Special Issue on Abrasive Technology for High-Precision and High-Efficiency Machining of High-Performance Materials

The demand for high-precision and high-efficient machining of high-performance materials and components has increased in various industries such as optical, automotive, communication, life sciences, and medical sciences. Certain difficult-to-machine materials can be reliably machined using deterministic precision cutting processes. However, hard and brittle materials such as ceramics, carbides, hardened steel molds, glassy materials, or semiconductor materials, require precision abrasive technologies with super abrasives like diamond, cBN, or new tool materials for machining. However, machining high-precision components and their molds/dies using abrasive processes is considerably more difficult due to their complex and non-deterministic nature and textured surfaces. Furthermore, high-energy processes such as laser technology can assist abrasive technologies in ensuring higher precision and efficiency. Precision grinding and polishing processes are primarily used to generate high-quality and functional components, typically made of difficult-to-machine materials. Thus, the surface quality achievable by precision grinding and polishing processes becomes more important for reducing machining time and costs. This special issue features 10 papers on the most recent advances in precision abrasive technologies. These papers cover the following topics: - Ultrasonic grinding of micro holes using cemented WC tools - Drilling holes in CFRP aircraft using cBN electroplated ball end mill - In situ evaluation of drill wear using tool images - Grinding belt based on modified information entropy - Radial directional vibration-assisted grinding of Al2O3 ceramics - Chatter vibration suppression using fixed superabrasive polishing stone - Free abrasive finishing of internal channels with different cross-sectional geometries - High-quality machining of cemented carbide using PCD ball end mills - Fixed-abrasive machining with magnetic brush for Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy - High-efficient polishing of polymer surfaces using catalyst-referred etching This issue will provide an understanding of the recent developments in abrasive technologies, leading to further research. We deeply appreciate the careful work of all the authors, and we thank the reviewers for their incisive efforts.