This generation will witness the greatest technological breakthrough in human history, the development of molecular manufacturing and personal nanofactories. Molecular manufacturing (MM) refers to a process that builds complicated machines out of precisely designed molecules. Promising to deliver a monumental impact on human society, molecular manufacturing will provide us the means to manufacture products from the bottom up and enable us to rearrange matter with atomic precision. Once molecular manufacturing is developed, it will provide us with a thorough and inexpensive system for controlling the structure of matter.
How Molecular Manufacturing Works
The central, but not the only, component necessary to achieve molecular manufacturing is a fabricator, or assembler.
How Molecular Manufacturing Might Be Developed
Molecular manufacturing will most likely be developed under the auspices of a massive governmental defense project for a major world power. In all likelihood, the events of September 11th provided the necessary incentive for the United States (and other world powers) to undertake organized and concerted efforts to accelerate the development of molecular manufacturing. This gives ample cause for concern, because this might well lead to the premature development of molecular manufacturing, unleashing enormous power on a world unprepared.
Why Molecular Manufacturing Will Be Developed
National security concerns will constitute the initial driving force to develop molecular manufacturing and reach the assembler breakthrough as soon as possible. Those assemblers can then be used to create weapons pre-designed in anticipation of the future development of molecular manufacturing, weapons capable of enormous destructive power - weapons that most people would find difficult to imagine. In addition to its national security implications, molecular manufacturing promises to change every aspect of human life.
The Dangers of Molecular Manufacturing
We must remain alert and vigilant to a number of potential dangers as we develop molecular manufacturing. Our initial pressing concern will be the prospect of despotic governments or terrorist organizations possessing an unrestricted molecular manufacturing capability. Despotic governments, such as communist China or the theocracy of Iran, can be quickly defeated (if we develop molecular manufacturing first) by the Western Democracies without loss of life on either side of the conflict and at little financial cost once molecular manufacturing comes to fruition.
The development of molecular manufacturing will usher in a period of massive societal change and upheaval. Some people predict the ability of molecular manufacturing to create products absent of human labor will lead to initial unemployment of 40% or more. With the power to regulate molecular manufacturing, a world government will have the ability to spy on every human on earth. Once molecular manufacturing is developed, this "smart dust" will become cheap and plentiful. A dire consequence of molecular manufacturing may be that free societies slowly devolve into totalitarian police states in an effort to combat both real and imagined terrorist threats.
Precautions for the Safe Development of Molecular Manufacturing
A number of organizations and individuals are working diligently to insure the safe development of molecular nanotechnology. Nanotechnology advocates have yet to introduce a specific set of policy initiatives to be undertaken following the development of molecular manufacturing. In the end, no one will realize the benefits of molecular manufacturing if we fail to preserve human life and liberty. Should we allow other nations to develop a molecular manufacturing capability? Dealing with the myriad number of questions raised by the ascendance of molecular manufacturing will constitute humanity's greatest challenge to date.
Lean Manufacturing Software Alone Is Not the Answer to What Ails Manufacturing Performance
ERP systems are also designed for perfect world scenarios and static parameters, while pharmaceutical manufacturers are awash in variability and constantly changing dynamics.
Variability Kills Manufacturing Performance
While ERP has its problems, inventory optimization, advanced planning and scheduling (APS) solutions, and manufacturing execution systems (MES) were rated even lower. Of course, variability isn't the only factor limiting performance optimization.
Getting Lean Gets Mixed Results
The manufacturers surveyed by Invistics haven't shied away from performance improvement techniques either. Invistics suggests a flow manufacturing methodology combined with simulation and optimization software to attack all the barriers to performance improvement.
Flow manufacturing methodologies break down organizational silos and help manufacturers be more agile while also blunting the impact of limited skills and training. Combined with advanced analytics and optimization software, these innovative methodologies help manufacturers utilize real-time data from the plant floor to set metrics and better control inventory levels and cycle times to improve customer service levels. Want to raise customer service levels?
A Guide To Contract Manufacturing
Contract manufacturing is defined as outsourcing or contracting out the manufacturing services of a business to an external firm, business or third-party vendor. Manufacturing services include manufacturing the product to required specifications, engineering the product and designing and manufacturing the product.
The classic value chain of a manufacturing business is comprised of the following activities: inbound goods, manufacturing, outbound goods and marketing. Contracted services in manufacturing is restricted to labor and other allied services.
Contract manufacturing is advantageous for a business, for the business has higher value for its products due to the manufacturing excellence. Contract manufacturing is employed by businesses in consumer as well as industrial goods industries.
