Over the past few years, there has been a surge of research activities on artificial neural networks. Although the thrust originally came from computer scientists and electrical engineers, neural network research has recently attracted researchers in the fields of operations research, operations management and industrial engineering.Despite the huge volume of recent publications devoted to neural network research, there is no single monograph addressing the potential roles of artificial neural networks for design and manufacturing.The focus of this book is on the applications of neural network concepts and techniques to design and manufacturing. This book reviews the state-of-the-art of the research activities, highlights the recent advances in research and development, and discusses the potential directions and future trends along this stream of research.The potential readers of this book will include, but are not limited to, beginners, professionals and practitioners in industries who are applying neural networks to design and manufacturing.The topics include conceptual design, group technology, process planning and scheduling, process monitoring and others.
