Cutting Carbon Fiber

[jascamera]

Guys,


What is the best setup, or setup recommendation for cutting Carbon Fiber and G10? Cutting speed and depth per pass with a 1/8 end mill. Thank for any tips.













Jason
Aerial Photography New York San Francisco
Aerial Photography - New York, New Jersey, San Francisco

[chandra3]

mine also the same question


Centers

[livemott]

I advise you try water jet cutting, it is much better

[underthetire]

Water jet can feather some carbon fiber. We do a lot of it at work, but nothing that small so I can't help on speeds and feeds. I do know too fast and it melts cutters when dry. The cf dust is nasty, get everywhere and destroys equipment a lot faster than you would think. In the milling lathe, we cut it wet, and have a 18k dollar paper filter system with a 2 micron post filter.

[livemott]

Water jet can feather some carbon fiber. We do a lot of it at work, but nothing that small so I can't help on speeds and feeds. I do know too fast and it melts cutters when dry. The cf dust is nasty, get everywhere and destroys equipment a lot faster than you would think. In the milling lathe, we cut it wet, and have a 18k dollar paper filter system with a 2 micron post filter.

I have cut a kind of fibre which is used to make bullet-proof jacket. And the performance is good. I think. No feather effect as you said.

[TDA]

The best thing we found is to use a PCB router bit. Diamond cut seems to work better on the carbon fiber. They are pretty cheap and last a decent amount of time as they are made for cutting composites (FR4).

[livemott]

The best thing we found is to use a PCB router bit. Diamond cut seems to work better on the carbon fiber. They are pretty cheap and last a decent amount of time as they are made for cutting composites (FR4).

How do you guarantee the kerf? It may be not ideal. And how thick can it cut?

[Herbertkabi]

Use only special bits for carbon fiber (or glass fiber),
VHM - Fräser für CFK mit Diamantbeschichtung 3,175 mm | eBay
VHM - Fräser für CFK mit Diamantbeschichtung 0,8 mm | eBay
these ones just for view ... this guy sells very expensive the same you can buy ten or more time cheaper and as good as well
They call very differently these bits everywhere around the world, different brands, some are better some are not so good, some are very brittle ... but anyway dont try with normal endmills for metals what are much more expensive and you blunt normal endmill in few seconds.
I do run at 12k ... 24k RPM and only with coolant or just water,
cheers,
herbert

[TDA]

How do you guarantee the kerf? It may be not ideal. And how thick can it cut?

I'm not sure what you mean by guarantee the kerf. The kerf is determined by the size of the tool you use. Each manufacturer has a different spec for tolerance. As an example our spec is +0, -0.002 on diameter. The larger the tool is the deeper they cut. You can usually go about .25" (6.35mm) with a .0394" (1mm) cutter.

Use only special bits for carbon fiber (or glass fiber),
VHM - Fräser für CFK mit Diamantbeschichtung 3,175 mm | eBay
VHM - Fräser für CFK mit Diamantbeschichtung 0,8 mm | eBay
these ones just for view ... this guy sells very expensive the same you can buy ten or more time cheaper and as good as well
They call very differently these bits everywhere around the world, different brands, some are better some are not so good, some are very brittle ... but anyway dont try with normal endmills for metals what are much more expensive and you blunt normal endmill in few seconds.
I do run at 12k ... 24k RPM and only with coolant or just water,
cheers,
herbert

Those are diamond cut router bits. You will see differences in the depth of the cross grind, gash of the tip of the tool, carbide used, ect. But that is the core design of that tool.

[boomerize]

I cut carbon everyday. I use the diamond cut bits which give a perfect edge and need no secondary clean up work. Cuts are dry. Just use an air supply to clear the kerf which will prolong the bit life. Make sure to get a good dust collection system which picks up everything right at the cut site.

The way the carbon is made plays a big part in how the edge will look when cut. If you are getting frays then you will have to change up the way you make your carbon.

[cable-man]

when you are cutting cf, which is the speed per second you use?

For instance, the 1mm diamond cutter, in 2mm carbon fiber, at 10k rpm, what speed per second can it cut?