Manufacturing is the process of creating or producing goods using equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The manufacturing process begins with the product design and materials specification, and these materials are then modified through manufacturing to become the desired product. Manufacturing includes all intermediate processes involved in the production and integration of a products components. Some industries, such as semiconductor and steel manufacturers, use the term fabrication instead. Manufacturing is an integral and huge part of the economy, involving the processing and refinement of raw materials into finished products.
Types of manufacturing processes include:
- Job Shop Manufacturing: This type of manufacturing involves producing custom-made products in small quantities.
- Batch Manufacturing: This type of manufacturing involves producing a specific quantity of a product at one time.
- Mass Production: This type of manufacturing involves producing large quantities of a product using assembly line techniques.
- Continuous Manufacturing: This type of manufacturing involves producing a product non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Manufacturing engineering is the field of engineering that designs and optimizes the manufacturing process, or the steps through which raw materials are transformed into a final product. The manufacturing sector is closely connected with the engineering and industrial design industries.
