Experimental studies on drilling tool load and machining quality of C/SiC composites in rotary ultrasonic machining

•Rotary ultrasonic machining (RUM) tests of C/SiC composites were conducted.•The increasing drilling speed can lower the ultrasonic vibration effect.•RUM can improve hole exit quality and reduce surface roughness effectively.•RUM in comparison to conventional drilling can cause smaller brittle fracture and shallower pit. Carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide matrix (C/SiC) composites have great potential in space applications because of their excellent properties such as low density, superior wear resistance and high temperature resistance. However, the use of C/SiC has been hindered seriously because of its poor machining characteristics. With an objective to improve the machining process of C/SiC composites, rotary ultrasonic machining (RUM) and conventional drilling (CD) tests with a diamond core drill were conducted. The effects of ultrasonic vibration on mechanical load and machining quality were studied by comparing the drilling force, torque, quality of holes exit and surface roughness of drilled holes between the two processes. The results showed that the drilling force and torque for RUM were reduced by 23% and 47.6%, respectively of those for CD. In addition, the reduction in drilling force and torque decreased gradually with increasing spindle speed, while they changed slightly with increasing feed rate. Under identical conditions, RUM gave better holes exit than CD. Moreover, because of the lower lamellar brittle fracture and pit originating from carbon fibers fracture, the roughness of surface of drilled holes obtained with RUM was lower than CD and the maximum reduction was 23%.