Analysis of the machinability of GFRE composites in drilling processes

Drilling processes in fiber-reinforced polymer composites are essential for the assembly and fabrication of composite structural parts. The economic impact of rejecting the drilled part is significant considering the associated loss when it reaches the assembly stage. Therefore, this article tends to illustrate the effect of cutting conditions (feed and speed), and laminate thickness on thrust force, torque, and delamination in drilling woven E-glass fiber reinforced epoxy (GFRE) composites. Four feeds (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mm/r) and three speeds (400, 800, and 1600 RPM) are exploited to drill square specimens of 36.6x36.6 mm, by using CNC machine model \"Deckel Maho DMG DMC 1035 V, ecoline\". The composite laminates with thicknesses of 2.6 mm, 5.3 mm, and 7.7 mm are constructed respectively from 8, 16, and 24 glass fiber layers with a fiber volume fraction of about 40%. The drilled specimen is scanned using a high-resolution flatbed color scanner, then, the image is analyzed using CorelDraw software to evaluate the delamination factor. Multi-variable regression analysis is performed to present the significant coefficients and contribution of each variable on the thrust force and delamination. Results illustrate that the drilling parameters and laminate thickness have significant effects on thrust force, torque, and delamination factor.