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CNC Machining Carbon Fibre

Carbon fibre sheet and plate cut, routed and drilled on our own machines — drone frames, brackets, plates and trim — with the edge quality and hole accuracy the material demands. The video is one of our jobs: a nest of small parts coming out of a 3 mm CFRP sheet.

Get a QuoteDesign notes
0.5 – 25 mmSheet and plate thickness
±0.05 mmTypical on routed profiles
Dust-extractedEnclosed cutting, no fibres in the shop air
16 hQuote turnaround
Why it is different

Carbon fibre is not a metal, and cannot be cut like one

CFRP is layers of carbon cloth in a cured epoxy. It is stiff, light and abrasive — and it does not chip like aluminium. A cutter that is wrong for it, or a feed that is too slow, frays the edge, pulls fibres out of the top layer or splits the plies apart. That damage cannot be polished away afterwards.

We cut it with diamond-coated and compression-flute routers, at feeds set for the material rather than borrowed from aluminium, on a vacuum table so the sheet cannot lift. Drilled holes go through a backing board so the exit side is as clean as the entry. Cutting is enclosed and extracted — carbon dust is conductive and abrasive, and we do not want it in the machine or in the air.

What we cut
  • MaterialCFRP sheet & plate, twill or plain weave, forged
  • AlsoG10 / FR4, GFRP, Kevlar hybrids
  • OperationsProfile routing, drilling, countersinking, pockets
  • Edge finishAs cut, or sealed with resin on request
  • Not offeredLayup, moulding or autoclave — machining only
Before you send the drawing

Four things that make a carbon fibre part cheaper and cleaner

01

Say which face is the show face

One side of a sheet is usually the cosmetic weave. Tell us which, and we cut with that side up so the cutter enters through it and any breakout lands on the back.

02

Keep internal corners at R1 or larger

A sharp internal corner in a laminate is a crack starter. A 1 mm radius costs nothing and is where the part will survive a drop.

03

Give holes room from the edge

Holes closer than two diameters to an edge are prone to splitting under load and to breakout when drilled. Two diameters is a safe rule; ask us if the design cannot allow it.

04

Nest, do not send singles

Small parts are cut as a nest from one sheet, tabbed and snapped out. Sending the assembly rather than one part at a time lets us nest everything on the same sheet and cut the price.

Recent work

Carbon fibre parts we have cut

We do not publish customer parts or drawings. These are sample and demonstration parts — never a customer’s job.

Carbon fibre sheet being milled on a vacuum table with dust extraction
CFRP sheet on the vacuum table, extraction running
Machined carbon fibre drone frame components
Drone frame arms and plates, routed from 3 mm sheet
Stack of carbon fibre sheets in twill, plain and coloured weaves
Twill, plain and coloured CFRP sheet stock
Questions we get

Common questions

Do you make the carbon fibre sheet, or just machine it?
Machine only. We buy cured CFRP sheet and plate from stock, or cut material you send us. We do not do layup, moulding or autoclave work.
Will the edges fray?
Not if the cutter, feed and support are right, which is the whole job. Cut edges come off the machine clean; if the part will be handled a lot we can seal the edge with resin so fibres cannot lift over time.
What tolerance can you hold?
±0.05 mm on routed profiles and hole positions is normal. Thickness is whatever the sheet is — laminate thickness varies more than a metal plate does, so if thickness matters, say so and we will pick sheet accordingly.
Can you machine carbon fibre with metal inserts?
Yes. Threaded inserts, bushings and bonded aluminium features are routine, and the metal parts are machined here.
Minimum quantity?
None. One part is cut from one sheet like any other.

Ready for a quote?

Send the drawing — price and lead time within 16 hours. STEP, IGES, X_T, DWG, DXF or PDF. No minimum order.

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