Processes

Manufacturing processes include all intermediary steps in manufacturing from component making to complete product assembly. Processes may include casting, molding, forming, machining, joining, and rapid manufacturing.

In casting, liquid is poured into a mold with a cavity of the desired shape and allowed to harden. The finished piece is also known as a casting, which is broken out of the mold to complete the process.

Casting materials are usually metals or various cold setting materials that cure after mixing two or more components together such as epoxy, clay, plaster and concrete.

Molding is a process wherein shaping pliable raw material using a frame or model called a pattern. A mold is a hollowed-out block that is filled with a liquid like plastic, glass, metal, or ceramic raw materials. The liquid hardens or sets inside the mold, taking on its shape. A mold is the opposite of a cast.

Forming is the process of end-tube forming, rolling, extrusion, pressing, bending, shearing or stamping.

Machining is a collection of material-working processes in which power-driven machine tools, such as saws, lathes, milling machines, and drill presses, are used with a sharp cutting tool to mechanically cut the material to achieve the desired geometry. Machining is a part of the manufacture of almost all metal products, and it is common for other materials, such as wood and plastic, to be machined.

Joining consists primarily of welding practices—arcing, spot welding, oxyfuel gas, resistance, and adhesive bonding, and others.

Rapid Manufacturing Direct digital manufacturing, “rapid manufacturing,” sometimes called additive, direct, instant, or on-demand manufacturing, is a manufacturing process which creates physical parts directly from 3D CAD files or data using computer-controlled additive and subtractive fabrication and machining techniques with minimal human intervention.