Special Issue on Precision Abrasive Technology of Difficult-to-Machine Materials

The demand for high-precision hard components and their molds/dies have increased in various industries such as in the optical, automotive, and communication industries, as well as in life and medical sciences. Some difficult-to-machine materials can be reliably machined using deterministic precision cutting processes. On the other hand, hard and brittle materials such as ceramics, carbides, hardened steel of molds, glassy materials, or semiconductor materials have to be machined using precision abrasive technologies with super abrasives of diamond or cBN. However, the machining of high-precision components and their molds/dies by abrasive processes, is much more difficult because of their complex and non-deterministic nature and textured surface. Furthermore, high-energy processes such as laser technology can assist abrasive technologies for ensuring higher precision and efficiency. In this sense, precision grinding and polishing process are primarily used to generate high-quality and functional components usually made of difficult-to-machine materials. The surface quality achievable by precision grinding and polishing processes becomes more important for reducing machining time and costs. This special issue features five research articles – five papers – related to the most recent advances in precision abrasive technology of difficult-to-machine materials. Their subjects cover various abrasive machining processes of grinding, polishing, abrasive flow machining, tooling technology, and laser technologies. We deeply appreciate the careful work of all authors and thank the reviewers for their incisive efforts. We also hope this special issue will trigger further research on abrasive technologies.