The International Journal of Production and Quality Engineering is a peer-reviewed journal. According to the fields of scientific interest for this journal, the International Journal of Production arid Quality Engineering (IJPQE) is mainly dedicated but not limited to the following topics: manufacturing processes (machining processes, metal forming, welding and joining, metal casting, composite and polymer processing, powder metallurgy, rapid prototyping arid rapid tooling, hybrid processes, etc.), numerical modelling of manufacturing processes, development and configuration of machine tools and production equipment (geometrical precision, cinematic and dynamic behaviour), dimensional metrology and product inspection (methodologies, procedures and devices), corn pu ter assisted systems for manufacturing simulation, programming and scheduling (CAD/CAM/ CAE/ CAPP), intelligent manufacturing systems (computer integrated manufacturing, flexible manufacturing systems, etc.), quality, assurance and continues improvement (total quality management, lean manufacturing, agile manufacturing, etc.), micro and nano-manufacturing (modelling, devices and integration), contact mechanics (tool wear, tribology and friction), product design (design for manufacture and assembly), applied automation and robotics (genetic algorithms, neural networks and fuzzy logic for manufacturing systems, improved controllers, sensors and actuators, etc.), productive maintenance (production chain maintenance, machine failure prevention), virtual reality (for production lines and machine tool performance), etc.