The production of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) parts requires edge trimming after primary shaping. Heat accumulates in convex workpiece sections, leading to increased temperatures compared to straight edges, possibly compromising the material. Existing analytical models assume constant thermal conditions and are therefore unable to calculate temperature fields of curved workpiece contours. Accordingly, a numerical simulation for straight contours was extended to convex geometry sections with different radii. The paper outlines this temperature simulation and presents results for various radii and fiber orientations when machining unidirectional CFRP. Temperature measurements during milling of unidirectional CFRP are used to calibrate the simulation.
Science Journal 