Investigation of cutting mechanisms in the machining of Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs)

Abstract Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) are increasingly used in numerous engineering fields, e.g. the aerospace, automotive, energy & nuclear industry due to their higher permissible material temperature and their lower weight compared to metallic materials. Thanks to the quasi-ductile material behaviour, it is possible to carry out time- and cost-efficient finishing with a geometrically defined cutting edge. In this study the cutting mechanisms are analysed in fundamental cutting tests on an orthogonal cutting test bench by variance of the undeformed chip thickness. For the evaluation cutting force measurements, high-speed recordings, surface qualities measurements and chip analyses were conducted.