Aims & Scope

Computer-Aided Design is a leading international journal that provides academia and industry with key papers on research and developments in computational foundations and methods of design. The term "design" is to be understood broadly to encompass conceptualization, synthesis, realization, and evolution of artifacts, processes, and systems (both natural and artificial).

Computer-Aided Design invites papers reporting new research, as well as novel or particularly significant applications, within a wide range of topics, spanning all stages of design from concept creation to manufacture and beyond. Contributions are welcome from all disciplines and application areas, provided that they have a significant geometric, topological, spatial, or configuration design content, and present developments likely to be of interest to a broad spectrum of researchers, educators, and practitioners of computer-aided design. In this context, examples of relevant topics include but are not limited to:

    Foundational theories, frameworks, methodologies, and standards
    Mathematical models, representations, and algorithms for shapes, solids, structures, and assemblies
    Material, behavior, and physical modeling
    Conceptual design and invention
    Uncertainty and imprecision in computer-aided design
    Multi-scale modeling and design of shape and material structures
    System level design and model-based systems engineering
    Programmable subtractive, additive, and hybrid manufacturing
    Generative design, shape, topology, and material optimization
    Computational planning, fabrication, and inspection
    Discretization and meshing algorithms
    Data acquisition, model recognition and reconstruction
    Representation conversions and interoperability
    Applications of AI in design, including neural networks and machine learning
    Design ontologies, grammars, languages, and semantics
    Data driven modeling and synthesis
    Advanced support of manufacturing and downstream activities
    Technologies in support of digital factory and digital twin concepts
    User interfaces, system interfaces, and human-computer interaction
    Design databases, knowledge repositories, object libraries and retrieval
    Specific applications and significant benchmarks of computer-aided design

Types of Papers:

Research papers: report significant research and development results, describe the relevant theoretical foundations and methodology, and present workable algorithms and give examples taken from real world applications, stressing the significance of the approach being presented.

Application papers: describe complex and pioneering applications of CAD concepts, methods and tools in practice, present significant results that extend the disciplinary knowledge and/or analyze the application in a way that is likely to stimulate and influence further research.

Survey papers: critically analyze the current state of knowledge in a given field of CAD, summarize and organize recent research results in a novel way, derive new insights and deepen understanding of those working in the field, and propose possible topics, orientations and approaches for future research and development.

Technical notes: respond to material published in the journal or closely related topics, repair a flaw in the definition and approach or stimulate further thinking, or provide additional technical details on a CAD theory, technology, methodology, product or application.

Dataset papers: discuss creation, documentation, and critical assessment of data sets, repositories, and their uses supporting research and practice in all areas of computer-aided design. An algorithmic contribution is not required for a dataset paper, but the dataset itself must be made freely usable and accessible for research purposes. Dataset papers will go through the same rigorous review process and will be evaluated based on their novelty, impact, and presentation. Accessibility, privacy, and ethics are also important issues that will be considered by the reviewers and editors.