Experimental investigations on drilling of lignocellulosic fiber reinforced composite laminates

Natural or lignocellulosic fibre reinforced composites have a plethora of salient characteristics such as low density, fairly good mechanical properties; consume low energy during processing and non-toxic to the environment. Due to these properties, lignocellulosic fibre reinforced composites have many applications in the engineering field. Drilling is an inevitable machining operation because it facilitates the assembly of different parts of a structure. This paper presents the drilling performance of lignocellulosic fibre reinforced polymer composites. The experimental investigation was carried out using 4-facet, 8-facet, dagger, step and parabolic drill bits at a different combination of feed and speed of the drill bit. The drilling performance was evaluated in terms of drilling forces, delamination and surface roughness of the machined hole. Additionally, the influence of the drilling temperature on the force and damage has been experimentally investigated.