Challenge: How to meet the requirements of the aerospace industry for processing complex materials?
Solution: Opt for orbital drilling to boost productivity and cut costs.
In modern aircraft manufacturing, the use of advanced carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites combined with metal laminates—such as CFRP-titanium or CFRP-aluminum—has become increasingly common. However, these materials present unique challenges when it comes to drilling. The process can lead to issues like poor hole tolerances, chip accumulation, heat generation, inadequate lubrication, and problems such as delamination, tool wear, and burrs in CFRP materials.
Orbital drilling is gaining popularity as a reliable method to address many of these challenges, offering improved production efficiency and cost savings. Sandvik Coromant collaborates closely with Novator AB, a global leader in aerospace orbital drilling solutions, to develop a wide range of tooling options. Novator’s orbital drilling system integrates Sandvik Coromant’s end mills, providing a complete solution tailored to customer needs. For the aerospace sector, Novator offers a variety of portable orbital drilling equipment and accessories.
The key advantage of orbital drilling is that it allows complex drilling and finishing operations to be completed with just one tool. In this method, the cutting tool moves both axially and horizontally, enabling it to create holes larger than its own diameter. This means a single tool can handle multiple hole sizes, making the process more efficient. Various carbide milling tools are designed specifically for orbital drilling, with different geometries and coatings to suit specific applications and deliver optimal performance.
Because of the air gap created during the process, using a smaller tool diameter than the final hole size helps reduce heat generation. The low thrust force ensures better hole quality. Dry machining or minimal lubrication can be used, which is especially beneficial for CFRP-titanium laminates. This approach is environmentally friendly, improves operator safety, and reduces overall costs since no coolant is required and no cleaning is needed afterward. Orbital drilling also produces fewer chips, making them easier to remove and reducing the risk of surface damage.
Since the entire hole machining process can be done in a single operation, the need for custom tools is significantly reduced. This leads to less delamination at the entry and exit points of the hole, extends tool life, and enhances both process safety and productivity.
Sandvik Coromant develops and tests end mill solutions tailored to specific customer projects. When designing these end mills, minimizing radial forces is crucial to prevent tool bending. Holes machined this way maintain precise dimensions, are free from burrs, produce minimal chips, and are easy to clean up.
Thanks to extended tool life, the need for various types of tools is reduced, lowering the cost per hole. The cutting edge only makes partial contact with the material, and air cooling prevents overheating, further extending tool life. With a single tool capable of drilling holes of different sizes, the number of tools in inventory can be significantly reduced. Plus, since the entire assembly can be completed in one step, production time is often dramatically shortened.
Modern aircraft now use over 50% CFRP, meaning there's a growing need for cost-effective and safe machining processes to handle these challenging materials.
In summary
As the use of advanced composite materials in the aerospace industry continues to rise, so do the challenges of machining them. Sandvik Coromant partners with leading orbital drilling tool manufacturer Novator to develop specialized tooling solutions for drilling difficult composite and metal laminate materials. Together, they provide a precise, efficient, and cost-effective solution for the future of aerospace manufacturing.
Aluminum roller shutter doors are automatic roll up doors, fit for industrial factory, warehouse, residential garages and also commercial shops. Its slat is made from double layer aluminum sheet, filled with polyurethane foam inside. So it is thermal insulated and noise proof.
Aluminum Roller Shutter Doors,Aluminum Shutter Door,Insulated Aluminum Rolling Door,Aluminium Roller Garage Door, Automatic Aluminum Roller Door, Electric Aluminum Roller Door
SHANGHAI KENVO DOOR CO.,LTD , https://www.kenvodoor.com