Machining composite materials

In recent years, the application of composite materials has increased in various areas of science and technology due to their special properties, namely for use in the aircraft, automotive, defence, aerospace and other advanced industries. Machining composite materials is quite a complex task owing to its heterogenity, and to the fact that reinforcements are extremely abrasive. In modern engineering, high demands are placed on components made of composites in relation to their dimensional precision as well as their surface quality. Due to these potential applications, there is a great need to understand the questions associated with machining composite materials. This book aims to provide the fundamentals and the recent advances in the machining of composite materials (polymers, metals and ceramics) for modern manufacturing engineering. The three parts of the book cover the machining of polymeric, metal and ceramic matrix composites. This book can be used as a text book for the final year of an undergraduate engineering course or for those studying machining/composites at the postgraduate level. It can also serve as a useful work of reference for academics, manufacturing and materials researchers, manufacturing and mechanical engineers, and professionals in composite technology and related industries.