ELSEVIER J o u r n a l o f Ma t e r i a l s Pr o c e s s i n g Te c h n o l o g y 48 ( 1995) 199- 205

J o u r n a l o f
Materi al s
Processi ng
Technol ogy
Un-conventional machining of composite mat er i al s
W. S. Lau, T. M. Yue, T. C. Lee and W. B. Lee
Manufact uri ng Engi neeri ng Dept . , Hong Kong Polytechnic, Hung Horn, Hong Kong
Usi ng un-convent i onal machi ni ng techniques in shaping advanced composi t es materials has generated a lot
of interest. The fact is that, machi ni ng operations such as cutting and dri l l i ng, are difficult to pr ef or m on t hese
materials wi t h conventional tools and techniques because of their peculiar propert i es including ani sot ropy, l ow
thermal conduct i vi t y and t he abrasive nature of the reinforcing phases. Among t he many un-convent i onal
processi ng t echni ques laser and electrical discharge machining (EDM) have been proved to be effect i ve tools
in shaping some of t hese materials. This paper not only provi des a systematic analysis on the machi ni ng
effi ci ency that can be obt ai ned by laser and EDM and t he maxi mum depth-of-cut that can be generated by laser,
the i mport ant issue of machi ni ng defects is also addressed. It is hoped that this study will be helpful to t he
furt her underst andi ng of t he machining mechani sms of Nd: YAG laser, exci mer laser and electrical di scharge
met hod and t hereby to i mprove the techniques in the processi ng of composi t e materials.
1. I NTRODUCTI ON
Composi t e materials are gaining wi de acceptance
in applications wher e hi gh specific strength, good
elevated t emperat ure propert i es and good wear
r e s i s t a nc e p r o p e r t i e s ar e r e qui r e d. The
manufacturablility of such composi t e product s
depends among ot her t hi ngs on t he ease wi t h whi ch
t he materials can be formed into the requi red shape.
Convent i onal cutting of composi t e materials present s
probl ems such as del ami nat i on, splintering, and short
tool life caused by the abrasive nature of the
composi t e materials. Over t he past few years, t here
has been gr owi ng interest in EDM and laser cutting
of composi t e materials wi t h regard to cutting rate,
edge quality and t he ext end of damage incurred in
the composi t e materials [1-3]. Both methods are
based on non-cont act i ng t ool s wi t h discrete output of
pul se energy al t hough the cutting mechani sm
i nvol ved is di fferent (electrical discharges in EDM
vs. physi cal -chemi cal in laser cut).
2. EXP ERI MENTAL METHODS
Two t ypes o f pol ymer composi t es, (carbon fibre
and rei nforced liquid crystal pol ymer), one t ype of
metal mat ri x composi t e(MMC) material and one t ype
0924-0136/ 95/ $09. 50 1995 El s e vi e r Sc i e n c e S. A.
SSDI 0 9 2 4 - 0 1 3 6 ( 9 4 ) 0 1 6 5 0 - P
of conductive ceramic material were used. Laser
cutting was performed on all composi t e materials
whereas EDM was onl y performed on conduct i ng
composi t es, i . e. all but except t he rei nforced l i qui d
crystal pol ymer(LCP) since the material was non-
conducting.
Laser cutting was conduct ed on a JK pul sed
Nd: YAG (Model MS830LD) wi t h a maxi mum
average output of 120W. The focal l engt h was
80mm and a focal spot di amet er of 0. 10mm di amet er
was used. The pulse duration was varied f r om 1.0 to
2. 0ms, pulse frequency from 15-45Hz and pul se
energy from 0. 8 to 2. 0J/ pul se. Cutting was
performed at feed rates ranged f r om 20-100mm/ mi n
under a coaxial j et of either compressed air or argon
at a pressure of 0. 3MPa. Exci mer laser cutting was
performed on a Lambda Physi k LPX315i processi ng
unit operating on a Kr F gas mi xt ure havi ng a
maxi mum pulse energy of 1J.
EDM was conduct ed on a Mi t subi shi Electric
DWC90g wi re cut machine. Copper wi re of 0. 25mm
di amet er was used as the electrode. The pol ari t y of
the wi re was maintained posi t i ve and t he wi re
tension was kept bel ow 800 grams. The cutting
parameters varied in the experi ment were peak
current f r om 3A to 15A, and t he pulse of f t i me was
from 0. 75ms to 3. 0ms. The average machi ni ng
voltage was set at 88V and t he machining speed was
Al l r i ght s r e s e r v e d
200 W.S. Lau et al. / Journal o f Materials Processing Technology 48 (1995) 199-205
varied from 0. 5mm/ mi n to 1 l mm/ mi n.
The efficiency of the cutting process was assessed
by the material removal rate, the extend of material
80-
damage t hrough a Cambridge Steroscan 250 -~
scanning microscope, and the maxi mum depth of cut ~
in the case of YAG laser cutting. ~E 70-
The materials used and the corresponding
processes are summarised in Table 1. It should be E 60-
noted that EDM wire-cut was not applicable for the c~
MMC workpiece due to excessive breakage of the -~ 50-
electrode wire. >
Or" 40-
3. RESULTS AND DI SCUSSI ON t_
(212
90
3. 1 Ma t e r i a l r e mo v a l r a t e
The effect of feed rate on the material removal
rate of CFC material is shown in Figure l(a) and
Figure l (b) respectively for EDM and laser cutting.
In the former, there was an opt i mum feed rate for a
given cutting condition: the removal rate increased
initially with feed rate reaching a maxi mum at about
8 mm/ mi n before dropping. This behaviour was
explained in such that when the feed rate was low,
there was enough time to dispose the product of
vaporisation and to maintain a suitable discharge
9.0
E 8.8
~ 7,0
~ 6.o
m
Q2
--~5.0
~ 4.0
u
m 3o0
12
2.0
0.0
I I I I I
2.0 4. 0 6. 0 8.0 10.0
Feed Rat e (ram/rain)
12.0
Figure l(a). The effect of feed rate on material
removal rate of CFC in EDM wire cutting.
( I =5 A, V=8 8 V, pulse off t i me=2. 5ms )
gap. However, when the feed rate reached a certain
point, maintenance of a stable discharge gap became
difficult and frequent short-circuiting occurred. On
the other hand, in laser cutting, feed rate appeared
to have relatively little effect on the material removal
I I I I I
20 40 60 80 too 12t
Feed Rat e (ram/rain)
Figure l(b). Effect of feed rate on material removal
rate of CFC in laser cutting.
( E= 1J, t i = 1.4ms, fp =30Hz)
rate. The removal rate that can be obtained in laser
cutting was faster by an order of magnitude when
compared with that of EDM wire cutting. Although
much higher material removal rate can be achieved
by the use of CW CO 2 laser but the cutting results
on CFC materials have been found to be
unsatisfactory [3] due to the high conductivity of the
carbon fibres and the relatively large spot diameter
of the laser beam.
In laser cutting, however, the material removal
rate depends on the feed rate. In general, the feed
rate of the work table should be chosen such that:
v < d( O) / ( 1- t i ) (1)
where, v = feed rate in mm/ mi n.
d(0) = spot diameter in mm,
fp = pulse frequency in Hz
t~ = pulse duration in ms.
For example, if fp=30 Hz, t ~=l . 4 ms and
d=0. 10mm, a feed rate of 200/min would result in
intermittent cutting resulting a very poor finish in the
cut surface. Instead of material removal rate, the
maxi mum depth of cut achieved by a given laser
parameter can be used to assess the cutting
145.S. Lau et al. / Journal o f Materials Processing Technology 48 (1995) 199-205 201
performance. Fi gure 2 shows the relationship
bet ween t he dept h of cut and t he pul se energy for
some of t he tested composi t es.
3.20
2. 80
E
~.~ 2 . 4 0
( j 2 , 0 0
~ t N] '
0 . 8 0 -
0.40
~ / MMC
/ / / B C F C
CERRMIC
COMPOSITE
I l I I I I I
0 . 8 0 0 , 8 0 I . O 0 1,20 1 . 4 0 1 . 6 0 1 . 8 0 2 . 0 0 2.211
Pu l s e Energy (J)
Fi gure 2. Effect of pul se energy on the dept h-of-cut .
3. 2 Material Damage
Damage whi ch is common in bot h EDM wi re-cut
and laser cut surfaces include melting (Fi g. 3),
thermal expansi on of fibres (Fi g. 4), craters (Fi g. 5),
del ami nat i on of laminates (Fi g. 6) and cracks (Fig. 7).
Laser cut surfaces o f the carbon fibre composi t e,
however , shows the typical striations (Fi g. 8) and the
wi dt h o f whi ch seemed to be fairly independent
when t he range of feed rate is fallen wi t hi n the
critical feed rate obtained from equation (1).
Consi deri ng t he ext end o f laser induced surface
damage, Exci mer laser seems to per f or m better than
' ( L ) - - ~m ( R ) " ~m
Figure 4. Showi ng thermally expanded carbon
fibres after EDM.
the Nd: YAG laser in this respect (Fi g. 9). However ,
the exact nature o f material removal mechani sm in
Exci mer laser requires furt her study and is t herefore
too early to draw any concl usi on at t hi s stage.
Anot her characteristic feature of laser cutting
processes is the format i on of t he Heat Affect ed Zone
(HAZ). The wi dt h of the heat affect ed zone induced
by laser cutting can be seen f r om Fi gure I0. Such
effect will affect the mechanical propert y o f t he
machined surface. Nonet hel ess, the size of t he HAZ
can be kept to a mi ni mum provi ded the opt i mum
conditions are empl oyed [2]. In practice, EDM and
laser processes could also produce a surface free
from broken fibre or crack-free surface [4]. Furt her
research should be conduct ed to expl ore t hi s area of
interest in full.
Fi gure 3. Surface morphol ogy of the ceramic Fi gure 5. SEM mi crograph showi ng a crater on the
material: (left) before EDM; (right) after EDM. surface of t he CFC material after EDM.
202 W.S. Lau et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 48 (1995) 199-205
Fi gur e 6. Sub-surface damage by l aser cut t i ng:
del ami nat i on bet ween l ami nat es.
Fi gur e 7. Cr acks obser ved on t he surface of t he
cerami c mat eri al after l aser pr ocessi ng.
3. 3 The ma x i mu m depth-of -cut
Ther e is no such t er m as dept h- of - cut in EDM
wi r e- cut t i ng. The onl y l i mi t at i ons on t he "dept h-of-
cut " i n t he EDM pr ocess are on t he capacity of t he
machi ne and t he cur r ent densi t y at t he electrode. It
is not t he case for l aser cut t i ng: i n pul sed Nd: YAG
l aser machi ni ng, t he ma xi mum dept h of cut is one of
t he critical pr obl ems because of its l i mi t ed peak
pul se power . The fol l owi ng approach can be used to
predi ct t he ma x i mu m dept h of cut i n Nd: YAG laser
dri l l i ng.
Fi gur e 11 s hows t he l aser beam propagat i on
optical s ys t em of t he YAG l aser machi ne. Accordi ng
to t he pr oper t y of Guassi an i nt ensi t y di st ri but i on of
t he l aser beam, it can be s hown that:
I(r, z ) = l ( 0 , z ) e x p [ - 2 r 2 ]
R 2(z)
( 2)
wher e r is t he di st ance f r om a local poi nt to t he
beam axi s, z is t he di st ance f r om a local pl ane to t he
laser beam f ocusi ng pl ane, I(r, z) is t he local l aser
beam i nt ensi t y at t he coordi nat e poi nt (r, z) as s hown
in Fi gur e 11, l (0, z) is t he i nt ensi t y at t he central
poi nt of t he beam spot i n t he z-pl ane, R(z) is t he
radi us of t he l aser beam in z-pl ane wher e t he
i nt ensi t y is down to l / e 2 of its i nt ensi t y at t he cent re.
)
1
; 40gi n
)
r .
, i
Fi gur e 8. Typi cal st ri at i ons appear on t he surfaces
of l aser cut CFC material.
It is clear t hat t he ma xi mum i nt ensi t y i n t he l aser
beam i rradi at i on field is at t he posi t i on wher e r =0
and z =0 . The i nt ensi t y becomes weaker as t he
di st ance z becomes bi gger . In t he z-pl ane, t he
i nt ensi t y I(0, z) at t he central posi t i on is t he
ma xi mum.
Focal J
plane
Lens R(0)
Laser-'-~ I ~
r
Base material
~ Z
Fi gur e 11. Laser be a m propagat i on.
I,E.S. Lau et aL / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 48 (1995) 199-205 203
(a)
( b )
Fi gur e 9(a) Nd: YAG cut LCP surface; (b) Exci mer
cut LCP surface.
If t he ma x i mu m beam i nt ensi t y I(0,Zm) in Zm-plane
equal s to I t , whi ch is t he t hr eshol d i nt ensi t y t hat
initiates vapor i sat i on, it is i mpossi bl e that t he
mat eri al i n t he posi t i on of z > z m can be vapori zed no
mat t er how ma ny pul ses are. I f t he pr evi ous pul se
has dri l l ed a dept h of z m, any additional pul ses
t hereaft er can onl y mel t t he wal l of t he hol e and t he
mol t en mat eri al may fl ow back into t he hol e and
make t he hol e shal l ower. Obvi ousl y, t he dept h of t he
hol e can not be i ncreased f ur t her by t he successi ve
pul ses. Ther ef or e, under t he mul t i pul ses condi t i on,
t he di st ance z m cor r esponds to t he ma xi mum dept h of
dri l l i ng for a gi ven l aser beam and material, and t he
t heoret i cal condi t i on to det ermi ne z m is :
t( O , z m) > t, ( 3)
Accor di ng to t he l aw of Gaussi an beam propagat i on,
it can be s hown that:
R(z ) =x/R2(0) +(0z) 2 (4)
wher e 0 is t he hal f-angl e of t he f ocusi ng l aser beam
as s hown in Fi g. 11. The cent ral i nt ensi t y I(0, z) can
be det ermi ned f r om t he fol l owi ng:
I(0, z) _ R2( 0) (5)
I ( 0, 0) R2(z)
wher e I(0, 0) is t he central i nt ensi t y in t he l aser beam
f ocusi ng pl ane. And, si nce
I ( 0 , 0 ) - 2P~, _ 2 E ( 6 )
7~R2(0) ~R2(O)ti
wher e PLP is t he pul se power , E is t he si ngl e pul se
ener gy and t i is t he pul se durat i on. Subst i t ut e
f or mul a (4) and (6) into (5), t hen,
2 E
>_I, (7)
"X JR2(0) +(Ozm)2lti
If z m is t he ma xi mum dept h of t he dri l l i ng, accordi ng
to f or mul a (3), t he fol l owi ng condi t i on shoul d be
satisfied:
2 E
[ R2( 0) +(OZm)2]ti
_> i~ ( 8 )
For mul a (8) can be re-arranged as:
z m ~ ~ 2E'-R2(0)/0~til t
( 9 )
It shoul d be not ed t hat i n f or mul a (9), E and t~ are
l aser beam paramet ers, R(0) and 0 are optical
paramet ers and I t is supposed to be a mat eri al
const ant . However , ver y little wor k has been done
i n t he det ermi nat i on of I t . In or der to obt ai ned It,
r egr essi on anal ysi s is conduct ed accordi ng to
f or mul a (9). The resul t s obt ai ned are present ed in
Tabl e 2.
204 W.S. Lau et al. / Journal o f Materials Processing Technology 48 (1995) 199-205
Tabl e 1
Unconvent i onal pr ocesses used on var i ous composi t e mat eri al s
Mat eri al s YAG Laser Exci mer Laser EDM
65 % vol . Lami nat i ng J X J
Car bon Fi br e
Pol yacr yl oni t r i l e
Composi t e ( CFC)
30 % vol . Gl as s Fi bre J J X
Rei nf or ced LCP
20%wt . Si C/ A1- Li MMC ~/ J wi re failed frequent l y
50/ 40 % wt . A1203/TiC , / X
cerami c
Tabl e 2
Thes hol d i nt ensi t y obt ai ned for t he var i ous composi t es
Mat eri al 30%vol . gl ass fibre Li qui d 65%vol . Car bon 20%wt . SiC 50%wt . A1203
Cryst al Pol ymer (LCP) Fi bre Composi t e AI/ Li MMC 40%wt . Ti C
I t 5. 0 6. 1 7. 7 24. 2
xl 09W/ m 2
Us i ng t he val ues of I t obt ai ned, t he ma xi mum 4. CONCLUS I ON
dept h of cut can be predi ct ed by f or mul a (9). Fi g. 12
s hows t he gr aphs of experi ment al dat a vs. predicted
dept h of cut of var i ous composi t e mat eri al s whi ch
s hows good correl at i on.
Fi gur e 10. HAZ appears on l aser cut edges of t he
MMC mat eri al .
For all composi t e mat eri al s t est ed, t he mat eri al
r emoval rate is fast er in l aser cut t han in EDM wi re-
cut. Mat eri al damage such as excessi ve mel t i ng,
t hermal degradat i on of mat r i x, di sori ent at i on and
di st ort i on of fi bres, debondi ng and del ami nat i on are
commonl y f ound i n bot h EDM wi re-cut and l aser cut
composi t e mat eri al s. Thi s damage will undoubt edl y
affect t he reliability of t he composi t e mat eri al in
servi ce. It is t herefore i mport ant to deci de bet ween
t he opt i mum cut t i ng rate and t he ext ent of mat eri al
damage t hat can be tolerated i n t he f i ni shed
component . In addi t i on t he opt i mum operat i on
wi ndow of each of t hese pr ocesses shoul d also be
est abl i shed in order to keep t he damage to a
mi ni mal . Al t hough Exci mer l aser can pr oduce a
cl eaner cut surface wi t h l ess mat eri al damage, t he
cut t i ng rate is still requi red to be i mpr oved due to
W.S. Lau et aL / J ournal of Materials Processing Technology 48 (1995) 199-205 205
the unavai l ab i l i ty o f hi gh po wer machi nes.
A theoretical model has b een successf ul l y
devel oped to predict the maxi mum depth-of-cut i n
Y AG l aser cutting. Through this equation, it is
possi b l e to desi gn the parameters o f the laser
machi ne so as to gi ve the ma x i mum depth-of-cut in
l aser machi ni ng o f composi te materials. However ,
the ef f ects o f the various laser parameters on the
qual ity o f the cut edges shoul d al so b e considered at
the same ti me.
REF EREN C ES
1. M. Ramul u et al , J. Mater. Sci . , 24 ( 19 8 9 ) 1103.
2. W. S. Lau et al , Proc. o f the Machi ni ng o f
Composi te Material s, ASM Material s Week ,
Chi cago, Il l i noi s, Novemb er ( 19 9 2) 29 .
3. V. Tagliaferri, Composi tes, 16 ( 4) ( 19 8 5) 317.
4 . N. Morita, Proc. Int. Conf . on Mach. o f Adv.
Mater. , Gaithersb urg USA, NIST Pub l i cati on
8 47 ( 19 9 3) 5 17 .
2 . 8 2
2 . 4 5
2 , 0 8
( _)
1 . 7 1
~ 1 , 3 4 .
#
c n
0 . 9 7
Z 2
0. 60
0. 40
/ 4
/
/
/
/
e /
" /
/
/
. . . . t h e o r e t i c a l
p r e d i c t i o n
e x p e r i m e n t a l
d a t a
I J I I I
0. 60 0. 80 L 0 0 1.20 1.40 1.60
P u l s e Int ens i t y , E / t i (EW)
Fi gure 12( a) . Resul ts on the depth-of-cut o f CFC.
6. 00
5 . 5 0 -
r - ~ 6 , ~ -
4 . 5 0 -
4. ~
o . 3 . 5 0 -
c ~
3 . 00-
2 . 5 0
0 . 0 0
. / "
. /
/ /
/ /
/ / ' "
/ /
/ /
l I I
0 . 6 0 1 . 0 0 1 , 5 0 2 . [ 3 0 2. 5 0 3 . 0 0
Pu l s e I n t e n s i t y , E / t i (kW)
. . . . t h e o r e t i c a l
predi c ti o n
experimenta
dat a
I I I
3 . 5 0
1.28
1. 14
N ~ I . 0 0
G
~ 0 . 8 6
0 . 7 2
= .
6
C3
0. 5 8
0. 44
0. 3 0
0 , 3 0
/
/
Y
/
/
. . . . t h e o r e t i c a l
/ / pr edi c t i o n
experi ment al
dat a
I I I I
0. 48 0.6"6 0. 84 1.02 1.20
PuLse I n t e n s i t y , E / t i (kW)
Figure 12( c) Resul ts on the depth-of -cut o f ceramic
composi te.
5.50
E
6.00-
~ 4 . 5 0
+,"
( ~ 4 . 0 0
3 . 5 0
3 . 0 0
0
2 . 5 0 '
2 . 0 0
0 . 0
. !
i x
/
i x
/ /
J I /
/
im /
/
/
/
/
/
/
g
I I I
LO 2. 0 3 . 0
. . . . t h e o r e t i c a l
p r e d i c t i o n
experi ment &
d a t a
I I
4 . 0 S . 0 6 . 0
P u l s e In t e n s i t y , E / t i ( k W )
Fi gure 12( b ) . Resul ts on the depth-of -cut o f LCP Fi gure 12( d) . Resul ts on the depth-of -cut o f A1-Li
composi te, b ased MMC.