Cutting Carbon Fiber??

T

tom mayo

Joined
Jan 27, 1999
Messages
6,277
Have just started using this stuff....ugh! I drills sorta ok, grinds ok, but how do you cut the stuff....? I mean I want to end up with some clean edges.....high speed router? I want to do inlays to install small titanium "wedgielocks" tm-thats me- and need to end up with a nice clean cut...any ideas. It DOESNT work on my mill....too slow i think. and what abouthow the fiber pushes out when you break thru with the drill? I have talked to Kit about this but would like some other peoples opinions...thanks in advance...especially to Tim who will undoubtedly have some wise a$$ comment!

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Nasty stuff, dulls drills on the first hole,strips the teeth off saw blades and burns out HSS router bits.

I have given up any ideas of using it on a regular basis and only where I can rough cut it with my abrasive chop saw and sand it to it's final shape. It does tap very well and holds a screw nicely though.

I haven't tried it but perhaps a very low cutting speed is the trick to reduce the heat buildup due to friction coupled with carbide tooling.

G10 is as light but not as pretty but is easier to work with.



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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
Hmm, my experiance has been a bit different than Georges. I cut it on a bi metal blade in my bandsaw, the same speed as I use on steel, never lost a tooth. I get several holes out of a high speed bit before dulling, but the thing I noticed the most was that the stuff is so abrasive that the drill actually has a smaller diameter after several holes, so I pump the bit after breaking through. To drill the stuff and have a clean breakthrough, I clamp to a piece of hardwood or scrap G-10. I also have found the carbide spade bits to cut a nice exit wound, but still a bit fuzzy. I agree with george that when I use it I leave enough material to clean up the fuzz after sawing. The little slivers that come off the stuff hurt more than wood or metal slivers it seem to me. It is just troublesome stuff to work but the extra effort is worth it if that is what the knife calls for.

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www.simonichknives.com
 
domo arigato......yes, similar to my experiences....but i need to find a way to mill slots in this stuff...will have to try the tried and true method of trial and error.. mostly the latter.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
i dont use carbon fiber:P so i can be of no help
tongue.gif
 
Spines are worse than nettleweed!!!!!

Otherwise I cut it with a jigsaw & Rem-Grit Carbide Impregnated blades (leastwise the blades I profiled outta the stuff before CA got anal about non-metallic blades :'( ).

As for milling, I'd go with the carbide end mills & take your time.
 
Tom, a local shop uses carbon fiber on a daily basis, what they use is diamond tools
from band saw blades to finished product the only thing that touches it is diamond tools.

Tracy

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Tracy Dotson
Dotson's Custom Knives
Baker Fl.
 
Mill fine with carbide Tom. I carbidize the drills on the face and sides to make them last and the get a cleaner cut..
Everthing Rob said.
And in production they use diamond cutters Dots but I cant afford that bastids.
Tom you making one of them swiss chesse knives from carbon fiber?


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Web Site At www.darrelralph.com
 
tom
there are blades My farther usees to cut everything from metal to pastic
it even cuts saw blades with no troble
they are not a blade like on a band saw
they are round and look like a sprikler
kid use on the 4 of july,they are rough
they can not be used on a band saw
they have to be used in a small table top saw,( can't think of the name e of one for the life of me)maybe a copping saw,you know the kind that cut up and down.(that sounds dumb)
you will have to cut about an 1/8 behind your line because the blade is round but
they will cut it with no problem
I hope I did not make things sound confussing
Nathan
 
yes...you are talking about carbide grit blades.....Looks like diamonds are the way to go...I have lots...for grinding carbide..but they are all 400 grit....think i need 120 or rougher for this project.... I am not so worried about things getting dull but about getting a nice clean cut..especially on the inside and where the drills break thru....the fibers want to push out and BREAK OFF leaving small voids that sometimes cant be sanded out....it is a chore to work with this stuff....to say the least!!!! but the upside is breathing the dust makes you into a man!!!!!!!

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Here's a little something I came across awhile back, dont know if they're as good as advertised, but it sounds interesting at least: http://www.compositetek.com/drillbits.htm

Whatever you do, dont use HSS to mill the damned stuff with, managed to wreck a nice dovetail cutter after machining the titanium bolsters of a folder without any trouble whatsoever, the carbon however cut for awhile then just wore a nice groove into the teeth.
mad.gif


Rich
 
Okay, on the same topic, how about some low-tech CF machining? I want to put CF scales on a Benchmade 705, so I'm going to need to cut to shape, contour the edges, somehow mount them, and machine out the insides to leave clearance for the Axis mechanism. I don't have milling machines or whatnot, so what can I do low-tech?

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
files and sandpaper work great on it..it doesnt like to be cut or drilled however. if you are going to drill it and dont use carbide....be prepared to throw your drill bit away.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Tom:

If you have a small scrap piece or can direct me to someone who does, I can try to make you a special drill bit that might work . I've done a lot of custom drills for guys who work with odd material. Different point geometries and the like. Drop me a line if you're interested. I can put pretty much any point geometry on a drill bit. Or Perhaps I could grind you a special cutter to do the job. It'd be interesting to play with it and see what develops.

------Jim
 
thanks jim....I dont think the point geometry is nearly as important as the wear resistance of the material....carbide is definitely the way to go here.....can you make drills out of wierd stuff....like?? I have a pretty sophisticated drill sharpener that will put any kind of angle or point i want....but it doesnt just wear the point away....it wears the sides of the drill bit too!!! cobalt drills work ok...but carbide is the best. but thats not what I am worried about...I want to inlet some cavities.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Anyone that wants some scrap carbon fiber to practice on or play with please contact me via e-mail.

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~Gordon~
 
I can point any material that can be cut with a Diamond. The problem that I often see is that we tend to think of cutting and drilling tools as having a particular shape or geometry. This tends to limit you when you're faced with a new and difficult material. Sometimes it takes some lateral thinking to effect the solution. i.e, a drill does not necessarily have to LOOK like a drill, or a cutter like a cutter.

I think that there is a simple solution to the problem, and have emailed Gordon for some scrap pieces to play with. I've run into problems like this before and look at it as just another problem to be solved ( not that I CAN, just that I'm willing to spend some time and money TRYING!)

I'll keep everyone apprised of the progress when I have some answers.

Jim Harvey
 
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