Leading the way in composites machining
1 min read
Significant advances in the field of composites machining are being made possible by Dormer Tools from its UK headquarters at the Advanced Manufacturing Park near Sheffield.
One of the more common problems is the machining of stack materials, when two different materials, such as aluminium and carbon fibre, are machined together. The aim is to find a one-shot drilling solution that provides a clean hole without causing damage to the component or necessitating additional machining processes.
Dormer demonstrated its stack material expertise when it was asked to advise on a drilling application involving a wing skin assembly. Here, the customer needed to drill a stack material comprising of 10 mm thick aluminium and 4 mm thick carbon fibre.
"Ordinarily", said Ricky Payling, Dormer's European key account manager for aerospace and composites, "the customer would have to cut a small diameter hole first, gradually opening this out to the finished size. This not only takes time but also involves the use of several different tools.
"However, with our R790 carbide composite drill we were able to machine through-holes with no delamination or splintering on the carbon fibre and no exit burr on the aluminium."
Other significant achievements have included machining composite stacks with a glass cloth exit face. "With this type of material", Mr Payling explains "it is extremely difficult to produce a hole with a perfectly clean periphery.
"However, after consideration of the required geometry, we were able to manufacture prototype tools that consistently delivered holes with excellent exit quality, with no signs of delamination, splintering or fraying of the glass cloth."
Dormer will be attending the forthcoming Composites Engineering Show held at the NEC from 29-30 September 2010, co-located with Aero Engineering 2010.
