Experimental Investigation and Analysis of Machining Characteristics in Drilling Hybrid Glass-Sisal-Jute Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites

Abstract

In the highly competitive manufacturing world, the ultimate goals of the manufacturer are to produce high quality products at minimum cost and in less time. The use of composite materials is growing at a fast rate, because these materials have many constituents and each has its own unique characteristics. While focusing on the composite materials, the main points to be considered are environment friendliness and light weight, with high specific properties. To fulfil these requirements, the natural fibers are incorporated into manmade fibers, and partially ecofriendly hybrid composites have been developed by using glass, sisal and jute fibers as reinforcing material in the polymer resin matrix. The drilling of composite materials is difficult when compared to metals, because the tool has to pass alternately through the matrix and reinforcement, which have different properties. In this experiment, drilling is carried out in an auto feed drilling machine, attached with a multi component piezo-electric dynamometer, by using a coated carbide drill. The aim of this work is to emphasize the machining characteristics of the hybrid composites by varying the cutting speed, feed rate and tool diameter. The drilling induced damage is analyzed with the help of the profile projector, and the cutting edges of the drilled holes are examined, by using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. From the results it has been observed, that all the above said parameters affect the drilling process, and the induced damage has been reduced by varying the feed rate.