Development of Laser Drilling Strategy for Thick Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites (CFRP)

Composites from carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs) play a significant role in modern manufacturing. They are typically used in aerospace and other industries that require high strength-to-weight ratios. Composite machining, however, remains a challenging job and sometimes is hampered by poor efficiency. Despite considerable research being conducted over the past few years on the machining of composite materials, the material nevertheless suffers from delamination, fibre loss, and imperfect finishing of the fuselage. Laser technology is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative approach to cutting and drilling composites. Experiments have been conducted with a CFRP thickness of 25.4 mm using fibre laser to test the effect of the machining parameters on the primary performance measurements. In this study, different machining criteria are used to assess the fibre laser ability of thick CFRP composites for drilling operation. The experimental findings revealed that a fibre laser is capable of penetrating a thick CFRP to a depth of 22 mm by using a novel drilling procedure.