Manufacturing

From ArticleWorld

Manufacturing is a vast branch of industry and is a necessary stage for secondary production of finished goods. By definition, manufacturing is the fabrication or assembly of raw materials to form final products on a fairly large scale. Manufacturing could also refer to the extraction of metals from their ores or of gasoline by fractional distillation of crude oil. Alteration of raw materials to form goods like leather jackets and bags is also a form of manufacturing.

Important manufacturing industries

Among the most important manufacturing industries are aircraft, automobile, chemical, electrical and electronic goods, heavy machinery and petroleum. The newest and fastest growing manufacturing industry is that of the software industry. The term ‘fabrication’ is often used to refer to the manufacture of electrical control panels and semiconductor chips.

Evolution of manufacturing

Manufacturing had its origin in the later Stone Age, with techniques being applied for grinding corn, baking clay and spinning and weaving textiles. Extraction of gold, silver and copper also began to be practiced. Manufacturing processes became easier after animals like the donkey and horse were domesticated.

Modern-style manufacturing processes can be traced to the eighteenth century Industrial Revolution in the European and American continents. The Age of the Steam Engine gave rise to the development of mechanized tools used for manufacturing and some of the earliest forms of automation. The great advancement in technology in the 19th and 20th centuries saw a further rise in development of manufacturing tools.

With modern science and engineering, precision manufacturing in several fields has become possible. Electronics has developed to the microchip level. Nanotechnology, still being researched, is soon set to gain importance. There are robots that are used to manufacture other robots. Modern innovations in today’s age have revolutionized the very meaning of the word ‘manufacturing’.

Manufacturing Industries and their future

The future may see the growing importance of recycled goods in manufacturing. For example, in the automobile and aircraft manufacturing processes, scrap material left over can be utilized elsewhere. Rubber from damaged or useless tyres can be utilized in asphalted roads.

Plastic is recycled to prevent it from damaging the environment. Future manufacturing will look into the problem of controlling air and water pollution. In the future, more and more processes will see reduced involvement of humans, leading to high repeatability and precision.