Advanced Design and Manufacture to Gain a Competitive Edge : New Manufacturing Techniques and their Role in Improving Enterprise Performance

Manufacturing industry has been one of the key drivers for recent rapid global economic development. Globalisation of manufacturing industries due to distributed design and labour advantage leads to a drive and thirst for technological advancements and expertise in the fields of advanced design and manufacturing. This development results in many economical benefits to and improvement of quality of life for many people all over the world. This rapid development also creates many opportunities and challenges for both industrialists and academics, as the design requirements and constraints have completely changed in this global design and manufacture environment. Consequently the way to design, manufacture and realise products have changed as well. More and more design and manufacture tasks can now be undertaken within computer environment using simulation and virtual reality technologies. These technological advancements hence support more advanced product development and manufacturing operations in such a global design and manufacturing environment. In this global context and scenario, both industry and the academia have an urgent need to equip themselves with the latest knowledge, technology and methods developed for engineering design and manufacture.