In an era of rapid technological innovation, a single material can no longer meet various industries' production and processing needs. Therefore, the application and market size of composite materials have proliferated.
Due to the advantages of lightweight, excellent performance, low carbon, and low energy consumption, composite materials have gradually replaced traditional aluminum, titanium, and steel in some industries.
In addition to common composite materials such as carbon fiber, aluminum alloy, copper alloy, graphite, resin, etc., B4C aluminum-based composites are also emerging materials worthy of attention. So, how do we process this relatively unfamiliar composite material?
Characteristics of B4C aluminum-based composites
B4C refers to boron carbide, a special ceramic hard material with excellent performance.
Its hardness is second only to diamond and cubic boron nitride. It has a high melting point (2450℃), low density, high elastic modulus, and corrosion resistance. It is often used in lightweight armor, aircraft belly, and other protective fields.
However, boron carbide also has the disadvantages of poor toughness and difficulty in sintering densely, which limits its application.
Adding boron carbide particles to the aluminum alloy matrix with excellent toughness can effectively enhance its toughness, thereby obtaining B4C aluminum-based composite materials with excellent mechanical properties.
At present, this composite material has been widely used in aviation, automobile, electrical engineering, and nuclear power industries.
PCD drill reamer selection
After understanding B4C aluminum-based composite materials, we need to choose suitable tools for processing.
For this composite material, the best choice is PCD (polycrystalline diamond) tools. Moresuperhard's PCD integral drill, PCD countersink drill, and PCD end mill can effectively solve the common problems of delamination, burr, and tearing in the processing of composite parts, showing the characteristics of high processing quality and long tool life.
Customer Cases and Solutions
Recently, we received an inquiry from a Canadian customer requesting the processing of B4C aluminum-based composite materials.
The customer needs a PCD drill reamer with the following specifications:
6mm/14mm Diameter x 2 Flute x 12mm Shank x76.50mm OAL
The PCD drill reamer has two structures: integral PCD drill reamer and patch PCD drill reamer.
It can complete the drilling and reaming process at one time, omitting the steps of tool withdrawal, tool change, and tool indexing, greatly shortening the processing time.
The drill edge design ensures that there are no burrs, fiber tearing, and delamination at the exit of the composite hole, and the polished edge band squeezes the hole wall to improve processing accuracy.
The sharp front angle design reduces the cutting force and cutting heat, simplifies the processing process and design, and not only saves costs but also improves the reliability of automation.
Moresuperhard has manufactured a series of efficient, economical, and reliable tools for processing modern materials through close cooperation with customers. We are committed to helping customers achieve efficient production and meet the processing needs of different materials. If you have any cutting processing problems that need to be solved, please contact us and we will do our best to help you.
