Optimization of Process Parameters in Micro-Drilling of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (Cfrp) Using Taguchi and Grey Relational Analysis

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) are said to be an excellent replacement for conventional materials with high strength and modulus and are widely used in aircraft, automobiles, infrastructures, 3D printing etc. In this micro-drilling experimental study, through holes are drilled on a CFRP laminates of 2 mm thick using conventional HSS drill bit of three different diameters (0.7, 0.8 and 0.9 mm). The Taguchi's L27(313) orthogonal array experimental design with smaller-the-better characteristics are selected as the input to the Grey relational analysis (GRA) to simultaneously minimize the delamination factor, circularity and cylindricity. The effect and contribution of the process parameters namely, spindle speed and feed rate are determined using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The correlation of process parameter and the responses are established using response surface methodology (RSM). The analysis of the results reveals that feed rate and spindle speed combination significantly affects the multiple response characteristics.