07-06-2009, 09:29 AM
Demand for the research and development of the micro-manufacturing technologies is being fueled by the ever-increasing trend towards miniaturization over a wide spectrum of disciplines and industries. Recent technological advancement in the defense, biomedical, telecom-munications, consumer electronics have spearheaded the need for micromanufacturing technology, which is now beginning to find application in the automotive and aerospace industries due to the economic potential of the micro-factory paradigm. Micro-scale mechanical manufacturing processes, e.g. micro-milling, micro-turning, have established themselves as attractive alternatives to traditional opto-lithographic fabrication techniques and conventional high-precision machine tools for the production of micro/meso-scale components. However, a more detailed understanding of the mechanics of these processes is required to adapt and optimize them for wide-spread implementation.