This book is devoted to the optimization of product design and manufacturing. It contains selected and carefully composed articles based on presentations given at the IDMME conference held in Montreal, Canada, May 2000. The Authors are all involved in cutting-edge research in their respective fields of specialization.

The integration of manufacturing constraints and their optimization in the design process is becoming more and more widespread in the development of mechanical products or systems. There is a clear industrial need for these kinds of methodologies. Important - but still...