In a global, e-commerce marketplace, product customisation is driven towards manufacturing flexibility.
Gartner noted that current enterprise uses of 3D technology focus on "one-off or small-run models for product design and industrial prototyping, jigs and fixtures used in manufacturing processes and mass customisation of finished goods".
The product customisation trend has an unprecedented impact on manufacturing companies, as the ever-increasing number of product variants and the enlarged pool of cooperating partners vastly increase the feasible alternative supply chain configurations.
The approach to engineering HMI systems described addresses the emerging needs and tremendous pressures enterprises face to be faster to market, achieve quicker machine builds with manufacturing production machines that must support mass customisation and quick response times.
The work discussed in this paper aims at enabling a mass customisation and personalisation implementation, by engaging the customer in the design of unique products and by enabling the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to efficiently plan manufacturing and transportation activities of highly customised products by exploiting an innovative decentralised manufacturing approach.
Tibbits says printing is good for customisation as far as quickly changing the pattern and creating prototypes, but manufacturing can do the same thing, applying bonding and lamination onto the pre-stretched textile.
The task of design, planning and operation of manufacturing networks is becoming more and more challenging for companies, as globalisation, mass customisation and the turbulent economic landscape create demand volatility, uncertainties and high complexity.
These factors, caused primarily by mass customisation and demand volatility, generate a number of issues related to the design and planning of manufacturing systems and networks, which are not holistically tackled in industrial and academic practices.
The mass customisation paradigm, in combination with the volatility of globalised heterogeneous markets, directly affects industries towards realising efficient manufacturing network configurations.
He must also be casting a wary eye to North America where robotics, 3D printing, mass customisation and other new trends could put pressure on Asia's factory model.There are some promising alternatives to manufacturing.
