And then, the
relationship between the carbon fiber orientation and the
cutting movement were experimentally investigated.
2. Experimental Method and Parameter
Table 1 shows the specifications of CFRP materi-
als. In this experiment, the CFRP was molded in an

292 Int. J. of Automation Technology Vol.7 No.3, 2013

 Effect of Carbon Fiber Orientation and Helix Angle on
CFRP Cutting Characteristics by End-Milling

Fig. 1. Relationship between carbon fiber orientation and

cutting direction. (a): material A (0 ) (b): material B (90 )
(c): material C (45 ) (top view of material face).

Fig. 3. Schematic of side milling method and cutting force

direction.

Table 2. Cutting conditions.

Cutting speed (m/min) 70

Feed rate (mm/tooth) 0.056
Fig. 2. Cutting tools. Depth of cut (ae ) (mm) 3
Cutting distance (mm) 70
Cutting Movement Down cut
autoclave (Toyota Techno Craft Co., Ltd.) laminating Tool diameter (mm) 10
a UD prepreg (Matrix resin: Thermosetting resin of Edge number 2
130 C hardening type) of the TR type CF-tow (Mitsubishi Tool excrescence quantity (mm) 40
Rayon Co., Ltd.). In this experiment, two kinds of CFRP
are used with unidirectional material and orthogonal lay-
out to examine the relationship between the carbon fiber
orientation and the cutting properties. The carbon fiber
orientation standard determining 0 of carbon fiber direc-
tion became parallel with the cutting direction. Material
A is unidirectional, and the fiber orientation is 0 . Ma-
terial B is unidirectional and the fiber orientation is 90 .
Material C has an orthogonal layout, and the carbon fiber
orientation is 45 and 45 . These details are shown in
Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows the three kinds of straight type end-
mill tools used: helix angle 0 , helix angle 30 , and he-
lix angle 45 . Those tools are general model and base
materials are tungsten carbide (P10), with a tool diame-
ter of 10 mm. In addition, the relief angle and the rake
Fig. 4. Schematic of measurement method of cutting tem-
angle are the same with each tool. Using these, the ef-
perature (Top of view).
fect on the carbon fiber orientation and tool helix angle
with the CFRP cutting characteristics was investigated by
measurement of the cutting force, cutting temperature and
surface finish quality. Milling method and cutting force frared thermography (NEC Avio Infrared Tech. Co., Ltd.).
direction are shown in Fig. 3. Table 2 shows cutting con- Fig. 4 shows the thermocouples and the infrared thermog-
ditions: cutting speed of 70 m/min, and a feed rate of raphy setup on the CFRP material. The cutting tempera-
0.056 mm/tooth. Next, cutting movement was all down ture was measured by type K thermocouple method. The
cut, depth of cut (ae ) of 3 mm, and cutting distance of tip of thermocouples were set in the central portion of the
70 mm. The cutting force was measured by three cut- CFRP material with 7 mm spacing of the tips. The tip
ting force components Fx : principal force (force in feed of the thermocouple placed for contact at barely cutting
direction), Fy : Thrust force, and Fz : axial force using a edge. The thermocouples were hold by epoxy resin. In-
AST-type strain gauge dynamometer (Miho electrical ma- frared thermography was used for measuring cutting chip
chinery factory Co., Ltd., response speed: 100 Hz) via temperature. Finished surface roughness was measured
an amplifier (response frequency range: DC 500 kHz) after the start, center, and end at the surface of the ma-
and recorded into a data logger (sampling time: 1 sec) chining, which were orthogonal to the cutting direction
for measurements at the same time. The cutting temper- by stylus touch type roughness meter (Mitutoyo Corpora-
ature measuring devices included thermocouple and in- tion).

Int. J. of Automation Technology Vol.7 No.3, 2013 293