The aim of this paper is to compare the mechanical property and machinability of Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and 30 wt% carbon-fibers reinforced Polyetheretherketone (PEEK CF 30). The method of nano-indentation is used to investigate the microscopic mechanical property. The evolution of load with displacement, Young's modulus curves and hardness curves are analyzed. The results illustrate that the load-displacement curves of PEEK present better uniformity, and the variation of Young's modulus and hardness of PEEK both change smaller at the experimental depth. The machinability between PEEK and PEEK CF 30 are also compared by the method of single-point diamond turning (SPDT), and the peak-to-valley value (PV) and surface roughness (Ra) are obtained to evaluate machinability of the materials after machining. The machining results show that PEEK has smaller PV and Ra, which means PEEK has superior machinability.
Keywords: 30% carbon-fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone; nano-indentation; polyetheretherketone; single-point diamond turning.