Sustainable Machining of Modern Difficult-to-Cut Materials

Dear Colleagues,

The effectiveness of production is an important element of a company's sustainable development, leading to the production of machine parts, taking into account economic, social, and ecological aspects. The production that takes into account all of the dimensions of sustainable development tends towards processes that minimize negative effects on the environment, saves energy and natural resources, is safe for employees and consumers, and is economically justified. The issue becomes even more complex if we take into account difficult-to-cut materials and the restrictive requirements of the recipients of manufactured products.

The modern difficult-to-cut materials are widely used in many industries because of their specific properties. On the other hand, the same properties adversely affect machinability. Physical properties like a low thermal conductivity and high work-hardening tendency, among others, can contribute to the high cutting forces and temperatures, which may lead to the intensive wear of the cutting edge. The tool wear indicator could reach a critical value after a short period of cutting time. Further machining using worn tools could lead to an exceeding of dimensional tolerance of the workpiece, worsening surface roughness and also impact on surface integrity.

The machinability depends on many elements related to the material under machining, the cutting tool, and the cutting parameters, as well as additional factors like the cooling strategies and hybrid processes.

This Special Issue provides an excellent opportunity for researchers who study the effective machining of modern difficult-to-cut materials by taking into account different cooling and lubrication methods, including high-pressure cooling (HPC), minimum quantity lubrication (MQL), and dry cutting, as well as the effect of hybrid manufacturing processes like laser-assisted machining (LAM) and ultrasonic-assisted machining and grinding. In this context, the machining of materials produced by additive manufacturing should also be considered. It is our pleasure to invite you to submit original research papers or state-of-the-art reviews that are within the scope of this Special Issue.

Nowadays, it is important that the manufacturing process should also incorporate the aspects of sustainable machining, taking into consideration questions of economy, environment, and social implications related to production. These requirements determine the modern technological approach to the process of machining.

Prof. Witold Habrat
Guest Editor

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