The manufacturing sector in Australia is transitioning in response to global changes, technological...

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The manufacturing sector in Australia is transitioning in response to global changes, technological changes, and changes in trading conditions. Whilst global production has grown quickly, Australian manufacturing productivity has experienced relatively slower growth over the past decade. At the same time, China’s increasing demand for mineral resources has influenced prices for commodities including iron ore, aluminium ores, copper ores, and associated resources. Fluctuating demand and prices have a substantial influence on Australia’s economy, and have brought about a number of challenges for the Australian manufacturing ind
	
Document Preview: 48663 Assignment -  Advanced Manufacturing in Perspective – Challenges and 
 ( )
Opportunities for Australia *

Individual (not group) project report  
 
Background: 
 
The manufacturing sector in Australia is transitioning in response to global changes, technological changes, 
and changes in trading conditions. Whilst global production has grown quickly, Australian manufacturing 
productivity has experienced relatively slower growth over the past decade. 
 
At the same time, China’s increasing demand for mineral resources has influenced prices for commodities 
including iron ore, aluminium ores, copper ores, and associated resources. Fluctuating demand and prices 
have a substantial influence on Australia’s economy, and have brought about a number of challenges for the 
Australian manufacturing industry. It remains to be seen whether advanced manufacturing will play a key 
role in Australia’s future. 
 
Assignment Tasks: You are required to address each of the following dot points. Marks will be allocated on 
the basis of items addressed. 
 
? Discuss the concept of Advanced Manufacturing in your own words in project report form. 
 ( )
? It has been claimed that the manufacturing industry in Australia * is dying; where does this fit with 
respect to our subject Advanced Manufacturing? 
? What about the so-called developing countries? 
? Should there be two types of manufacturing - advanced and “retarded” (note “retarded” 
manufacturing is not a recognised terminology)? 
 ( )?
? What do you think is to be the future of manufacturing in Australia * 
? In your discussion mention terms such as: Quality Management (QM), Concurrent Engineering (CE), 
JIT, CIM, FMS, Lean Manufacturing, Agile Manufacturing, Clean Manufacturing and others. 
? There are different types of manufacturing: white goods, furniture, building products, automotive, 
electronic, heavy industry machinery, aerospace, building service equipment, textile products, and 
many more. Discuss some...

David · Accepted Answer

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING 
 Traditional Manufacturing 
Manufacturing involves the conversion of raw material into the finished product. It 
covers the various manufacturing processes and management techniques to develop products. 
Product can vary in size from large ships, automobiles to MEMS devices. Complexity involves 
in the manufacturing varies with quality and quantity of products to be manufactured. 
Manufacturing covers a very wide range of products which requires the use of Flexible 
manufacturing systems; computer integrated manufacturing as the size of the product reduces.   
Traditional manufacturing involves the use of traditional machines. Traditional machines 
are not capable of fulfilling the requirements of high demands. High production rates as well as 
high accuracy cannot be achieved by the use of traditional machines [1].  
Thus, manufacturing industries have to adapt to the requirements of growing market and 
fulfil it needs. Wide range of products such as ship, machinery which are large in size while 
MEMS, NEMS devices which are small in size, the large variation in the product size  challenges 
the engineers and scientists to develop new technologies to improve production rate. 
Manufacturing industries has to adapt to new manufacturing technologies to achieve high 
dimensional accuracy of pico scale. Advancement in technology develops new materials, to 
achieve the high production rates decision making and management techniques are being 
developed. These will provide the lot of opportunities for the scientists and engineers. In the 
present scenario, industrial manufacturing units have high pressure of fulfilling the demands of 
high production rates with quality products. To survive in the competitive market industries has 
to adapt to new technologies. 
 Advanced Manufacturing 
Advanced manufacturing is the use of technology to improve the products. In Advanced 
manufacturing new innovative technologies are implemented in products as well as processes 
[2]. The definition of advanced manufacturing given by the white house and states as 
"Advanced manufacturing centers upon improving the performance of US industry through the 
innovative application of technologies, processes and methods to product design and 
production." Finally, a recent survey of advanced manufacturing definitions by the White House 
and states:[3] "A concise definition of advanced manufacturing offered by some is 
manufacturing that entails rapid transfer of science and technology (S&T) into manufacturing 
products and processes." (PCAST, April 2010.) 
Advanced manufacturing includes computer technologies, high precision technologies, 
automation and control. Involvement of computers and data storage helps to achieve the 
accuracy at pico scale. It also includes the quality control, lean manufacturing technologies, 
supply chain integration, just in time and advances planning and control, concurrent engineering, 
agile manufacturing. Advanced manufacturing systems mainly consist of flexible manufacturing 
systems and computer integrated manufacturing systems.  
 Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) 
Nowadays demands of the customers are changing; they need variety of products for their 
daily use. To fulfil this demand manufacture upgraded from mass to batch type production 
systems. Batch type production system requires the use CNC’s. More flexibility requires in batch 
type production system as the varieties of products are more than the similar type of products. To 
complete these requirements manufacture has to adapt the new technologies such as Flexible 
Manufacturing Systems (FMS), Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Product design and 
development, Material handling and advanced planning and control. FMS uses the combination 
of mechanical and microelectronics system to produce the variety of products. FMS provides the 
good solution to batch production. A central online computer controls the machine tools and 
work stations. Information can be updated from the central computer to make the required 
changes [4].  
 Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) 
Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) involves the use of computers to control the 
entire production process.

The manufacturing sector in Australia is transitioning in response to global changes, technological changes, and changes in trading conditions. Whilst global production has grown quickly, Australian...

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