INFLUENCE OF FILLER MATERIAL ON GLASS FIBER/ EPOXY COMPOSITE LAMINATES DURING DRILLING

The use of polymeric composite materials has increased considerably over the last decade. Drilling is a frequently practiced machining process in industry due to the need for component assembly in mechanical pieces and structures. Machining processes are generally used to cut; drill or contour composite laminates for building products. In fact, drilling is one of the most commonly used manufacturing processes to install fasteners for assembly of laminate composites. The material anisotropy resulting from fiber reinforcement heavily influences the machinability during machining. Machining of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) components is often needed in spite of the fact that most FRP structures can be made to near-net shape and drilling is the most frequently employed secondary machining process for fiber reinforced materials. The use of filler material like TiO sub( 2) and Graphite have shown that better bonding of the fiber matrix has got its effect on thrust and delamination factor values.