Introduction to Manufacturing Systems

The long perceived needs that have not been addressed in the field of manufacturing prompted the idea to write Introduction to Manufacturing Systems. The first is the need to inform the public about manufacturing in its wholeness. The field of manufacturing is a world of its own which bears on almost all the other disciplines that are studied in our colleges and universities today. The manufacturing world is made up of many components, which are also made up of many other sub-components or sub-systems. Other than students who major in the field itself, the practice has been to inform outsiders one component or subcomponent at a time. Regrettably, this practice has resulted in providing insufficient information about manufacturing systems to these inquisitive minds. There is no doubt that many such learners have been disappointed with what little they have learned about the field. This book is intended to introduce every interested person to the world of manufacturing: what it is, its diverse components, and the various activities and tasks that are undertaken in its many and diverse departments. Another main reason for writing this book is to serve as an introductory material on the subject of manufacturing to beginning college manufacturing and related majors. Over the years, I have learned that most of these beginners are ill equipped with key aspects of manufacturing when they arrive. This group also includes all technical- and business-minded individuals who enroll or train in trade, business, engineering, vocational, and technical institutions. There is presently little or no material available to address the topic of manufacturing in its wholeness, something to serve as a source where these inquisitive learners can get more complete foundational information about manufacturing. This book will help to solve this problem. The topic of manufacturing systems has seen more integration of its numerous components than have other areas of study in recent years. The increasing interests by other disciplines to be informed about manufacturing principles are evidenced not only in the enrollment of non-manufacturing majors in manufacturing-related courses, but also by some emerging manufacturing courses in other disciplines and in the field of manufacturing. Also, new and entering manufacturing systems majors find it difficult to understand what the field is all about, until they are well into their junior or senior years. There is nothing in place to help them grasp a basic understanding of the world of manufacturing before they progress to more advanced courses in the field. Introduction to Manufacturing Systems is written for all students who fit the above mold in college- and university-level industrial technology, engineering technology, industrial design, engineering, business management, and other related disciplines where there is an interest in learning about manufacturing systems as a complete system. Even lay people to whom manufacturing systems is not their major will find this book useful in their quest to learn more about the field. Its simple and easy-to-understand language makes it particularly useful to all readers. This book is divided into twelve very distinctive chapters that are closely arranged to follow manufacturing activities as sequentially as possible, to help readers follow a rather continuous thread of activities generally undertaken in the industry. The book is replete with numerous pictures of machines, processes, tools, tooling, products, tables, and other figures. Chapter 1 introduces readers to the world of manufacturing by providing an overview and definitions of the field and its various components. It also deliberates on the managerial aspect of the field in preparation for a broader discussion of the area later in the book. Chapter 1 also undertakes a discussion of the centrality of manufacturing in a market-oriented economy. Chapter 2 continues this discussion to include the different types, techniques or methods, and philosophies of manufacturing. This chapter delves into a whole gamut of manufacturing methods and philosophies, from product identification process to design process, types of manufacturing, manufacturing order fulfilling techniques, and production methods available to the manufacturer. The discussions broaden into various manufacturing practices and philosophies, including lean production, just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, green manufacturing, flexible manufacturing, group technology (GT), concurrent engineering, design for excellence (DFX), statistical process control (SPC), total quality management (TQM), and computer-integrated manufacturing or CIM. Chapter 3 introduces manufacturing plants and facilities, bringing into the discussions their types, design goals, elements, location factors, layouts, and design. Chapter 4 undertakes a parade of discussions of many manufacturing machines. The discussions here include metal, plastic, ceramic, and wood working machines such as turning, milling, drilling, sawing, punching, planing, shearing, notching, and finishing machines. None-material removal machines like bending, forming, pressing, rolling, welding, molding, casting, conditioning, and testing machines are also covered. To augment the contents of this chapter, chapter 5 follows with a discussion on tools and production tooling. These include various cutting and non-cutting hand and power tools employed in a manufacturing environment, and production tooling which are manipulators used by machine tools to hold, position, shape or transform materials into parts or products. Chapter 6 covers the topic of manufacturing processes. Designed to complement chapters 4 and 5, this chapter discusses the various types of manufacturing processes employed in product manufacture, including their definitions and broader descriptions. This is followed by chapter 7, which discusses manufacturing materials and material handling systems. The discussions here include types of manufacturing materials, properties of these materials, shapes and nature of commercially available manufacturing materials, and factors to consider when selecting them. Material handling systems are also discussed in this chapter to include purpose and different types of manufacturing material handling systems. Chapter 8 discusses measurement instruments used in the manufacturing industry. Emphasizing on the need for standards, it defines such terms as quality, tolerances, allowances, accuracy, and precision. It then discusses various types of measurement instruments employed in manufacturing and engineering metrology. Chapter 9 discusses the subject of manufacturing personnel or the human element of the industry. This chapter delves into the characteristics of manufacturing personnel; types of manufacturing jobs; planning, locating and hiring manufacturing personnel; managing manufacturing personnel; and training, scheduling, motivating, and evaluating manufacturing personnel. Chapter 10 introduces the product, which is the real object of manufacturing. This chapter takes the reader to the nature of manufactured products, their reason-to-be, evolution, types, structure, components, characteristics, and life cycle. Chapter 11 engages the reader with the key tasks of planning and implementing manufacturing systems. Emphasizing that planning should originate from the initial product, this chapter discusses planning for all the system components, including production methods and processes, process planning, equipment and facilities, materials and material handling, labor, and the life cycle of the end product. Chapter 12 finishes the discussions with the reminder that manufacturing systems should be managed and improved. Drawing from the definition of management or control, it discusses topics such as quality control, personnel, materials and facility management.