CFRP Manufacturing: Tooling Solutions for Precision, Performance, and Process Integrity 

As aerospace and automotive manufacturers continue their pursuit of lightweight, high-strength structures, Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) has become the go-to material in component design. Used in fuselage panels and engine nacelles to suspension systems and battery enclosures, CFRP brings a lot of advantaged to modern engineering, but with these advantages also comes significant machining complexity. 

Martin Burns on CFRP Manufacturing: What You Need to Know 

At Exactaform, we’ve spent years engineering advanced PCD and diamond-coated solutions for composite materials. In our latest feature with Aerospace Manufacturing magazine, Aerospace Specialist Martin Burns shares: 

“Our approach focuses on combining specialised drill geometries with carefully optimised cutting parameters. Geometry plays a key role in reducing thrust and managing chip flow. We also look closely at the use of coolants, where appropriate, and ensure that tools are manufactured to extremely sharp tolerances. For stacked materials, it’s about striking the right balance between cutting performance in CFRP and tool durability in metals like titanium.” 

📖 Read the full feature here

What Makes CFRP Machining So Demanding? 

CFRP is a layered, anisotropic material made from carbon fibres embedded in a polymer matrix. While it offers outstanding strength-to-weight ratio and fatigue resistance, it also presents a host of challenges during machining: 

• Abrasiveness leads to rapid tool wear 
• Delamination at hole entry or exit risks structural failure 
• Fibre pull-out and matrix cracking compromise surface integrity 
• Poor thermal conductivity increases the risk of resin burn 
• Directional fibre behaviour causes inconsistent cutting forces 

Machining CFRP, particularly in stacked combinations with titanium or aluminium, demands tooling designed to navigate each of these variables without sacrificing finish, accuracy, or throughput. 

Tools Engineered for CFRP Manufacturing 

All Exactaform tooling, specialised or off-the-shelf, is developed to perform under the most challenging machining conditions. PCD tooling solutions offer the wear resistance, edge precision, and heat management required for high-volume and precision-critical CFRP applications. 

Aero-Carb Range: Diamond-Coated Tools

Developed specifically for aerospace CFRP and mixed stacks, Aero-Carb combines advanced carbide substrates with durable diamond coatings. The result is a toolset optimised for composite wear resistance while maintaining the edge integrity needed to hold aerospace tolerances.

• 2 & 4 Flute Endmills (Roughing & Finishing)
• Ball Nose Slot Drills
• Double Margin Drills
• Imperial & Metric Ranges

PCD Tooling

Where maximum life and repeatable quality are essential, solid PCD and PCD-vein tooling set the benchmark. These tools are application-led, designed for CFRP and CFRP/Ti combinations where tool stability and resin protection are critical.

• 3-Flute Routers
• 8-Facet PCD Drills
• Exacta-Set PCD Milling System
• Exacto-Burr deburring tools
• Custom PCD Countersinks for CFRP/Ti or CFRP/Al combinations