Advanced materials, such as ceramics and composites, are being increasingly used in various applications. The high cost associated with machining and damage generated during machining are major detriments for implementation of these materials. In some cases, current machining methods cannot be used and innovative techniques or modifications of existing methods are needed. These problems are being addressed by researchers in many institutions around the world; and the results are being communicated in various technical conferences and published in journals. However, these conferences and journals have a limited scope, and do not cover the broad spectrum of the problems. For example, machining of polymer composites, metal matrix composites, and ceramics are covered in different conferences; and precision machining of optical materials are covered in others. Nevertheless, the main issues of cost and reliability are the same for all advanced materials. The goal of this conference is to strengthen communication and technology transfer among researchers and engineers involved in various aspects of machining of advanced materials.
