Application of ARAS Method for Finding Out the Best Possible Combination of Input Parameters for Least Hole Defects While Drilling CFRP Laminates

The drilling of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) composite laminates is quite different from those of traditional metal owing to the anisotropic nature of the composite laminates.The high stiff fibers were alternatively placed with a malleable matrix making things worse when the drill tool encounters these materials having different mechanical and thermal properties.Although having exceptional properties like a high strength-to-weight ratio, high stiffness ratio, corrosion resistance, etc., it has been kept in the hard-to-machine material category.Therefore, while drilling these materials an optimized parameter setting is essential for ensuring high standard damage-free holes for structural building purposes.A Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method has been used to deal with the difficulty faced while selecting the process parameter settings from a large number of potentially viable alternatives.Therefore, in this particular research paper, a decision-making model using the Additive ratio assessment (ARAS) method was used for finding the best possible alternative for drilling CFRP laminates.It was confirmed that this method can be utilized in solving the real-time problem of selecting the best parameter setting while drilling CFRP composite materials.Based on this method alternative with a low drill point angle (110°), high spindle speed (3200 rpm), and low feed rate (0.025 mm/rev) was found to be the best setting for drilling holes.