21st Century Manufacturing

This book is built around the idea that your new company will be brainstorming a new technical idea, analyzing the market, developing a business plan, creating a conceptual product, fabricating a prototype, executing detailed designs, outsourcing the various aspects of electronic and mechanical manufacturing, and then launching the product for sale. The main chapters in the book deal with these topics, with particular emphasis on manufacturing technologies. Biotechnology has been added because of the substantial future career opportunities in this field. The book also aims to provide a balanced view for the management of technology.

• Each chapter tries to move beyond the basic science and technology in each field to strategic issues such as time-to-market.
• There are extensive references to research articles and books for the future specialist. These also appear on a Web site, which will be updated often.
• It is written in a conversational style rather than being jam-packed with equations!

Each chapter tries to move beyond the basic science and technology in each field to strategic issues such as time-to-market. It is written in a conversational style rather than being jam-packed with equations!

Booknews

Reviews the history of manufacturing, its present state, and the need for integration, then guides students through a product development cycle in the context of specific business sectors, with chapters on CAD and product design, solid freeform fabrication and rapid prototyping, semiconductor manufacturing, computer manufacturing, metal-products manufacturing, plastic products, biotechnology, and future aspects. An Appendix offers ideas for projects, tours, and business plans. For engineering and business students. Wright teaches mechanical engineering at the University of California-Berkeley. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

PAUL KENNETH WRIGHT'S research work and teaching have focused on manufacturing processing operations, robotics, expert systems, open-architecture control, rapid prototyping, Internet-based CAD/CAM, the management of technology, and distance learning. His previous books are Manufacturing Intelligence (with David Bourne) and Metal Cutting (with Edward Trent). He was born in London, educated at Birmingham University, and has held positions at Cambridge University, Auckland University in New Zealand, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in New York. He is presently the A. Martin Berlin Professor of Mechanical Engineering, the Co-Chair of the Management of Technology Program, and the Associate Dean of Distance Learning at The University of California, Berkeley.