The year 2024 was successful for the Scientific Technical Committee STC "G". Forty-six people attended the STC G Winter Meeting in Paris in February, and sixty-six people participated at the STC G meeting during Part II of the 73rd General Assembly in Thessaloniki, Greece, in August. Both the Winter Meeting and the General Assembly were held in person.
Highlights of the STC G Winter Meeting included seven technical contributions and status updates for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 keynote papers. Two proposals for a future keynote paper were also considered. The technical contributions covered different topics, including grinding under an oxygen-free atmosphere, the impact of metalworking fluids on process limits and surface integrity, and the benefits of using textured CBN wheels. The use of graphene-free slurry to enhance the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of SiC wafers, modeling fixed abrasive double-side lapping, and jet polishing were also topics presented.
Two topics for future keynote papers on “AI-enabled smart abrasive machining” and “Progress and challenges in abrasive processes towards manufacturing for sustainability” were proposed. It was agreed that the decisions regarding these topics would be postponed until the next STC G meeting during the General Assembly in Thessaloniki, Greece, in August 2024. The status of the STC G essay for the CIRP Novel Topics in Production Engineering (CNTPE) “Intelligent Grinding” was presented and approved. A future CNTPE topic, “Advanced polishing technologies for microstructured surfaces,” was proposed and endorsed by the STC G board.
The STC G contributions to Part I of the 73rd General Assembly included nine regular papers and the keynote paper entitled “Advances in modeling of fixed abrasive processes.” The keynote paper provided a comprehensive review, including a critical analysis of the advances in modeling fixed-abrasives considering geometry and kinematics models. Thermomechanical and data-driven models were included and discussed. The keynote paper listed and commented on various applications of modeling and the impact of using industrial models. Challenges and future directions of modeling fixed abrasives processes included capturing the complex interactions at the micro-scale and integrating them into macro-scale models. The keynote paper was well received.
The regular papers presented covered a wide range of topics, including dressing aspect parameters and simulation, grindability of gears and low-alloy steel produced by additive manufacturing, finishing of structured surfaces using mounted points, polishing of inner surfaces of slender tubes, real-time prediction of material removal rate of chemical mechanical polishing, study of aspects of edge shape during silicon wafer polishing and the study of the oxidation mechanism on the slurry-less Electrochemical Mechanical Polishing (ECMP).
Highlights of the STC G meeting in Part II of the 73rd General Assembly included six technical contributions, one laboratory presentation, recognition of the successful 2024 keynote paper, status updates of the 2025 and 2026 keynote papers, and formal proposals for future keynote papers and CIRP Novel Topics in Production Engineering (CNTPE). The technical contributions included grinding using a solid lubricant, the internal grinding of spherical profile bearings with cup wheels, and observation in the x-ray of the interaction between a metal-bonded grinding tool and a workpiece. Digitalization of the topography of the vitrified bonded grinding tool, the use of generative models to create images of ground surfaces using wheels of different grit sizes, and the development of the magnetic field-assisted mass polishing (MAMP) of optical components were also topics presented.
The laboratory presentation introduced an overview of the Laboratory for Ultra-Precision and Micro Engineering (LPME) at the RPTU University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. The laboratory's unique capabilities include state-of-the-art equipment for micro-milling, micro-grinding, laser machining, additive micro-manufacturing, and characterization. Research on critical enabling technologies is conducted in the LPME, such as the testing of wafers in the semiconductor industry, Extremely Large Telescope (EELT), high-precision scale solutions for vaccine filling, and machining of components for watches and optical surfaces. Equipment for the geometric measurement of elements in the sub-micrometer range and surface topography characterization in nanometer ranges are available at the laboratory.
The success of the 2024 keynote paper was recognized. The progress of the 2025 and 2026 keynote papers was presented, and the contents were all approved. Two formal proposals for future keynote papers were presented: “AI-enabled smart abrasive machining” and “Progress and challenges in abrasive processes towards manufacturing for sustainability.” It was decided that those keynote paper topics be forwarded to the Liaison Committee as the 2027 and 2028 STC G keynote papers, respectively. The topic “Finishing and superfinishing in the semiconductor industry” was presented as a future keynote paper. An updated, formal proposal will be prepared for the next STC G meeting in Paris, France, in February 2025.
The status of the CNTPE essays “Advanced polishing technologies for microstructured surfaces” and “Efficiency increase in grinding through integrated sensor technology - analysis of sensor positions and operating states during gear grinding” were presented, and the contents were approved. Furthermore, a new essay topic was proposed: “Hybrid grinding and polishing processes”. A formal proposal will be prepared and presented at the February 2025 STC G meeting.
STC G Chairwoman, Mrs. Yamaguchi, encouraged the audience to present technical contributions in the Winter Meeting in February 2025, especially in the fields covered by future keynote papers. Any abrasive-related topics are also welcome.
Mr. Heinzel paid tribute to Mrs. Yamaguchi’s three years as chair of STC G and gave a brief presentation. The STC G members very much appreciated Mr. Yamaguchi’s leadership.
Carsten Heinzel, Chairman, STC G, 23rd of October 2024