Drilling Carbon Fiber

Racing Quads, Self-builds & FPV
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Does anyone know how easy it is to drill a couple of small holes in a carbon fiber frame? Can you use standard drill bits? (It’s near the edge of the plate)

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Dead easy. But use a face mask. Use a standard metal bit and go slow to medium.

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and hold/clamp the material down, if it wanders it makes a poor hole, also don’t let it breakthrough at the bottom 'cos it de-laminates easily

and as @notveryprettyboy says USE A FACE MASK it any gets in your lungs it will stay there till you die, the body cannot process carbon waste. :slightly_frowning_face:

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Thanks guys @notveryprettyboy @Steviegeek :+1:t2: Would it be best to drill wet with a little oil to avoid carbon dust? Or will this soak into the carbon and weaken it?

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I don’t know … The proffesional company I use machine it dry so the fume extraction can remove the dust effectively.
But your idea has merit, :+1: worth a try, I don’t think it will soak into fibres.

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Should be ok. Its pressure impregnated with resin or something like that. Don’t think a little water will harm it.
You can test it for us :laughing:

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think i’d pay someone to do it tbh

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:laughing: :+1:

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Cheers Steve I’ll have a think about it. Its a last resort really, I’m sure I will be able to do what I need without drilling holes. Just needed to know if its possible if I need to :+1:t2:

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I’ll be sure to let you know if I do it Karl, what’s the worst that can happen eh? :rofl:

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compared to re-hashing dead LiPo’s it’s a breeze :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Hell yes it is! That’s something I won’t be trying anytime soon :rofl:

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As above.
Standard HSS drill bit
Drill slow, apply slight pressure but NEVER push hard.
Let the drill do the work.
Dust mask FF3
Then I always have the vacuum cleaner on at the same time angled to remove the particulate as I drill.

No need to wet as vacuum cleaner as above.

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Cheers Steve thanks for the tips :+1:t2:

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Are you sure?
Pro machine shops use very high speed with carbide drills :thinking:

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I play it safe by wetting using a spray bottle, just enough to catch the dust. Depending hole diameter and carbon thickness I’ll use a pilot hole first, works a treat…

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Sorry I think I have been miss understood.

I mean by slow, drill it slow not the speed of the drill revolution.

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Thanks Njoro the plate thickness is 4mm and the holes will be probably 2mm diameter. If I do need to do this I will definitely use pilot holes :+1:t2:

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As said above use a high drill speed and low feed rate.

I usually place masking tape over it before drilling.

Water not an issue. I’ve cut CF using water jet with no negative effect.

If you have a demel use that as much higher rpm although a standard drill will suffice.

Clamp onto wood and keep pressure low towards end of hole to avoid delamination.

2mm hole will be a doddle.

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Cheers Callum appreciate all the helpful tips :+1:t2: