The Future of Manufacturing

Since the inventing of the wheel back in the stone ages, humans have been creating things. The process in which we create these things is better known as manufacturing. As humans evolved, so did their inventions; and as their inventions evolved, as did the way they manufactured them. In modern times, more than 90% of manufacturers used some type of computer-aided design. More than two thirds of all manufacturers use computers in manufacturing as well as inventory and process control. Automation can drastically reduce human error, thus it is quickly becoming the wave of the future.

Before we look too far into the future of manufacturing, it is imperative to understand its past. Manufacturing began with the first great human invention - the wheel. However, let's look at a more practical example. Back in the medieval times there were specialty craftsman. You had blacksmiths, glass blowers, carpenters, shoemakers, and furniture makers, ECT. If you wanted to buy, or even trade for back then, one of these items, you would go to them, specify all your requirements and sometime later they would give you a finished product. This process made specifically for that customer, or the "perfect fit",

Manufacturing also seems to be moving toward simulation and virtual environments for the "intelligent manufacturing" process. This can garauntee that the product will be the same each and every time. Another use for these style programs is in training aspects. Virtual reality helmets could be used to significantly enhance training and work instructions by actually putting an employee through a certain situation before it happens for real. This would help employees to make decisions quickly and effectively in risky situations without having to think about the proper reaction - they could just react. This could also be fun for the employee, although very serious in nature, it could be as entertaining as a game. These training situations could result in reduced cycle times, increased output, and calculation of plant capacity.

Since the invention of the assembly line, there have been many other innovations. However, it was really the assembly line that brought about most of these other manufacturing improvements.

Neural networks are also being developed. These systems cam mimic the way the human mind works and learn from the situations it goes through. These systems could help further automate industry.

made a unique product. No two would be exactly alike. However, this brought inconsistency and long lead times.

Then, late in the 1700s, the Industrial Revolution came. One of the more prominent inventions of this period came from a man named Eli Whitney. Eli was a Yale graduate on his way to becoming a teacher in South Carolina. He had somehow found himself staying on a plantation. This was where he had a sublime idea. After observing the workers in the fields all day picking and cleaning cotton, he came up with the idea of a cotton gin. Within six months he had a working model of his cotton gin that would allow one man to clean ten times the amount of cotton as before, and it cleaned better too.

Next is the vision in which a business exists in both the physical and microprocessor world. Computers are very helpful instruments and the uses for computers are constantly increasing. This is not only helpful to both high level management and executives, but also wareh