Milling infiltrated carbon-bonded carbon fiber: Geometric attributes, surface characteristics, and feasibility

This paper describes a manufacturing approach for carbon-bonded carbon fiber where cyanoacrylate and wax infiltration are used to improve the handling and machinability of preforms. Structured light optical coordinate metrology is used to acquire a stock model for computer-aided manufacturing and work coordinate system definition for machining. Non-infiltrated (neat) and infiltrated samples are machined using the same part program to compare results. Geometric attributes are measured with a touch trigger probe coordinate measuring machine and surface characteristics are measured with an optical 3D measuring system. Experimental results show superior geometric accuracy and surface roughness for the infiltrated samples over the neat sample.