Manufacturing

MANUFACTURING

Manufacturing, is the process of converting raw materials into products. It encompasses the design and production of goods, using various production methods and techniques.

Manufacturing is the backbone of any industrialized society. The level of manufacturing activity is linked directly to the economic health of its citizens. In general the higher the level of manufacturing activity, the higher is the standard of living of its people.

The word manufacturing is derived from the Latin manu factus, meaning made by hand.

Before the industrial revolution most things were made by hand, but only the very rich could afford to have things designed and made for them. Today, most manufacturing involves a large number of people (usually working in teams) the contribution each individual makes is still important but tends to be focused on one small part of the design or manufacture.

Because a manufactured item has undergone a number of changes in which a raw material has become a useful product, it has a market value. The market value is greater than the cost of the raw materials and the cost of manufacture. Manufacturing has the important function of adding value and creating wealth.

In school you will probably have only enough time to design and make one finished product for your major project. A one-off product like this is often called a prototype. In industry a prototype is used to test out and try a product to see how well it performs prior to manufacture on a large scale.

Most prototypes are made by skilled craftspeople.

. Making large numbers of products and breaking production and assembly into a series of small steps has a number of advantages.

Raw materials tend to be cheaper if brought in bulk

The production process can be much more efficient

People can specialize in one aspect of design or making

Once a product has been designed and a prototype has been tested, the product will be prepared for manufacture. This will involve making decisions about both the scale and method of production. The method of production will be determined by the choice and properties of the materials used. The scale of production will be determined by the quantity of products required.

A well designed product will exploit the range of materials and manufacturing techniques available to ensure that the finished product is attractive to the consumer, affordable and reliable.

Scale of Production

We have already discussed prototype production. Another method is called batch production.

Batch production is a manufacturing system which involves producing a number of 'identical' products in 'batches'. The quantities involved may be quite small or very large, depending on the type of product. There a usually tools, jigs and fixtures which are only used for a particular batch of products or components. When a production run has been completed, a different set of tools, jigs and fixtures are used to manufacture the next batch of products or components and so on.

People employed in batch production tend to be less specialized but more highly skilled than those employed in mass-production.

Mass production involves very high initial 'tooling' costs, because machines do much of the work. People directly involved in mass production tend to have very specialized but fairly low skilled tasks to perform. Products made in this way only become economically viable if very large numbers are produced and sold. Some products, particularly food products, have very short life cycles and demand for these is almost inexhaustible. In these cases production is often continuous. Continuous production is mass production which never stops except for breakdown and maintenance.