21st Century Manufacturing [Paperback]

Paul Kenneth Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0130956015 | ISBN-13: 978-0130956019 | Edition: 1

Written in a conversational style, this book explores today's technologies and the future of manufacturing — through details of the product design process, rapid prototyping, a survey of manufacturing techniques relevant to today's production of consumer electronics or electromechanical devices, and the field of Biotechnology. It gives readers a broader appreciation of the impact of manufacturing process and not just manufacturing per se. A overview of the broader issues includes: the time to market, development of a new product, launching products into the marketplace, quality control, and the impact of technology on the next generation of products. Chapter topics cover manufacturing analysis; product design, computer aided design, and solid modeling; solid freeform fabrication and rapid prototyping; semiconductor manufacturing; computer manufacturing; metal-products manufacturing; plastics-products manufacturing and system assembly; and biotechnology. For executive education courses, appealing to both engineering and business professionals.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This book is built around the idea that your new company will be brainstorming a new technical idea, analyzing the market, developing a business plan, creating a conceptual product, fabricating a prototype, executing detailed designs, outsourcing the various aspects of electronic and mechanical manufacturing, and then launching the product for sale. The main chapters in the book deal with these topics, with particular emphasis on manufacturing technologies. Biotechnology has been added because of the substantial future career opportunities in this field. The book also aims to provide a balanced view for the management of technology.

• Each chapter tries to move beyond the basic science and technology in each field to strategic issues such as time-to-market.
• There are extensive references to research articles and books for the future specialist. These also appear on a Web site, which will be updated often.
• It is written in a conversational style rather than being jam-packed with equations!

About the Author

PAUL KENNETH WRIGHT'S research work and teaching have focused on manufacturing processing operations, robotics, expert systems, open-architecture control, rapid prototyping, Internet-based CAD/CAM, the management of technology, and distance learning. His previous books are Manufacturing Intelligence (with David Bourne) and Metal Cutting (with Edward Trent). He was born in London, educated at Birmingham University, and has held positions at Cambridge University, Auckland University in New Zealand, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in New York. He is presently the A. Martin Berlin Professor of Mechanical Engineering, the Co-Chair of the Management of Technology Program, and the Associate Dean of Distance Learning at The University of California, Berkeley.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 460 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (August 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130956015
• ISBN-13: 978-0130956019
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,220,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent text - definitely recommended, July 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: 21st Century Manufacturing (Paperback)

This book is like a breath of fresh air - A totally new and innovative view of manufacturing. It was very different from the traditional boring and dry manufacturing texts I have been used to reading. The book takes a look not only at manufacturing processes but also other aspects like product development and business plans - parts I have not seen in any other textbook. To sum up, I would definitely recommend the book !

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive thinking for hard-skill management, October 25, 2003

By 

Sarawoot Chittratanawat - See all my reviews

This review is from: 21st Century Manufacturing (Paperback)

Manufacturing is a combination of soft and hard skill. The soft-skill is about people and how to manage them. This skill is obvious in several text and business management book. The hard-skill, however, is quite rare. Fortunately, Wright combines it in nice -easy to read format.
The strong point of this book is "comprehensive". Wright composes his thought of manufacturing system today and projected to the future. All manufacturing processes are seamlessly combined from one chapter to another. The integration of CAD/CAM is also mentioned. In addition, his viewpoint of manufacturing system for biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology are quite interesting -and practical.
If I have to use one book for manufacturing class, I would use this book for teaching. For anyone new to manufacturing process, this book is a must for your jorney to the manufacturing world.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable guidline for manufacturing in the 21st century, July 13, 2001

By 

Jan N Eggert (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 21st Century Manufacturing (Paperback)

This book provides an excellent overview of manufacturing in the new economy. From the perspective of an entrepreneur in today's internet driven world, all aspects from product design to rapid prototyping and computer manufacturing are discussed in detail and with strong reference to the real world. In addition, conventional manufacturing processes like basic machining and metal forming, as well as fairly new industrial directions like biotechnology are outlined with an emphasis on the strong relationship between engineering and business. The book concludes with a realistic vision for the future of manufacturing, and therefore proves to be a 'must have' in the world of engineering and entrepreneurship.