The Scientific Technical Committee Surfaces (STC S) had two meetings in 2025 – during the CIRP Winter Meetings, the session was held on February 20th while the General Assembly (GA) meeting was held on the 21st of August. 136 and 102 participants attended the STC S Winter and GA Meetings respectively.
At the Winter Meetings, updates on the STC S keynotes for 2025, 2026 and 2027 were given. A proposal for the 2028 STC S keynote paper was presented and discussed. The initiative was appreciated and it was decided to further discuss a more detailed proposal at the General Assembly. An update on an ongoing cooperative activity dealing with surface features in metal additive manufacturing was presented by J. Fox and discussed in the STC. From this cooperative activity, an initiative to prepare an essay for the CIRP Novel Topics in Production Engineering (CNTPE) arose. The proposal was approved at the GA Meeting in 2024 and during the Winter Meetings, a first update was presented by J. Fox.
Five short technical presentations were given, each were followed by lively discussions:
• Enhancing the performance of distal fibula fixation plates through geometry and surface modification (G. Rotella, M. Rosaria Saffioti)
• Topographical and mechanical properties of sputtered ceramic antibacterial coatings with silver nanoparticles (G. Genta, G. Maculotti, M. Galetto)
• Ultrasonic cutting kinematics and its effect on material removal and micro-structured surface generation in high frequency ultrasonic vibration-assisted diamond cutting of 316l stainless steel (B.C.F. Cheung, C. Zhang)
• Decoding Physical Sensor Signals to Reveal Surface Deformation: An Example in Machining Nickel-Based Superalloys (Z. Liao, O. Mypati, J. A. Robles-Linares, S. Zan, D. Axinte)
• Moving Towards Sustainable Manufacturing: Machinability of “Dirty” Aluminium Alloys
(R. Bertolini, Stefania Bruschi, Andrea Ghiotti)
As in the agenda, more time for discussion was planned by the officers, the STC was asked if the members were in favour of less technical contributions and more time for Q & A. The feedback indicated that 5 to 6 technical contributions would be ideal to ensure the working character of the meetings.
At the GA Meeting, future keynote paper updates were provided. The topic for the 2028 STC S keynote paper was discussed in detail and approved by the STC. Following the update on the ongoing cooperative activity of STC S, J. Fox presented a first update on the CNTPE essay. A proof of existence was presented.
Six short technical presentations were given, each were followed by very good discussions:
• Innovative bio-inspired surface structures of compound restrictors for high precision aerostatic bearings (X. Luo, X. Chen)
• Simulation of elastically loaded rough contact surfaces for electric contact resistance estimation (F. Rasetti, G. Bissacco)
• Automated control of measurement error in nanoindentation by a traceable Digital Twin
(G. Genta, G. Maculotti, L. Giorio, R. Bertolini, E. Savio, M. Galetto)
• Ultrasonic metrology for in-operando estimation of contact area in sliding interfaces
(C. Courbon, J. Rech, E. Chaize, E. Vieville, F. Valiorgue)
• Development of Facile Fabrication Process for Superhydrophobic Aluminum Surfaces via Grinding and Environmentally Benign Post-Treatments (D.-M. Chun, N. Quang Chien Do)
• Influence of temperature on the surface topography achievable in precision turning of optical polymers (D. Meyer, W. Wang, O. Riemer, B. Karpuschewski)
Details of the technical presentations and discussions at the 2025 STC S meetings can be found in the complete minutes of these meetings, prepared by D. Meyer, technical secretary of STC S. The minutes including annexes are available to CIRP members at the CIRP website.
During the CIRP General Assembly Part 1, an STC S paper session was held. A total of eight high quality papers were presented on August 19th and good discussions followed all papers. Details are available on the Publications section of the CIRP website and on ScienceDirect. The 2025 STC S keynote, titled ‘Surface finishing by shape-adaptive processes’ was presented by Prof. J.Yan as session keynote. Both the presentation and the paper were well received by the STC.
Prof. Dr. H. Haitjema, Chair of STC S