Micro and Nano Machining by Electro-Physical and Chemical Processes

The need for micro-features, components and products is rapidly increasing in diverse industries such as electronics, medical and aviation. Product miniaturization demands innovative manufacturing methods. Various existing macro-manufacturing processes are being modified to perform micro-scale manufacturing. Electro-physical and chemical micromachining processes play important role in this field due to their special material removal mechanisms. This paper reports the worldwide technical developments and state-of-the-art of electro-physical and chemical micromachining processes. Issues related to the supporting technologies such as standardization, metrology and equipment design are briefly assessed. Non-technological issues including environmental effects and education are also discussed.