4. Conclusion

What can we say about the foreseeable evolution of machining techniques? Machining will most certainly maintain and increase its economic weight. There probably won't be any major upheavals, but rather an amplification of current trends, which in any case are driven by the race for ever greater productivity.

Traditional" cutting and abrasive machining processes still have excellent development prospects, notably through the expansion of the very high-speed range, optimization of the materials to be machined, the use of higher-performance tool materials and thin-film deposition processes. The use of very high speeds has already revolutionized the milling of aluminum alloys and the grinding of steels. Multi-layer diamond or ceramic coatings laminated on a scale of just a few nanometers are now beginning to be used to good effect.

In terms...