Manufacturing
Etymology
Middle French, from Medieval Latin manufactura, from Latin manu factus, literally, made by hand
- Date: 1567
Definitions
- 1 : something made from raw materials by hand or by machinery
- 2 a : the process of making wares by hand or by machinery especially when carried on systematically with division of labor
- b : a productive industry using mechanical power and machinery
Description
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to make things for use or sale. Also it can be used for selling things. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Such finished goods may be used for manufacturing other, more complex products, such as household appliances or automobiles, or sold to wholesalers, who in turn sell them to retailers, who then sell them to end users - the "consumers".
Manufacturing takes turns under all types of economic systems. In a free market economy, manufacturing is usually directed toward the mass production of products for sale to consumers at a profit. In a collectivist economy, manufacturing is more frequently directed by the state to supply a centrally planned economy. In free market economies, manufacturing occurs under some degree of government regulation.
Modern manufacturing includes all intermediate processes required for the production and integration of a product's components. Some industries, such as semiconductor and steel manufacturers use the term fabrication instead.
The manufacturing sector is closely connected with engineering and industrial design.[1]
