The Complete Guide to Manufacturing Processes

When diving into the complexities of modern manufacturing, it's crucial to establish a clear understanding of what a manufacturing process truly entails. While the sheer diversity of available techniques and strategies can be overwhelming, at its core, every manufacturing process can be examined and categorized, enabling us to identify the best process for any given production environment and product.

This comprehensive guide will break down these overarching categories, providing a structured framework for navigating the manufacturing landscape. From the fundamental transformation of raw materials to the cutting-edge integration of AI and cloud technologies, we'll explore how these categories intersect and examine the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches.

Let's embark on this journey to unravel the intricacies of the manufacturing landscape and find the right manufacturing process and strategy for your business.

What is a Manufacturing Process?

Before we explore our complete guide to manufacturing processes, we’ll need to determine what a manufacturing process is. Simply, a manufacturing process is the transformation of raw materials into finished goods. Each manufacturing process involves a series of steps and conditions involving labor, machinery, and digital tools to produce a desired product.

However, this doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the complexity and capability of modern manufacturing.

To help answer this question in greater detail, we’ve organized 24 manufacturing processes and procedures into 5 overarching categories based on their primary focus.

1. Sequential Processing
2. Type
3. Market Demand
4. Strategic Purpose
5. Procedure

If you have a product in mind that you’d like to build then you’ve most likely thought about the above 5 factors. Let’s keep these in mind as we explore these categories and the multiple manufacturing processes, procedures, and strategies that fit into each of them.

The Sequential Breakdown of the Manufacturing Process

When exploring the capabilities of any manufacturing process, it is important to understand that all manufacturing processes follow a simple three-step process flow.

• Primary Processing: The procurement of raw materials.
• Secondary Processing: The transformation of those raw materials into usable components.
• Tertiary Processing: The assembly, finishing, and packaging of the final product.

First raw materials are gathered, mined, or cultivated. Then, these materials are transformed, cut, extruded, assembled, shaped, welded, printed, refined, etc. until they are a usable product or component. The product is then finalized through assembly, packaging, labeling, quality testing, and/or distribution to the intended customer/market.

The 4 Main Types of Manufacturing Processes

All manufacturing processes can be placed in at least one of the below types. While most manufacturers and products will have unique characteristics, we can get a good basis by first understanding which of the following 4 types our operation fits into.

1. Discrete Manufacturing

Discrete manufacturing is a manufacturing process that focuses on creating individual items, ranging from cars and sports equipment to lamps and shovels. Anything that can be assembled, welded, joined, etc. falls into this category.

While not always the case, this manufacturing process can be characterized by the production of diverse products that can change based on customer orders and/or new contracts. In this case, the production line is manned by a combination of people and industrial equipment.

For example, a metal bending company could produce industrial shelving one month and the metal housing for X-ray scanners the next month. This provides manufacturers with a strategy that is flexible to market demand, easily performs product changeovers, and requires less investment than automated assembly lines.

However, this can often make production a bit slower when compared to repetitive manufacturing processes which are geared for high volumes of one specific product. Plus, employees within this environment may need to constantly learn new procedures as new contracts are procured.

One optimization method for discrete manufacturers is to employ batch or lot production. In this case, discrete manufacturers will produce a complete set of identical units, quickly perform product changeover, and then move on to the next set of identical units within the contract. This is especially useful for work orders with multiple operations.

The counterpart to batch processing is to simply assemble products based on the work order. If users have all the parts and materials to assemble each product, then workers can simply follow the specifics of the worker order as the product moves through the shop floor.

However, getting workers to keep track of these changing worker orders can be difficult without digital guidance. Discrete manufacturers can enhance the knowledge and training of their employees by using work instruction software that guides workers with interactive digital instructions.

This strategy is especially effective for discrete manufacturers that produce products with high variations like Brunswick Boat Group. In their case, all work order specifications are automatically sent to their work instructions, enabling workers to simply follow the standardized procedure and grab the parts mentioned in the dynamic instructions.

2. Process Manufacturing

Process manufacturing is a production method where raw materials undergo chemical and/or physical changes to create a final product. Unlike discrete manufacturing where solid objects are assembled and joined together, process manufacturing involves mixing, heating, fermenting, purifying, forming, and more to create solid and liquid products.

Process manufacturing can be a highly efficient production type due to two important factors.

• Efficient: Companies can produce large quantities with highly consistent quality.
• Scalable: As long as there’s space, companies can easily scale up and scale down production based on market demand.
• Automation & Reduced Labor: Process manufacturing operations can be automated with temperature control sensors and automated mixers.

While process manufacturing has a whole host of advantages, it also introduces a certain level of complexity.

• Process Rigidity: All manufacturing steps must follow a specific formula or recipe. Each step needs to be completed before the next step can begin.
• Conditional Factors: For the transformation to work, raw materials need to be under specific conditions like heat, time, and pressure.
• Irreversible Transformation: Once mixed, the final product cannot be broken down into its components or base materials. For example, once cake ingredients are mixed, you cannot extract or separate the flour and sugar.

Since process manufacturing products undergo irreversible changes, ensuring quality and standardization is a top concern.

3. Repetitive Manufacturing

This style of manufacturing process is all about high volume and high optimization by building products that have little to no variation. While some repetitive manufacturing products can have a bit of variation, most products are generally identical to one another (think of automotive facilities). This style of manufacturing allows companies to adopt a few key strengths.

1. Large quantity production
2. Full standardization
3. Highly optimized and automated production lines

Highly automated tools, robots, and mass assembly lines are great for companies that wish to build a repetitive manufacturing facility and strategy. Because there are very few variables within the product line, machines can perform a majority of the work at incredible speeds while wasting very little time or material.

However, this repetitive type of production and optimization also leads to two key weaknesses.

• Slow changeover
• Inflexible product lines

With reliance on automated machinery, companies can’t quickly get their production lines to build new products. It takes a good amount of time to plan and accomplish any changeover procedure. In some markets, this lack of flexibility is a non-issue. However, it simply means that this is not a viable strategy for companies that want to be responsive to specific customer orders.

4. Job Shop Manufacturing

Job shop manufacturing is about producing custom products that require unique processing at medium to low volumes. With its focus on customized products, this type of manufacturing process has little room for automated actions and heavily relies on skilled labor. But for this reason, production volumes are significantly lower.

Think of it like a tailor making custom suits. Big brands might be able to produce incredible volumes of products for the market, but if anyone wants a unique one-of-a-kind suit, they’ll need to see a tailor. In the same way, when someone needs a custom part to be machined or they need a machine built for their own automated process, they need to approach a custom manufacturer.

Due to its focus on customized production, job shop manufacturers are incredibly flexible to the needs of their customers. However, because these products are typically made to order, lead times are also much slower than for other manufacturing processes.

Watchfire Signs, a manufacturer of custom digital billboards, uses work instruction software to ensure that their workers always perform the right actions amidst ever-changing custom production orders. Watfire Signs is able to digitally standardize key repeatable processes and then simply adjust the measurements and specifications for each work order.

The 4 Manufacturing Processes By Market Demand

Now that we have a firm grasp of the main types of manufacturing processes, let’s take a look at how to break modern production methods down by market demand.

1. Make-to-Stock (MTS)

Make to Stock (MTS) is a traditional production and inventory approach in which companies produce goods and stock their shelves to meet anticipated consumer demand. A prime example of this method is seasonal clothing manufacturing where the clothes are mass-produced using repetitive manufacturing processes before explicit customer demand.

Essentially, MTS is a push manufacturing approach where production and inventory levels are predetermined and sales are based on the quantity produced. One of the key advantages of this manufacturing process is that orders are fulfilled immediately from pre-made inventory, significantly speeding up lead times.

Drawbacks include high initial costs associated with inventory development and the possibility of either overproduction or underproduction if demand projections prove to be incorrect.

2. Make-to-Order (MTO)

Businesses that use the Make to Order (MTO) approach only make their product once the customer order has been received. This allows manufacturers to build the appropriate quantity based on actual current demand while enabling products to be engineered to the exact specifications of the customer.

Low inventory costs and virtually no stock obsolescence are the main advantages of the MTO approach. Every time production begins, the product has already been sold. Similarly, this manufacturing process allows manufacturers to build products that require large amounts of capital without putting up enormous initial investments amid sales uncertainty.

The primary drawback of this approach is that manufacturing cannot start until the order is received, causing longer lead times. However, in industries like aerospace and automated machinery, lead times do not need to be as fast as in the consumer goods industry.

MTO manufacturers can also create small buffer inventories to help mitigate the inherently longer lead times of this manufacturing process.

3. Assemble to Order (ATO)

Assemble to Order (ATO) is a production method in which subassemblies and components of a finished product are manufactured but not yet assembled before the customer places the order. Once the order is made, workers assemble the subcomponents into the final customized product and then promptly deliver the product to the client.

At its core, ATO is the fusion of MTO and MTS methods.

• The flexibility of MTO (Made to Order): Customers get to select the specific components of the finished product.
• The faster lead times of MTS (Made to Stock): The initial bulk of manufacturing is completed before the client places an order because subassemblies are pre-manufactured.

While this manufacturing process seems like the best of both worlds, it does require a specific product type that allows for subcomponents to be readily on hand. Computer manufacturers like Dell and HP are prime examples of ATO processes where motherboards, computer chips, and processors can be quickly assembled when work orders come through.

4. Engineer-to-Order (ETO)

Engineer-to-order (ETO) is a manufacturing process where products are entirely conceived and engineered from scratch based on the customer's requirements. Within this manufacturing process, the volume is low and the product variation is high. Complex industrial equipment, defense systems, and construction/infrastructure projects typically follow this manufacturing approach.

While similar to the MTO method, ETO provides the greatest amount of flexibility and customization. Rather than merely purchasing a final product with a few customizations, companies commission the creation of the product and are involved from the design phase to the very end of product finalization.

In this case, a job shop manufacturing process or a company with an R&D department is best suited for this type of work.

The 3 Manufacturing Processes by Strategic Purpose

While the focus of manufacturing processes is often based on the physical methods used to create goods, modern manufacturing is comprised of much more than that. Namely, the strategies and tools we use to enhance production and fulfill manufacturing goals.

For this reason, let’s expand our exploration of manufacturing processes to include key methods and systems used within the modern industry.

1. Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is a production methodology that focuses on two key goals.

1. Minimizing waste for the company.
2. Maximizing value for the customer.

By carefully identifying where a manufacturing process is wasteful and where value can be optimized, manufacturers can positively transform their operations for the better. But the question is, how do manufacturers identify wasteful areas and produce greater value?

While there are specific lean manufacturing methods like 5S, Kaizen, Poka-Yoke, Value Stream Mapping, and many more, each one requires a critical amount of data to be effective.

In this case, modern manufacturers need to turn to a digital and intelligent form of manufacturing processing.

2. Cloud Manufacturing

Cloud manufacturing leverages technologies like cloud computing, IoT, data analytics, and digital threads to create an interconnected network of cyberphysical resources. These resources help manufacturers collect and analyze data while controlling production orders and scheduling.

For example, a worker-centric MES like VKS Enterprise leverages cloud manufacturing in the following ways.

• On-demand Knowledge Access: From work instructions and digital forms to advanced reporting and company-specific KPIs, workers have access to the right processes and accurate production data at any time.
• Interconnected Resources: By enabling workers and processes to directly communicate with torque tools, PLCs, devices, machines, IoT sensors, and databases, manufacturers can tap into a smarter and more efficient manufacturing ecosystem.
• Real-Time Error Proofing: As workers follow their work instructions, the system monitors the actions of the operator, the parts used, and the quality validations performed, greatly mitigating the chances of errors.
• Streamlined Data Collection: Workers can use the system to collect data at any point in the process using digital forms, scanners, and connected tools. Instead of writing information on paper, all data is captured seamlessly within one system.
• Production Scheduling: Leaders can monitor and manage work orders and their priority sequence through dispatch screens to ensure that the workforce and resources are optimized to peak efficiency.
• API Connection: Separate systems such as ERPs, CMMS, QMS, LMS, and more can be integrated with your work instruction software, ensuring that all systems communicate and share the same information.

3. AI Manufacturing

AI has been a hot topic for the past few years, if not the decade and beyond. Specifically, AI manufacturing is the utilization of artificial intelligence to improve manufacturing processes across a few factors.

Data analytics is a key focus as manufacturers progressively pull more and more data from their disparate systems. And the more data you have the more intelligent analysis you need. This data can then be used to gain actionable insights and intelligently optimize processes.

Additionally, AI manufacturing allows for higher levels of automation where machines and robots work autonomously with little human intervention. Machine learning algorithms also identify patterns and allow automated systems to make data-driven predictions and/or autonomous decisions. Or, in the case of cobots, AI is facilitating greater collaboration between workers and their cyber-physical counterparts.

The 10 Principal Manufacturing Procedures

Now that we’ve properly categorized manufacturing processes and the strategies used to enhance them, we can take a look at the top 10 manufacturing procedures used by modern manufacturers.

• Casting: A liquid substance (most often metal) is poured into a mold with a hollow cavity. The liquid metal then solidifies and is removed from the mold, attaining the desired shape.
• Molding: While casting focuses on shaping liquid metals, molding follows a similar procedure but can be applied to a much wider range of products and materials, allowing manufacturers to create more complex shapes through processes like injection molding.
• Forming: This manufacturing procedure relies on pressure (bending, rolling, stamping extrusion, etc.) to permanently form materials such as metals or plastic into specific shapes. Unlike machining, this procedure sees no material removal.
• Machining: This is a subtractive procedure where material is removed from a workpiece until a desired shape is achieved. A classic example of machining is creating a screw where groves are carved into the shaft of a metal rod.
• Powder Metallurgy: Metal powders are used to make intricate metal parts without the need for subtractive processing. This procedure is also used when making unique materials that are impossible to combine through melting or other types of forming.
• Treatment: This procedure uses heat, chemicals, and mechanical methods to alter the properties and characteristics of a material or part after it has been formed.
• Joining: Through actions like welding, soldering, adhesive bonding, and more, joining is the connecting of parts or materials into one unified structure.
• Assembly: Similar to joining, assembly is the process of connecting or fastening base components together to create a final product. Methods used for assembly include mechanical fastening, fitting, clipping, riveting, and more.
• Additive: Through the use of 3D printers and a layer-by-layer printing process, manufacturers print three-dimensional products that are digitally designed. This 3D printing procedure can use a wide range of materials from plastics and metals to ceramics and composite materials.
• Finishing: From hardening, painting, and polishing to coating, cleaning, and texturing, finishing procedures aim to improve a product’s appearance, functionality, and durability.

Which Manufacturing Process is Right for My Business?

At the end of this article, you may ask yourself which manufacturing process is best for your business. As we've explored above, answering that question well is highly dependent on these 4 key factors.

• Market Demand: As we explored, the market is largely going to dictate the method and the timing of your production. From customization and skilled labor to mass production and automation, market demand is the number one consideration.
• Material State: Evidently, the state of your materials, components, and chemicals will also play a key role in the processes you use. In other words, you wouldn’t use process manufacturing to make physical computer chips.
• Resource Availability: Using either plentiful or rare resources will determine the process you use. If materials are easy to source, then your production can run continuously and even use subtractive processing. But if your resources are seasonal or simply in rare supply, your production strategy and methods will have to follow suit to achieve a low waste production.

The Capabilities of your Factory and Workforce: While each of these is important, this is one factor you don’t want to lose sight of. If your manufacturing environment is under-equipped, or if your workforce is under-prepared, the manufacturing process cannot move forward.

VKS is a work instruction software that enhances the capabilities and knowledge retention of every manufacturing employee. From automated production lines to job shop productions, people are at the core of every manufacturing business. They are the ones managing machines, assembling components, quality testing, and ensuring that every product maintains the value your customers deserve.

For this reason, manufacturers are bolstering their processes by standardizing their procedures and strengthening their workers.

So the question is, how will you enhance your manufacturing process?