The year 2017 was successful for the Scientific Technical Committee STC “G”. Sixty people attended the STC G winter meeting in Paris in February, and fifty-nine people attended Part II of the STC G meeting held at the 67th General Assembly in Lugano, Switzerland, in August.
Highlights of the STC G winter meeting in Paris included eight technical contributions, one laboratory presentation, and status updates of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 keynote papers. The technical-contribution topics included ultraprecision grinding by a single diamond grain, machining of hard and brittle materials, characterization of grinding tool topography, wheel topography effects on advanced aerospace-alloy grinding, texturing cBN grinding wheels using rotary discs, in situ grinding of blade outer air seals, grinding fluid jet characteristics in gear profile grinding, and modeling of bone grinding forces in atherectomy. In the laboratory-presentation session, an overview of the R&D programs in TechSolve Inc., USA, was introduced. The progress of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 keynote papers was presented, and the contents were all approved. It was also approved that the above-mentioned keynote papers be forwarded to the Liaison Committee as the STC G future keynote papers. Mr. Aurich, Chairman of STC G, encouraged the audience to present contributions in the next STC G meeting in Part II of the 67th General Assembly in Lugano in August 2017. Any abrasive-related topics will be welcome.
The STC G contributions to Part I of the 67th General Assembly in Lugano included a keynote paper, “Recent Developments in Grinding Machines,” presented by Mr. Wegener, and 12 regular papers. The keynote paper provided a comprehensive overview of advancement of grinding machines along with demands and progress of abrasive processes, implications of grinding machines, auxiliary devices (e.g., coolant supplying system, tool-generation and wear-compensation systems, tool exchangers), special machines (e.g., hybrid and combined machines, ultra-precision and micro machines, large machines), simulation, control and expert systems, and game-changing technologies. The keynote paper was well received. The regular papers presented covered a broad range of topics, including ultrasonic-cavitation-assisted fluid jet polishing, modification of the surface roughness and residual stress of additively manufactured components, modeling of vibratory finishing processes using computational fluid dynamics or discrete element method, force-controlled form honing, surface and edge finishing using dynamic jamming in dense suspensions, grinding of calcified plaque in atherectomy, polishing pressure distribution in CMP process, grinding temperature modeling and Barkhausen noise analysis in hardened bearing steel grinding, dressing tool with controlled geometry and density of abrasive grits, ultrasonic assisted creep feed, and ultrasonic vibration/plasma electrolytic oxidation-assisted grinding.
Highlights of the STC G meeting in Part II of the 67th General Assembly in Lugano included eight technical contributions, one laboratory presentation, status updates of the 2018 and 2019 keynote papers, and a proposal for a future keynote paper. The technical-contribution topics included modeling of interrupted grinding, criteria in centerless grinding modeling, simulation of grinding burn, productivity in face-grinding applications, material removal mechanisms during single-grain grinding, heat suppression in bone grinding, hybrid manufacturing (additive manufacturing and grinding), and abrasive process and tribocorrosive behavior of additively manufactured components. Lively discussions of the presentations were, as always, part of the meeting. In the laboratory-presentation session, an overview of the International Grinding Centre, Sweden, was given. The success of the 2017 keynote paper, “Recent Developments in Grinding Machines,” was acknowledged. The progress of the 2018 and 2019 keynote papers was presented, and the contents were all approved. It was also approved that the above-mentioned keynote papers be forwarded to the Liaison Committee as the future STC G keynote papers. A topic for a future keynote paper was proposed and discussed, and the contents were provisionally approved. The proposers were encouraged to present further progress of the proposal in the next winter meeting in February 2018, according to the comments and advice received in the discussion. Mr. Aurich, Chairman of STC G, encouraged the audience to present contributions in the next winter meeting in Paris in February 2018. Any abrasive-related topics will be welcome.
A proposition for creating a new CWG on Additive Manufacturing, requested by Council, was discussed, and the proposition was approved. It was also approved that STC G would support activities of the new CWG.
Elections took place for the new STC G officers (for the period starting from 2018). Mr. Jan Aurich will step down after 3 years of service as Chairman of STC G, and he will be replaced by Mr. Konrad Wegener who received unanimous approval. Mrs. Hitomi Yamaguchi was unanimously elected as Vice Chairman of STC G. Mr. Carsten Heinzel was unanimously elected as the new Secretary of STC G. The new chairman thanked Mr. Aurich for his excellent work and promised to continue to the benefit of STC G.
Jan Aurich, Chairman, STC G, 24th of October 2017