Computer-Integrated Manufacturing

The approach towards manufacturing which aims to automate the entire production process using computers is known as computer-integrated manufacturing. This system uses computers to link materials handling and management with functional areas such as inventory control, distribution, planning, purchasing, design and analysis. It finds application in a variety of industries like ship building, automotive and aviation industries. There are three key challenges which are faced in the development of a smoothly operating computer integrated manufacturing system. These are integrating components from different suppliers, data integrity and process control. A computer-integrated manufacturing system makes use of a number of subsystems such as computer aided design, enterprise resource planning, computer-aided quality assurance and computer-aided engineering. This book unfolds the innovative aspects of computer-integrated manufacturing which will be crucial for the progress of this field in the future. It elucidates new techniques and their applications in a multidisciplinary approach. Coherent flow of topics, student-friendly language and extensive use of examples make this book an invaluable source of knowledge.