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6 Types of Manufacturing Processes

6 Types of Manufacturing Processes

Indeed Editorial Team

Updated March 10, 2023

Manufacturing is the making of goods, from televisions and automobiles to guitars

and clothing. There are several standard manufacturing processes applied across
industries, and companies can vary which they use or tailor productions to design
and business needs. In this article, we explore what a manufacturing process is and
discuss the different processes, how to use them and the advantages of each.

Read more: The Different Types of Manufacturing Environments and Jobs

What is a manufacturing process?

A manufacturing process is how a company builds or creates a product. It can be a

complex activity that involves a range of machinery, tools and equipment with many
levels of automation using computers, robots and cloud-based technology.

A business establishes its own manufacturing process to produce goods specifically

for its customers. A company decides which production method to choose based on
factors such as consumer demand, sales forecasts, the assembly technique, materials
involved and what resources are available. For example, you might choose to make a
product in bulk batches while a certain ingredient is in stock or on sale, or in
smaller numbers to fulfill customer orders without having additional storage costs.

Many of today's manufacturing processes date back to the Industrial Revolution of

the 1800s, which took industry from man-made to man-and-machine-made, and as
technology advances, processes get easier to understand and follow. Each approach
is unique with certain advantages to complete a specific task, and there are sub-
sectors within the industry such as food, apparel, chemical or electronic
manufacturing.

Read more: What Is Manufacturing?

Six types of manufacturing processes

Depending on your type of business or product, one manufacturing process might work
better than another for your company. Here are six types of manufacturing processes
used in industries worldwide today:

Job shop manufacturing

Job shop manufacturing uses production areas instead of an assembly line and is
most often used for small-batch, custom products that are made-to-order for certain
clients or customers. These workstations might focus on one particular product or a
handful of them, like a custom shoemaker or commercial printing press, and easily
offer the ability to customize the final product. Many machine shops also use this
type of manufacturing to make local industrial machinery, ship components or
specialized parts for the aviation industry.

With advances in technology, some of these sites may use job shop manufacturing
software, which helps manage workflow and production. To scale volume for higher
production rates, a business might benefit from moving from job shop manufacturing
to repetitive manufacturing, which allows for more automation and fewer people.

Repetitive manufacturing

Repetitive manufacturing is appropriate when making repeat production at a

committed production rate. This manufacturing process has dedicated production
lines all working on the same product or component all day, every day year-round.
Because there is such little changeover and setup, you can match operation speeds
to customer demand or client requirements to make more or fewer items.

Many companies that make electronic goods, automobiles or durable consumer goods
like refrigerators and clothes dryers use the repetitive manufacturing process.

Discrete manufacturing

Discrete manufacturing uses an assembly or production line, though it is much more

diverse than repetitive manufacturing and allows for more frequent changeover and
variation. A company can have multiple styles, sizes or modifications for a product
with discrete manufacturing, though it often means production can take longer
because of extra setup or removal as necessary.

Automobile and aircraft makers use the discrete manufacturing process, along with
many companies who produce clothing, medical devices, toys and smartphones.

Batch process manufacturing

Batch process manufacturing shares similarities with discrete and job shop
manufacturing processes, driven by customer demand or the availability of
ingredients and raw materials. One manufacturing run might produce a batch enough
to fill client needs, so you finish production, clean the equipment, and resume
when you need another batch.

Food production, newspaper printing, bookbinding, and pharmaceuticals often rely on

batch process manufacturing.

Continuous process manufacturing

Continuous process manufacturing runs all the time like repetitive manufacturing.
The difference is this process focuses on raw materials that are often gases,
powders, liquids or slurry.

Oil refining, metal smelting, paper production and some food products like tomato
sauce, juice and peanut butter use continuous process manufacturing.

3D printing

Many in the industry now recognize 3D printing as a sixth manufacturing process

with widespread use. Developed in the 1980s, 3D printing uses various composites
and materials like plastics and metals to make three-dimensional goods layer by
layer based on a digital model, rather than using physical labor or mechanization.
There has been an enormous expansion in this field, with dozens of equipment
manufacturers and hundreds of thousands of 3D-printed items already on the market.

While 3D printing can be expensive, it also offers the potential to reduce

financial capital, raw materials and waste and lets companies create and test
products before committing to them on a larger scale. This growing manufacturing
process is already being used for products such as:

Medical and dental devices

Prosthetic limbs

Firearms

Shoes

Musical instruments

Buildings

Related: How To Calculate Manufacturing Cost

Other types of manufacturing processes

Traditional types of manufacturing styles also include:

Machining

Machining uses power-driven tools to shape solid materials and metals by removing
extra materials from the piece, usually by trimming. Machining is the foundation of
the industry and includes things such as presses, chip-making tools and modern
machinery.

Joining

Joint patterns consider load factors, assembly performance, upkeep and operations.
Bolting is a standard fastening method while welding is more cost-effective and
reduces excess weight, because it doesn't require overlapping materials, fasteners
or mounted parts in between.

Forming

Metal forming bends, spins or stretches using a metal press, die or punching tools.
Forming is expensive, though you can reuse equipment by changing the dies.

Casting

Casting involves a solid dissolving into a liquid when heated and poured into a
mold or cavity. Casting can create complex or simple shapes from any kind of
meltable metal with a wide option for designs.

Jobs in manufacturing

If you're interested in starting a career in manufacturing, there are many jobs

from which you can choose. Consider these 10 manufacturing jobs to help you get
started in your career:

1. Manufacturing technician

2. Machinist
3. Assembly technician

4. Production manager

5. Foreman

6. Terminal operator

7. Plant operations monitor

8. Manufacturing associate

9. Product engineer

10. Machine operator

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5 Types Of Manufacturing Process

What Is A Manufacturing Process

A manufacturing process uses manufacturing methods, operations scheduling software,

machinery, and labor to transform raw material into the finished product. Broadly,
there are five manufacturing processes, and most businesses that create products
will fall into one of these five categories.

However, how that works for each business will differ slightly, based on their
individual products, the business' ethos, and the resources and facilities they
have available.

Five Types Of Manufacturing Processes:

Repetitive Manufacturing

Basic manufacturing that creates the same product on an assembly line is engaged in
the repetitive manufacturing process. These types of rapid manufacturing operations
will produce the same or very similar products en masse 24/7.
The manufacturing industries that utilize this type of production process
including:

Automotive

Electronics

Semiconductor

Durable consumer goods

These mass production industries are ideal for repetitive manufacturing because the
consumer demand for the finished product is stable and predictable. The assembly
line will remain fairly constant, with few changes as one product is manufactured
over a period of time.

Master plans are created on a period of time and quantity basis. Repetitive
manufacturing is often used for make-to-stock production or in a high volume, sales
order-oriented environment like automotive. Robots and other automated high-volume
manufacturing equipment are used to increase throughput and decrease manufacturing
costs in these types of factories.

Discrete Manufacturing

Discrete manufacturing is the cousin of repetitive manufacturing. It too runs on

production lines, but the finished goods that are created during this process often
vary considerably.

When switching between different product models, the assembly line configuration
must often be changed. In manufacturing facilities, this is known as a changeover
and carries setup cost in the form of time, labor, and resources.

For example, in the computer industry, technology not only develops at a constantly
rapid rate but the customers demand mass customization. The manufacturing process
for producing newer computers and laptops will require modifications to the
assembly line to produce and assemble orders that call for the latest electronic
components.

Job Shop Manufacturing

In the job shop manufacturing process, production areas, like workstations and
workshops, are used instead of an assembly line. Each worker may add something to
the product when it passes through their station, before it is moved on to another,
and until eventually the final product is finished. This method of manufacturing is
ideal for custom manufacturing because it tends to be slower and produces a low
volume of highly customized products.

Take for example a job shop that builds custom cabinets. Workers will be stationed
at their workstations, and they will add to the cabinet as it is brought to them.
One may be in charge of sawing the lumber, another of applying resin, others in
charge of polishing the varnish, and others still in charge of assembly.

Keep in mind that job shop manufacturing is not just for low technology products.
This process is also used in the advanced manufacturing of fighter jets and rockets
for the aerospace and defense industry. These products are produced by highly
trained professionals who employ advanced manufacturing techniques and place a
strong focus on quality control to ensure a high-quality build.

Continuous Process Manufacturing

Continuous process manufacturing is very similar to repetitive manufacturing
because it runs 24/7, creates the same or similar products repeatedly, and creates
larger order quantities. The key difference here is that the raw materials used are
gases, liquids, powders, and slurries, instead of solid-state components.

It works almost exactly the same as repetitive manufacturing besides the difference
in raw materials. An example of this in practice might be a pharmaceutical company
that produces painkillers in larger quantities.

Traditional industrial manufacturing industries that widely utilize continuous

processes include:

Pharmaceutics

Chemicals/industrial gases

Fertilizers

Power stations

Oil refining

Paper

Furnace - Steel, Iron, and Alloys

Batch Process Manufacturing

The batch process of manufacture differs quite a bit from continuous process
manufacture and is more similar to discrete and job shop manufacturing. The number
of batches that are created will be enough to serve a particular customer's needs.
In-between batches, the equipment will be cleaned and left alone until another
batch is required. The raw materials used are more similar to continuous process
manufacturing as they are liquids, gases, powders, and slurries too.

A prominent example of this is a sauce manufacturer. They may be capable of

creating many sauces - BBQ, ketchup, mayonnaise - but a customer's order may only
require one of them. Whilst they make one batch of ketchup for a customer to a
specific quantity, the mayonnaise and other sauces won't be in production -
instead, the machines will be cleaned and left until it is time to create another
batch of that sauce.

Managing the Manufacturing Process

The manufacturing process you choose is dependent on your manufacturing industry

and the type of product you are looking to create. Sometimes a hybrid
manufacturing approach that combines multiple manufacturing processes can be useful
if you want to create an assortment of products.

Once you choose the right manufacturing process, it is important to leverage the
right manufacturing systems and investing in the right manufacturing technology to
ensure process control. Your ERP and MES systems are a step in the right direction,
but they lack the planning and scheduling capabilities required to become a truly
lean manufacturing organization.

For 20 years Optessa has been helping Fortune 100 supply chain leaders optimize
their manufacturing processes with the help of advanced planning and scheduling
manufacturing technologies. Please contact us for a free demo of our manufacturing
software.

Production Management

Resource Capacity Planning

1-800-918-3597

info@optessa.com

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