Journal profile · Engineering-Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Virtual and Physical Prototyping
ISSN 1745-2759 · eISSN 1745-2767 · Taylor and Francis Ltd. · United Kingdom · Continuous publication · Founded 2006
Virtual and Physical Prototyping: CAS Zone 1 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 9.88; JCR Q1 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,630; median 63 days to acceptance (100 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: 32%; 231 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Virtual and Physical Prototyping is published by Taylor and Francis Ltd. and is in Zone 1 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies, Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes and High Entropy Alloys Studies, together about 50.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Mechanical Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Please note that Virtual and Physical Prototyping converted to a full Open Access journal from Volume 18 (2023). Previous volumes will continue to provide access through a Pay to Read model. Virtual and Physical Prototyping is online only. We welcome authors to submit supplementary data sets, colour images, animation and videos to publish with your articles to enhance the content experience of the journal. Virtual and Physical Prototyping provides an international forum for professionals and academics to exchange novel ideas and disseminate knowledge covering the full range of activities related to the multi-disciplinary area of virtual and rapid prototyping. The scope of VPP includes: Design for additive manufacturing: topological optimisation, lightweight, biomimetic design, functionally graded structures, etc. 4D printing: smart materials, shape memory polymers/alloys, deployable structures, etc. Multi-material printing: 3D printing of multiple metals, polymers, ceramics, composites, etc. Hybrid manufacturing: combination of additive and subtractive technologies Functional 3D printing: functional design, functional prototyping, etc. As well as the following topics: CAD and 3D data acquisition technologies Quality control and AM standards Bioprinting and biofabrication Concrete printing Advancements in additive manufacturing processes New process for additive manufacturing New material formulations and composite materials Processing of materials in additive manufacturing Heterogeneous design in additive manufacturing Novel applications of additive manufacturing Metamaterial 3D printing Embedded 3D printed electronics Food 3D printing Ceramics printing Aerogels 3D printing Composite materials printing (specific to AM) Auxetic structures (specific to AM) Recycling of printing materials 3D printing of photonics, optics, and optoelectronics Wood 3D printing Postprocessing of additive manufacturing (e.g. heat treatment, HIP, surface treatment) Data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence (specific to AM) Safety, health issues (specific to AM) Nano-, micro- and meso-3D printing Alloy design via additive manufacturing Smart manufacturing via AM Predictive modelling for additive manufacturing Nature-inspired designs via AM Miscellaneous: e-manufacturing/Internet of things, legal perspectives, economics, social and environmental implications, sustainability, circular economy, case studies, etc. (specific to AM) All published research articles in this
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering-Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Editor-in-chief Chee Kai ChuaPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing TechnologiesEngineering24.7%
- Additive Manufacturing Materials and ProcessesEngineering19%
- High Entropy Alloys StudiesEngineering6.9%
- Manufacturing Process and OptimizationEngineering6.2%
- Cellular and Composite StructuresEngineering4.5%
- Welding Techniques and Residual StressesEngineering4.3%
- Innovations in Concrete and Construction MaterialsEngineering4.3%
- Advanced Materials and MechanicsEngineering3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Manufacturing | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Manufacturing | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Manufacturing | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of ScienceINSPECCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, OCLC
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 9.88LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 9.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 10.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 11.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 11.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.69LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 1.69Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.66LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.66Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 93OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 770OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 11.65OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.52%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 242LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,023Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 851,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,330 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 160 | 160 | 205 |
| 2025 | 231 | 231 | 2,266 |
| 2024 | 247 | 247 | 4,962 |
| 2023 | 125 | 125 | 3,454 |
| 2022 | 75 | 50 | 3,262 |
| 2021 | 44 | 18 | 2,467 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
63 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 49 days – 83 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 19 days (100 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 87 days
- Sample
- 100 articles with submission and acceptance dates (464 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 5 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 32%LetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 29%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 22 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 22 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 5 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,630 / GBP 2,100 / EUR 2,520 / AUD 3,655 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | AUD 2,825 / EUR 1,885 / GBP 1,625 / USD 2,070 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,195 / GBP 1,756 / EUR 2,110 / AUD 3,060 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,230 / GBP 2,392 / EUR 2,875 / AUD 4,495 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–200 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 3
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted6
- data noteVirtual and Physical Prototyping accepts the following types of article: Research Article, Review Article, Method, Letter to the Editor, Data Note and Editorial…Length not stated
- editorialVirtual and Physical Prototyping accepts the following types of article: Research Article, Review Article, Method, Letter to the Editor, Data Note and Editorial…Length not stated
- letter to the editorVirtual and Physical Prototyping accepts the following types of article: Research Article, Review Article, Method, Letter to the Editor, Data Note and Editorial…Length not stated
- methodVirtual and Physical Prototyping accepts the following types of article: Research Article, Review Article, Method, Letter to the Editor, Data Note and Editorial…Length not stated
- research articleVirtual and Physical Prototyping accepts the following types of article: Research Article, Review Article, Method, Letter to the Editor, Data Note and Editorial…Length not stated
- review articleVirtual and Physical Prototyping accepts the following types of article: Research Article, Review Article, Method, Letter to the Editor, Data Note and Editorial…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- Data availability Data Sharing Policy
Open data policy; authors required to make data and materials supporting results freely available. Model summary
This journal applies the Taylor & Francis open data policy. Authors are required to make the data and materials supporting the results or analyses presented in their paper freely available. A CCBY, CC0 or equivalent license should be applied to any datasets to allow reuse by any third party for any lawful purpose. Authors are required to cite any data sets referenced in the article and provide a D…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Options
Copyright allows you to protect your original material, and stop others from using your work without your permission. Taylor & Francis offers a number of different license and reuse options, including Creative Commons licenses when publishing open access. Read more on publishing agreements.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Overview Open journals Open Select Dove Medical Press F1000Research
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review and Ethics
Single anonymous peer review by independent expert referee. Model summary
Taylor & Francis is committed to peer-review integrity and upholding the highest standards of review. Once your paper has been assessed for suitability by the editor, it will then be single anonymous peer reviewed by an independent, anonymous expert referee, delivering at least one report. If you have shared an earlier version of your Author’s Original Manuscript on a preprint server, please be aw…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Uses Crossref Similarity Check for plagiarism screening. Model summary
Please note that Virtual and Physical Prototyping uses Crossref™ to screen papers for unoriginal material.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor and Francis Ltd.
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Continuous publication
- Founded
- 2006
- ISSN
- 1745-2759
- Electronic ISSN
- 1745-2767
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 21, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Virtual and Physical Prototyping
What CAS zone is Virtual and Physical Prototyping in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Virtual and Physical Prototyping is in Zone 1 of Engineering, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Engineering, Manufacturing / Materials Science, Multidisciplinary; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Virtual and Physical Prototyping?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 9.88; CiteScore 11.9, h-index 93.
How long does peer review take at Virtual and Physical Prototyping?
Based on the dates recorded on 100 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 63 days (interquartile range 49–83 days); authors report an average review time of about 5 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “32%”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 29%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Virtual and Physical Prototyping in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 1 of Engineering.
What are the manuscript requirements of Virtual and Physical Prototyping?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–200 words; Keywords: ≥ 3; Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index Virtual and Physical Prototyping?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Virtual and Physical Prototyping is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Web of Science, INSPEC and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Virtual and Physical Prototyping open access, and what is the APC?
Virtual and Physical Prototyping is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,630.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .