Aerospace, automotive and sporting goods manufacturing industries have more interest on carbon fiber reinforced plastics due to its superior properties, such as lower density than aluminum; higher strength than high-strength metals; higher stiffness than titanium etc. Rotary ultrasonic machining is a hybrid machining process that combines the material removal mechanisms of diamond abrasive grinding and ultrasonic machining. Hole-making is the most common machining operation done on carbon fiber reinforced plastics, where delamination is a major issue. Delamination reduces structural integrity and increases assembly tolerance, which leads to rejection of a part or a component. Comparatively, rotary ultrasonic machining has been successfully applied to hole-making in carbon fiber reinforced plastics. As reported in the literature, rotary ultrasonic machining is superior to twist drilling of carbon fiber reinforced plastics in six aspects: cutting force, torque, surface roughness, delamination, tool life, and material removal rate. This paper investigates the effects of tool end angle on delamination in rotary ultrasonic machining of carbon fiber reinforced plastics. Several investigators have cited thrust force as a major cause for delamination. Eventhogh, it is found on this investigation, tool end angle has more significant influence on the delamination in rotary ultrasonic machining of carbon fiber reinforced plastics comparing to cutting force and torque.
