Abstract
Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is a very strong and light composite material, and it has many applications in aerospace and automotive fields. However, in conventional mechanical machining methods, such as cutting and grinding, there are some problems; delaminating, splintering, burrs of machined surface and short tool life. Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is an effective alternative methed for machining difficult-to-cut materials. In this paper, the EDM characteristics, such as material removal rate, electrode wear rate and surface roughness for CFRP were experimentally investigated with varying pulse duration. Also, the effect of the fiber orientation on the machining characteristics was discussed.
