Cutting Forces in Milling of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastics

The machining of fibre reinforced composites is an important activity for optimal application of these advanced materials into engineering fields. During machining any excessive cutting forces have to be avoided in order to prevent any waste product in the last stages of production cycle. Therefore, the ability to predict the cutting forces is essential to select process parameters necessary for an optimal machining. In this paper the effect of cutting conditions during milling machining on cutting force and surface roughness has been investigated. In particular the cutting force components have been analysed in function of the principal process parameters and of the contact angle. This work proposes experimental models for the determination of cutting force components for CFRP milling.