Book excerpt: Reflecting the increasing importance of ceramics, polymers, composites, and silicon in manufacturing, Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing Second Edition provides a comprehensive treatment of these other materials and their processing, without sacrificing its solid coverage of metals and metal processing. Topics include such modern processes as rapid prototyping, microfabrication, high speed machining and nanofabrication. Additional features include: Emphasis on how material properties relate to the process variables in a given process. Emphasis on manufacturing science and quantitative engineering analysis of manufacturing processes. More than 500 quantitative problems are included as end of chapter exercises. Multiple choice quizzes in all but one chapter (approximately 500 questions). Coverage of electronics manufacturing, one of the most commercially important areas in today's technology oriented economy. Historical notes are included to introduce manufacturing from the earliest materials and processes, like woodworking, to the most recent.