A Study On Micro-Milling Process of Multi-Directional Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Composite Using Nano-Solid Dry Lubrication
Abstract In this research, the micro-milling process using nano-solid dry lubrication is studied for machining multidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic (MD-CFRP). For this lubrication, two kinds of graphene nanoplatelets and multiwall carbon nanotubes are used as nanoparticles. The workpiece is an MD-CFRP composite in which 10 plies of prepreg are laminated and it consists of four carbon fiber orientations - 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°. The micro-milling experiments are conducted, and the workpiece surface quality and tool wear are investigated. As a result, it is confirmed that the nano-solid dry lubrication can improve the surface quality and reduce the tool wear. In particular, larger graphene nanoplatelets (xGnP H-5) are more advantageous than smaller graphene nanoplatelets (xGnP C-750). In addition, multiwall carbon nanotubes having a tube-shape structure are less effective than graphene nanoplatelets having a two-dimensional thin sheet shape for enhancing the micro-milling performances, which may be due to better lubrication effect with the graphene nanoplatelets' sliding phenomenon at the cutting region.