Special Issue on Advanced Abrasive Process Technologies

The demand for high-precision and high-efficiency machining of hard ceramics such as silicon carbide (SiC) for semiconductors and hardened steel for molding dies has significantly increased for power devices in automobiles, optical devices, and medical devices. Certain types of hard metals can be machined by deterministic precision-cutting processes. However, hard and brittle ceramics, hardened steel for molds, or semiconductor materials have to be machined by precision abrasive technologies such as grinding, polishing, and ultrasonic vibration technologies with diamond super abrasives. The machining of high-precision components and their molds/dies by abrasive processes is much more difficult owing to their complex and nondeterministic nature as well as their complex textured surface. Furthermore, high-energy processes with UV lasers and IR lasers, and ultrasonic vibration can be used to assist abrasive technologies for greater precision and efficiency. In this sense, precision grinding and polishing processes are primarily used to generate high-quality and functional components usually made of hard and brittle materials. The surface quality achieved by precision grinding and polishing processes becomes more important to reduce processing time and costs. This special issue features seven research papers on the most recent advances in precision abrasive technologies for hard materials. These papers cover various abrasive machining processes such as grinding, polishing, ultrasonic-assisted grinding, and laser-assisted technologies. We deeply appreciate the careful work of all the authors and thank the reviewers for their incisive efforts. We also hope that this special issue will encourage further research on abrasive technologies.