Experimental investigations of electromagnetic punching process in CFRP laminate

Abstract

Electromagnetic punching is an efficient hole-machining process in order to satisfy structural or functional requirements. In this paper, the electromagnetic punching experiments were carried out to investigate hole-punching quality of carbon fiber reinforced plastic laminates with various punches. The quality evaluation such as macroscopic measurement, microstructure observation and delamination analysis was implemented. As a comparison, drilling experiments and corresponding quality tests were also accomplished. The results showed that the cutting tools had significant effects on the quality of the formed holes. For electromagnetic punched holes, the edged punch was superior to flat punch and hollow punch in term of the machining accuracy, microscopic morphology and delamination defect. Comparing with drilling process, the delamination factors of edged punched holes were lower than that of drilled holes on the basic of ultrasonic C-scan technology, implying that delamination of drilled hole was severer than edged punched holes.