Recent Trends in Manufacturing Processes A

Theoretical Approach
Akshat Sharma*, Harsh Khardekar* & Amit kumar Marwah**
*Students, MIT, Ujjain (M.P.); ** Associate Prof., MIT, Ujjain (M.P.)
Email: akshat.sharma511@gmail.com, harshkhardekar@ymail.com

Abstract- The aim of this paper is to enlist the recent as well as

future trends in manufacturing sector such as Emanufacturing (EM), Additive manufacturing (AM), and the
likes. A thorough study of the history of traditional
manufacturing processes has been done, with their advantages
, disadvantages and relevance in the future. The industries are
facing challenges of reducing costs and increasing productivity.
At the same time, labor costs and other costs are increasing .
Only, efficient EM techniques can help the out, which include
improved data availability to enable factory decision support
and enhanced tools and applications for data utilization in
decision making and productivity optimization. Also a review
of the young technology of AM and the implications of this
technology has been done. This paper aims at doing a
theoretical as well as technological review of the new
technologies like EM and AM and tries to predict where the
manufacturing sector is heading.
Key words: E- manufacturing, additive manufacturing, future of
manufacturing sector

I. INTRODUCTION
Manufacturing has been an important
pillar for
the technological development of the modern world. The
economic health of any country depends on its
manufacturing prowess. For todays companies what
matters most is how efficiently they can compete globally
with others as an organization, keeping in mind that the
customer today provide top priority for money better quality
and less risk . In order to cater to these requirements the
companies have adopted a new technique called EManufacturing (EM). It deals with the use of internet and EBusiness in industries thereby establishing a network
between the customer, manufacturer and the product,
moreover, the subordinate concepts such as E- Business, EMaintenance, E-Diagnostics have led to creation of an EFactory which can produce quality products with remarkable
pace. Also in this paper we do a technological review of the
exciting new world of Additive Manufacturing (AM) which
looks like a complete game changer for this field. Latest
technologies such as 3D printing combined with techniques
such as fused deposition modeling and stereo-lithography
aim to change manufacturing as we know it.
II. EVOLUTION OF MANUFACTURING
For decades, the dominant manufacturing model was
based on principles of mass production. Standardized parts

and processes made economies of scale achievable, but

limited design flexibility and customization. The
outsourcing and lean manufacturing movements of the
1980s and 1990s drove the emergence of a new paradigm,
termed
the Quality Management era. Manufacturing
companies, particularly large Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEM) outsourcing shifts critical elements
of the design and production process onto a manufacturers
supply chain. The lean manufacturing movement places a
premium on time and inventory reduction. Combining the
attributes of the Quality era suggests a very different
business model for manufacturing enterprise integration or
E Manufacturing. In the E-Manufacturing era, companies
will be able to exchange information of all types with their
suppliers at the speed of light. And further in the future by
developed forms of Additive Manufacturing companies will
be able to give even more personalized products for each
and every customer
III. E-MANUFACTURING
E-Manufacturing can be most generally described as the
application of the Internet to Manufacturing, further EManufacturing is becoming popular with the increased use
of the internet. Due to the widespread availability of the
Internet; large-scale distributed projects in manufacturing
are becoming popular. It is the methodology and framework
for collaborative Virtual Manufacturing. The ability to
exchange information and automate manufacturing
processes forms the building blocks of the virtual
manufacturing companies of the near future. It covers all
aspects of manufacturing - sales, marketing, customer
service, new product development, procurement, supplier
relationships and logistics manufacturing, strategy
development and so on. As a result, it is now so much easier
to allow certain people gain access to certain sections of the
system, according to whatever criteria they like;
maintenance people need certain parts of the data, but not
others; operators would be able to access a limited number
of devices; managers would be allowed to monitor, but not
change anything, etc. New technologies such as the
Extensible Markup Language (XML) are now making it
easier to share data between different application programs,
and to set up computers to take actions based on criteria
for instance, to order supplies when inventories reach a
critical low point. The E-Manufacturing technique also
affects products as well since it is possible to use Internet
technologies to add new product functions and to provide
new services. The Internet is being used even at the shop

floor level. The developed system will allow dispersed

engineering team members to work together productively, as
if they were under one roof. This transformation of the
enterprise coincides with the increasing content of
information contained in products and processes. This new
production enterprise is information-rich. Fig. 1 illustrate the
information and data flows before and after applying the
EM techniques. The major functions and objectives of emanufacturing are:
(a) provide a transparent, seamless and automated
information exchange process

monitor the health of the tool [life of the tool] fixed in the
machine. This technique can also be used to calibrate a
machine from the Internet.

(b)
improve the utilization of plant floor assets using a
holistic approach combining the tools of predictive
maintenance techniques;

Optimization Tools:

(c) deliver customer services utilizing the latest

predictive intelligence methods and Tether-free technologies

Prediction Tools:
Apart from data being gathered, certain tools need to be
developed, which can predict or detect the degradation of
various parts of the machine, performance loss and trend of
failure. Developing a tool which monitors these aspects
could set the trend for an advanced diagnostic system.

As far as E-Manufacturing is concerned data can be

accessed from any part of the globe at any time. Hence
certain tools need to be developed which can optimize the
data and provide easy to read results. For example, these
tools should be able to provide the performance of a drill bit
for various drilling operations verses time, temperature, tool
tip failure with various materials etc.
Synchronization Tools:

Before applying EM techniques

This is an important tool in the E-Manufacturing

environment, which can associate various groups such as
customers suppliers and manufacturers, where first hand
information needs to be sent to these groups during
emergencies, for example if tool needs a replacement or
tool has worn out then the information is sent from first the
manufacturer to the supplier and tool maker where the tool
can be assessed for performance. The new connectivity and
communications tools will boost productivity, profits, speed
to market, and flexibility for those manufactures who are
willing to upgrade. Some of the common E-manufacturing
tools are SMS, E Mail,
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Fax and Infrared Connectivity

V.

BENEFITS OF E-MANUFACTURING TOOLS

The benefits of adopting E business strategy are;

After applying EM techniques
Fig. 1. Information & Data flow chart in EM techniques
IV.

E MANUFACTURING TOOLS

Implementation of the E-Manufacturing tools results in

cost saving, regardless of the company size. EManufacturing tools enable connectivity among the various
modules of the manufacturing process. Areas where the EManufacturing tools need to be developed are listed below .
Data and information transformation tool:
The large amounts of raw data collected during a
manufacturing process are rendered useless, unless the data
is gathered and transformed into some useful information
which may be used to monitor a system. . Here the idea is to

(a) Quick installation of software updates with no need

for expensive integration projects.
(b) One enterprise wide view of the customer, product
or process.
(c) Global deployment from one instance of the
software, making all applications accessible globally via a
standard Web browser.
(d) Simplified systems and maintenance for IT staff
due to the one-vendor approach.
(e)

Streamlined business processes.

(f) Better decision-making and business intelligence

because of the single-database architecture and
pre-integrated applications and rapid deployment at lower
cost.

VI.

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is a process of

making three dimensional solid objects from a digital model.
3D printing is achieved using additive processes, where an
object is created by laying down successive layers of
material .3D printing is considered distinct from
traditional machining techniques (subtractive processes)
which mostly rely on the removal of material by drilling,
cutting etc. 3D printing is usually performed by a materials
printer using digital technology. Additive manufacturing
takes virtual designs from computer aided design (CAD)
or animation modeling software, transforms them into thin,
virtual, horizontal cross-sections and then creates successive
layers until the model is complete. It is a process where the
virtual model and the physical model are almost identical.
With additive manufacturing, the machine reads in data
from a CAD drawing and lays down successive layers of
liquid, powder, or sheet material, and in this way builds up
the model from a series of cross sections. These layers,
which correspond to the virtual cross section from the CAD
model, are joined together or fused automatically to create
the final shape. The primary advantage to additive
fabrication is its ability to create almost any shape or
geometric feature. Additive manufacturing is not yet good
enough to make a car or an iPhone, but it is already being
used to make specialist parts for cars and customized covers
for iPhones. Although it is still a relatively young
technology, most people probably already own something
that was made with the help of a 3D printer. It might be a
pair of shoes, printed in solid form as a design prototype
before being produced in bulk. It could be a hearing aid,
individually tailored to the shape of the user's ear. Or it
could be a piece of jewellery, cast from a mould made by a
3D printer or produced directly using a growing number of
printable materials.

V.

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TOOLS

A number of competing technologies are available to do

3D printing. Their main differences are in the way layers are
built to create parts, and the materials that can be used.
Some methods use melting or softening material to produce
the layers, e.g. selective laser sintering (SLS) and fused
deposition modeling (FDM), while others lay liquid
materials that are cured with different technologies,
i.e. stereolithography (SLA). In the case of laminated object
manufacturing (LOM), thin layers are cut to shape and
joined together (i.e. paper, polymer, metal). Printers which
work directly with metals are expensive. In some cases
inexpensive printers have been used to make a part in
plastic, which is then used as a mould to make a metal part.
Fused deposition modeling
Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a technology used in
traditional rapid prototyping . FDM works using a plastic

filament or metal wire which is unwound from a coil and

supplies material to an extrusion nozzle which can turn the
flow on and off. The nozzle is heated to melt the material
and can be moved in both horizontal and vertical directions
by a numerically controlled mechanism, directly controlled
by a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software
package. The model or part is produced by extruding small
beads of thermoplastic material to form layers as the
material hardens immediately after extrusion from the
nozzle. Stepper motors or servo motors are typically
employed to move the extrusion head.
Various polymers are used, including acrylonitrile
butadiene styrene (ABS) polycarbonate (PC) , polylactic
acid (PLA) , PC/ABS and polyphenylsulfone (PPSU).
Granular materials binding
Like most granular systems it fuses parts of the layer, and
then moves the working area downwards, and then adds
another layer of granules and then repeats the process until
the piece has built up. Another approach is selective fusing
of print media in a granular bed. In this variation, the
unfused media serves to support overhangs and thin walls in
the part being produced, reducing the need for auxiliary
temporary supports for the workpiece. Electron beam
melting (EBM) is a similar type of additive manufacturing
technology for metal parts (i.e. titanium alloys). EBM
manufactures parts by melting metal powder layer by layer
with an electron beam in a high vacuum. Unlike metal
sintering techniques that operate below melting point, the
parts are fully dense, void-free, and very strong .
VI. CONCLUSION
EM is a technology that can help companies and
manufacturers to come in direct contact with customers and
thus gives a means to measure customer sentiment and
produce accordingly. Also it can improve the productivity
with automated systems and better diagnostics services. On
the other hand AM is a technology that can completely
change the very fabric of manufacturing , with smaller,
affordable and more diverse technologies in the field being
developed we might see the production process once again
changing from assembly line production to personalized
production for each consumer. This might make the large
manufacturers to shift their base back to developed nations
from emerging nations where they had settled for low labor
costs.
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