2 Manufacturing Processes

Manufacturing

Manufacturing - the making of goods or wares by manual labor or by machinery, especially on a large scale

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Manufacturing is still a major part of the model world economy even though the percent of American workers employed in manufacturing has been declining for decades. Every tool, material, part, vehicle, product we use has to first be manufactured and distributed, sold to the costumer. The current global economy has develop extensive supply chains that ship raw materials, industrial materials, parts, and final products around the world before it reaches the end user of the item. Bauxite that is mined in Australia, may be shipped to China to be smelted into aluminum. That aluminum may be sold to Japan where it is might be extruded into tubes that are then shipped to India where it is welded into a bicycle frame. That frame might then be bought by a bike shop in America where it receives a custom paint job and is assemble with other parts from around the world into a bicycle purchased by a member of the Dakota Ridge High School Mountain Bike Team. Manufacturing wasn't always this complicated, but through out history many of the same processes were used to make useful products.

Primary Manufacturing Processes

Primary manufacturing processes include the collection of raw materials and the processing them into industrial materials. Industrial materials can be made from natural or recycled materials. Industrial materials are materials that have been manufactured to have standard sizes, shapes, and physical properties. These include bars, tubes, sheets and fasteners that will be sold to individuals or companies that will use them to make something useful. Plywood, I-beams, bolts, and sheet metal are examples of industrial materials. Primary Manufacturing processes can be divided into three large categories, based on how they transform the materials. Primary manufacturing processes are often done close to the source of the raw materials and then the industrial materials are shipped to other factories.

Mechanical - Applying force to a material to break it apart, change its shape, or combine it with other materials. Digging up clay, sand, salt, gravel, iron ore, bauxite, or coal would all be considered mechanical processes. Crushing the stone, or filtering the sand, or dissolving the salt are also mechanical processes. Adding water to the clay so that it can be pressed into blocks to be wrapped and stored for later and mixing the sand gravel and other materials to make concrete mix are also mechanical processes.

Thermal - Applying (or removing) heat to a material to change its shape or physical properties. Smelting iron ore involves raising its temperature above the melting point to separate the iron from the other materials. Rubber, a natural material, is vulcanized by applying heat to make it more durable. Cryogenic freezing of brass instruments causes the molecular structure to rearrange resulting better sound quality when returned to normal room temperature.

Chemical - Combining materials intentionally to cause a chemical reaction that produces new materials. A chemical reaction can cause molecules to break apart or combine elements to form new molecules with new physical properties. The materials that are combined are called the reactants. The new materials are called the products. Some chemical reactions use catalysts, materials that facilitate the reaction but don't become part of the produces.

Secondary Manufacturing Processes

Secondary manufacturing processes change industrial materials into final products that are useful. It is very common for secondary manufacturing to be separated from primary processes based on what final product is being made. Industrial materials are delivered to a factory where they will be made into specific products (car factory, clothing factory, or food processing plant).

Separating

Forming

Casting & Molding

Conditioning

Assembly

Finishing

Types of Manufacturing Systems

Custom - Oldest form of manufacturing - one person make something, start to finish. Each product can be custom/unique. Limited by the skills of one craft-person.

Intermittent (Batch) - The start of mass production. Each step is done in bulk (like mixing up a big batch of pancake batter, or cutting parts for 20 products at once). Can be done by one person or by different people who specialize in that process.

Continuous - Exemplified by assembly lines in factories. Many people working together to make many copies of the same product. Each worker trained in their specific job. Workers move from product to product or materials are moved from worker station to station (moving assembly line). Works well when you have a consistent need for a standard product.

Flexible (Automated) - use of reprogrammable machines that might even be able to switch out tools to perform multiple task. Products are mass produced without "retooling" but each product made can be customized to each specific customer.