Manufacturing

Manufacturing (pronunciation: /ˌmanjʊˈfaktʃərɪŋ/) is the production of goods for use or sale, using labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary industry. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high-tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial design, in which raw materials from the primary industry are transformed into finished goods on a large scale.

Etymology

The term "manufacturing" comes from the Latin manu factus, meaning "made by hand". It was originally used to describe the making of goods by hand, where "manufacture" was taken in the sense of making by hand, in contrast to the Latin machinarius, meaning "made by machine".

Related Terms

Industrial Design: The process of designing products that are to be manufactured through techniques of mass production.

Mass Production: The manufacture of large quantities of standardized products, frequently utilizing assembly line technology.

Assembly Line: A manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods.

Handicraft: The creation of handmade goods. This can involve a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill.

Secondary Industry: The sector of the economy that manufactures finished products. This sector takes the raw materials from the primary industry and turns them into finished goods.

Primary Industry: The sector of an economy making direct use of natural resources. This includes agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining, and extraction of oil and gas.