5/12/2014 Discrete manufacturing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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A discrete manufacturing assembly line at the
Hyundai Motor Company's automobile factory in
Ulsan, South Korea.
Discrete manufacturing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Discrete manufacturing is the production of distinct items. Automobiles, furniture, toys, smartphones, and
airplanes are examples of discrete manufacturing products.
[1]
The resulting products are easily identifiable and
differ greatly from process manufacturing where the products are undifferentiated, for example oil, natural gas
and salt.
Discrete manufacturing is often characterized by
individual or separate unit production. Units can be
produced in low volume with very high complexity or
high volumes of low complexity. Low volume/high
complexity production results in the need for an
extremely flexible manufacturing system that can improve
quality and time-to-market speed while cutting costs.
High volume/low complexity production puts high
premiums on inventory controls, lead times and reducing
or limiting materials costs and waste.
Industry Profile - Discrete Manufacturing includes
makers of consumer electronics, computer and
accessories, appliances, and other household
items, as well as "big ticket consumer and
commercial goods like cars and airplanes.
Discrete Manufacturing companies make physical
products that go directly to businesses and consumers, and assemblies that are used by other
manufacturers.
[2]
The processes deployed in discrete manufacturing are not continuous in nature. Each process can be individually
started or stopped and can be run at varying production rates. The final product may be produced out of single
or multiple inputs. Producing a steel structure will need only one type of raw material - steel. Producing a mobile
phone requires many different inputs, The plastic case, LCD display, the mainboard, PVC keypad, sockets,
cables are made from different materials, at different places. This is different from Process manufacturing like
production of paper or petroleum refining, where the end product is obtained by a continuous process or a set
of continuous processes.
References
1. ^ "JD Edwards World Product Data Management - Discrete Guide"
(http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26228_01/doc.93/e21777.pdf) (PDF). Oracle. April 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
2. ^ http://www.elementk.com/orgMain.asp?storyid=412&orgid=334/
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This page was last modified on 24 October 2013 at 00:07.
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