Cutting Kevlar/rubber composites.

Fifty years ago the principal reinforcement used in textile/rubber composites was cotton fibre. This has been largely superseded in the intervening years
by rayon, nylon, polyester, glass and steel. In the most recent years a new
high performance fibre specifically engineered to reinforce radial tyres and
other rubber goods has been introduced under the trade name KEVLAR.
The fibre has been woven to provide a low weight 'soft' body armour, because
of its high toughness. However this property of the reinforcement has the
disadvantage that when machining the material there is significant resistance
and consequent wear of tools.
This paper will describe experiments aimed at the design of a hand-held tool
to allow accurate cutting of Kevlar/rubber composites, where it has not been
possible to produce composites with the fibres preferentially oriented around
the intended cut-out. The effects of blade size, reciprocating speed and
lubrication will be discussed.