Delamination reduction in drilling composite materials by active backup force

Composites have been widely employed in various industries due to their outstanding mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Drilling is an indispensible operation for building a load-carrying structure. Delamination, however, is among the serious concerns in drilling composite-based components in practice. This paper describes a novel method for the reduction of delamination during drilling of composites by active backup force. The applied backup force contributes to suppression of the growth of the delamination at drilling exit by 60–80%. The proposed novel drilling technique reveals the potential for fabrication of composite components at low cost and minor delamination with high feed rate.