Carbon fiber epoxy composites, known for their exceptional strength and high modulus, present significant machining challenges and exhibit moisture-absorption tendencies. While water mist is sometimes used during processing to suppress carbon dust dispersion, this moisture exposure can lead to fiber pull-out, internal delamination, and debonding. Dry grinding therefore represents the preferred method-a process expertise area where High Gain Industrial Co., Ltd. offers specialized solutions.
Grinding delivers precision finishing with dimensional accuracy reaching IT5-IT7 grades and surface roughness as fine as 0.8-0.025μm. However, conventional grinding wheels struggle with carbon fiber composites: Fine abrasives limit chip clearance capacity, causing only partial abrasive engagement while inactive grains generate excessive heat. This frequently results in fiber delamination and wheel loading that compromise product quality.
Given carbon fiber's extreme hardness and strength-which rapidly wear conventional abrasives-cubic boron nitride (CBN) abrasives like JETE's CBN210A are recommended. Their multi-edged sharpness and thermal stability prove ideal. For dry grinding operations, electroplated superabrasive cup wheels with controllably arranged abrasive clusters offer superior performance. Using selective composite electroplating technology, these wheels position superabrasive particles into precisely spaced, patterned clusters defined by masking templates.
This engineered cluster arrangement revolutionizes chip management: Grinding debris accumulates loosely within inter-cluster spaces rather than compacting against active abrasives. This facilitates continuous chip evacuation from the grinding zone, effectively preventing wheel loading. Consequently, these advanced patterned-cluster wheels show significant promise for grinding carbon fiber/epoxy components.
For carbon fiber plate machining requirements, contact High Gain's engineering team to explore collaborative solutions.
