Enhancing Machining Processes With Advanced Tool, Coating Materials and Cutting Technology

Dear Colleagues,

Mechanical machining or cutting, as a subtractive manufacturing operation, is one of the most widely used manufacturing processes. Although some emerging manufacturing processes, such as additive manufacturing, have advanced beyond rapid prototyping to the manufacture of structural and functional components, the dominant role of cutting is still irreplaceable owing to its flexibility, good surface quality, high material removal rate, and the capability to machine nearly all types of materials. Material properties generally have contrary relationships with their machinability, and materials with excellent thermal, physical, or mechanical properties are always difficult to process. With the rapid development of advanced engineering materials, new challenges have emerged in the field of cutting. The development of advanced tool/coating materials and technology will be aimed at improvements in production efficiency, product quality. and cost reduction. On the one hand, the intrinsic attributes of tool/coating materials, including their structures and properties, are essential factors that determine their cutting performance. On the other hand, the final surface produced by advanced cutting technology has unique structures and associated properties, which differ significantly from the original characteristics of the workpiece materials. It is thus urgent to gain deeper insights into the underlying relationships between the cutting process and machined surface integrity in order to guarantee the cutting efficiency and final surface quality of difficult-to-process materials.

Therefore, the objective of this Special Issue is the publication of original research and review articles in the field of cutting performance of difficult-to-process materials. Papers that employ advanced tool/coating materials and technology concepts to enhance machining processes are welcome. We also welcome scholars in related fields to contribute their latest research results to this Special Issue. Understanding the strengthening mechanisms of processed tool/coating materials and technology can provide a deeper comprehension of their machinability as well as machined surface evolution.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following.

• Design and fabrication of new cutting tools with advanced tools and coating materials;
• Fundamentals in the relationships of “tool/coating material–property–cutting performance”;
• Development of new manufacturing technologies, such as cutting/milling/grinding/polishing/hybrid processing;
• Assisted machining technologies such as ultrasonic-assisted machining (UAM), vibration-assisted machining (VAM), laser-assisted machining (LAM), etc.;
• Enhancing mechanisms of the machining process with advanced tool/coating material and technology;
• Tool wear mechanisms and their monitoring;
• Machined surface integrity and the evolution of material structure and properties during the cutting process;
• Performance evaluation of processed functional components after the cutting process;
• Machining mechanics, applications, and challenges

Prof. Dr. Peirong Zhang
Prof. Dr. Guosheng Su
Dr. Jin Du
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• advanced tool/coating materials
• advanced cutting technology
• material removal mechanism
• surface integrity evolution