The spread of bacteria through contaminated surfaces is a major issue in healthcare, food industry, and other economic sectors. The widespread use of antibiotics is not a sustainable solution in the long term due to the development of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, surfaces with antibacterial properties have the potential to be a disruptive approach to combat microbial contamination. Different methods and approaches have been studied to impart or enhance antibacterial properties on surfaces. The surface roughness and texture are inherent parameters that significantly impact the antibacterial properties of a surface. They are also directly related to the previously employed machining and treatment methods. This review article discusses the correlation between surface roughness and antibacterial properties is presented and discussed. It begins with an introduction to the concepts of surface roughness and texture, followed by a description of the most commonly utilized machining methods and surface. A thorough analysis of bacterial adhesion and growth is then presented. Finally, the most recent studies in this research area are comprehensively reviewed. The studies are sorted and classified based on the utilized machining and treatment methods, which are divided into mechanical processes, surface treatments and coatings. Through the systematic review and record of the recent advances, the authors aim to assist and promote further research in this very promising and extremely important direction, by providing a systematic review of recent advances.

Titanium alloys, due to their unique properties, are utilized in numerous modern high-end applications. Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is a non-conventional machining process, commonly used in machining of hard-to-cut materials. The current paper, presents an experimental study regarding the machining of Titanium Grade2 with EDM, coupled with the development of a simulation model. The machining performance indexes of Material Removal Rate, Tool Wear Ratio, and Average White Layer Thickness were measured and calculated for different pulse-on currents and pulse-on times. Moreover, the developed model that integrates a heat transfer analysis with deformed geometry, allows to estimate the power distribution between the electrode and the workpiece, as well as the Plasma Flushing Efficiency, giving an insight view of the process. Finally, by employing the Response Surface Methodology, educed regression models that correlate the machining parameters with the corresponding results, while for all the aforementioned indexes, ANOVA was performed.

Inconel 718 alloy has a wide range of applications in the aerospace sector because of its superior mechanical properties and its weldability. The machining of such higher strength materials with complex shapes is possible with wire electrical discharge machining. In the present research, an endeavor was made to enhance the machining process by utilizing zinc-diffused coating brass wire electrode and Taguchi-Data Envelopment Analysis-based Ranking (DEAR) methodology in the process while machining Inconel 718 alloy. Material removal rate, kerf width, and surface roughness were considered as the quality measures. The optimal arrangement of input factors in the Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) process were found as 140 µs (T_on), 50 µs (T_off), 60 V (SV), and 5 kg (WT) among the elected factors with the error accuracy of 1.1%. The pulse-off time has the most significance on formulating the quality measures owing to its importance on deionization in the process.

Although electrical discharge machining (EDM) is one of the first established non-conventional machining processes, it still finds many applications in the modern industry, due to its capability of machining any electrical conductive material in complex geometries with high dimensional accuracy. The current study presents an experimental investigation of ED machining aluminum alloy Al5052. A full-scale experimental work was carried out, with the pulse current and pulse-on time being the varying machining parameters. The polishing and etching of the perpendicular plane of the machined surfaces was followed by observations and measurements in optical microscope. The material removal rate (MRR), the surface roughness (SR), the average white layer thickness (AWLT), and the heat affected zone (HAZ) micro-hardness were calculated. Through znalysis of variance (ANOVA), conclusions were drawn about the influence of machining conditions on the EDM performances. Finally, semi empirical correlations of MRR and AWLT with the machining parameters were calculated and proposed.