International Journal of Engineering and Technology

The machining of fibre reinforced composites is an important activity for optimal application of these advanced materials into engineering fields. During machining, any excessive cutting force has to be avoided in order to prevent any product reject in the last stages of production cycle. Therefore, the ability to predict the cutting forces is essential to select the process parameters necessary for an optimal machining. The aim of this paper is to analyse the cutting forces in CFRPmilling; in particular, this work highlights the reliability and potential of a numerical model as a forecasting tool for the real signal of the cutting force componentsof a multi-insert tool, obtained starting from the experimental signal of a tool with a single cutting insert. The signal components of the cutting force, as a function of the number of inserts, has been numerically analysed and then it has been validated by experimental tests.