Special issue on inovative and cognitive manufacturing engineering

In the Special Issue on Innovative and Cognitive Manufacturing Engineering, 8 contributions were selected whose subject matters are all related with applications of innovative engineering tools and schemes. A first group of 4 papers (from the first to the fourth paper) focuses on concept implementations of digital manufacturing: production oriented design in the automotive industry; technology interfaces in global manufacturing process chains; machine tool maintenance strategy planning; hybrid production system optimisation. A second group of 4 papers (from the fifth to the eighth paper) is concerned with critical aspects of advanced production technologies: intelligent tool wear modelling in aero engine superalloy product fabrication; industrial robotics for roboforming and high speed cutting; assembly of hybrid micro-components in a micro-factory; uncertainty assessment for CMM based metrology.