No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The most common method currently employed in industry to trim composites is machining either with conventional fluted cutters or with diamond abrasive cutters. Although diamond abrasive machining is a common method for trimming composites, there is no research literature which addresses the use of this type of cutter. As a result, an experimental investigation was undertaken to establish the characteristics of the machined edges produced by diamond abrasive cutters in graphite/epoxy laminates. In addition, preliminary tests were performed to document the cutter forces produced by representative cutters with various grit sizes and feed rates. The machined edges produced were generally found to be free of delamination and characterized by regular grooving produced by the diamond grains. The surface finish was found to be inversely proportional to the grit number and was not affected by feed rate or cutting mode. Cutter forces were generally found to increase with material removal rate and the average side load was generally about 60 percent of the thrust forces.

No abstract

No abstract

In this study the machined edges produced by abrasive waterjet (AWJ), were characterized by compression testing to assess the influence of edge finishing and delamination on the strength of graphite/epoxy laminates. The AWJ machined edges indicated that the surface finish of the machined edges was closely related to the feed rate and abrasive flow rate. Abrasive waterjet trimming of graphite/epoxy laminates is prone to producing exit ply delaminations, and these delaminations may have abrasive particles embedded in them, which tend to hold the delaminated surfaces apart. It was found that the abrasive waterjet process induced edge surface finish does not significantly reduce the strength of the laminate, however, the delaminations that that were induced in edge finishing do result in significant reductions in strength.