Assay of Machining attributes in Drilling of Natural Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite

Abstract

In the accelerated competitive manufacturing world, the vital objectives of the manufacturer are to generate high quality products at least cost and in fewer time. The utilization of composite materials is mounting at a fast rate, because these materials have many constituents and each has its own unique characteristics like environment friendliness and light weight, with high precise properties. The above requirements are inculcated by incorporating the natural fibers namely kenaf, sisal and aloe vera fibers as reinforcing material in the polymer resin matrix in hybrid manner. The drilling of composite materials is intricate when compared to metals, because the tool has to go by the matrix and reinforcement alternately, which have dissimilar properties. The aspiration of this work is to highlight the drilling characteristics of four different types of fiber plates namely polyvinyl chloride reinforced hybrid composite, polyvinyl chloride reinforced hybrid with boron carbide compound, vinyl ester reinforced hybrid composite and vinyl ester reinforced hybrid with boron carbide composite by varying the cutting speed and feed rate.The drilling process is carried out on a radial drilling machine using HSS drill.The fabricated composites are subjected to drilling in order to identify the extent of delamination. The delamination in drilling is higher for the poly vinyl chloride polymer when compared to vinyl ester polymer, showing that vinyl ester is better suited as resin for the hybrid (kenaf, sisal, aloe vera) fibers. The study of thrust force, torque, and temperature developed during drilling reveals that HSS is better suited to drill vinyl ester reinforced with hybrid fiber at lower speed.