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Digital manufacturing: History, perspectives, and outlook

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DOI: 10.1243/09544054JEM1241

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 SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER 451

Digital manufacturing: history,

perspectives, and outlook
G Chryssolouris, D Mavrikios, N Papakostas, D Mourtzis*, G Michalos, and K Georgoulias
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, University of Patras, Patras, Greece

The manuscript was received on 23 May 2008 and was accepted after revision for publication on 20 June 2008.

DOI: 10.1243/09544054JEM1241

Abstract: Digital manufacturing has been considered, over the last decade, as a highly promis-
ing set of technologies for reducing product development times and cost as well as for addres-
sing the need for customization, increased product quality, and faster response to the market.
This paper describes the evolution of information technology systems in manufacturing, outlin-
ing their characteristics and the challenges to be addressed in the future. Together with the digi-
tal manufacturing and factory concepts, the technologies considered in this paper include
computer-aided design, engineering, process planning and manufacturing, product data and
life-cycle management, simulation and virtual reality, automation, process control, shopfloor
scheduling, decision support, decision making, manufacturing resource planning, enterprise
resource planning, logistics, supply chain management, and e-commerce systems. These tech-
nologies are discussed in the context of the digital factory and manufacturing concepts.

Keywords: information technology, computer-integrated manufacturing, computer-aided

design, computer-aided engineering, computer-aided manufacturing

1 INTRODUCTION core competences, working efficiently with other com-

The need for reduced development time together with
the growing demand for more customer-oriented
product variants have led to the next generation of
information technology (IT) systems in manufactur-
ing. Manufacturing organizations strive to integrate
their business functions and departments with new
systems in an enterprise database, following a unified
enterprise view [1]. These systems are based on the
digital factory/manufacturing concept, according to
which production data management systems and
simulation technologies are jointly used for optimiz-
ing manufacturing before starting the production
and supporting the ramp-up phases [2]. Digital manu-
facturing would allow for, first, the shortening of
development time and cost, second, the integration
of knowledge coming from different manufacturing
processes and departments, third, the decentralized
manufacturing of the increasing variety of parts and
products in numerous production sites, and, fourth,
the focusing of manufacturing organizations on their
*Corresponding author: Department of Mechanical Engineer-
ing, and Aeronautics, University of Patras, University Campus,
Rio Patras 26500, Greece. email: mourtzis@lms.mech.upatras.gr
panies and suppliers, on the basis of effective IT-based
cooperative engineering.
The evolution of IT in manufacturing is described
in the next section. Recent developments and the
digital manufacturing concept are then discussed,
followed by the conclusions regarding the pers-
pectives and the outlook of digital manufacturing in
the future.
2 IT IN MANUFACTURING
Over the past few decades, the extensive use of IT in
manufacturing has allowed these technologies to
reach the stage of maturity. The benefits of the new
tools have been thoroughly examined and their effi-
ciency in many applications has been proven. Their
application ranges from simple machining applica-
tions, to manufacturing planning and control sup-
port. From the early years of the introduction of
numerical control and all the way to machining
centres, manufacturing cells, and flexible systems,
costs and increased power have been the main
advantages of IT [3]. An example of the introduction
of IT, in the manufacturing world, is the concept of

JEM1241 Ó IMechE 2009 Proc. IMechE Vol. 223 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
452 G Chryssolouris, D Mavrikios, N Papakostas, D Mourtzis, G Michalos, and K Georgoulias
computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). This con-
cept was introduced in the late 1980s, favouring the
enhancement of performance, efficiency, operational
flexibility, product quality, responsive behaviour to
market differentiations, and time to market. How-
ever, the full strategic advantage of information tech-
nologies was poorly understood at that time and
could not be exploited to its full extent [3].
The inventory control and material requirements
planning (MRP) systems were introduced in the
1960s and 1970s respectively. Such systems were
further enhanced with the integration of tools cap-
able of providing capacity and sales planning func-
tionalities together with scheduling capabilities and
forecasting tools. The result was the introduction of
the closed-loop- MRP [4]. Nevertheless, the advances
in microprocessor technology, the advent of the
internet era, the standardization of software inter-
faces, the wide acceptance of formal techniques for
software design and development, and the maturity
of certain software products (relational database
management systems and computer-aided design
(CAD) systems, for instance) paved the way for facil-
itating the integration among diverse software appli-
cations [1]. The evolution of information systems
over the last decade has played a crucial role in the
adoption of new information technologies in the
environment of manufacturing systems [5].
2.1 Computer-aided technologies
CAD is considered among the technologies that have
boosted productivity, allowing faster time to market
for the product and dramatically reducing the time
required for product development. Although the first
CAD applications were inherently difficult to use
owing to the text-based input systems and the extre-
mely slow computational equipment, their succes-
sors have become more than necessary in today’s
manufacturing companies, regardless of their size.
Affordable solutions, offering a modern photorea-
listic graphical user interface, are nowadays avai-
lable in the market. Functionalities of such systems
integrate finite element analysis (FEA), kinematics
analysis, dynamic analysis and full simulation of
geometrical properties including texture and mech-
anical properties of materials. The CAD systems
have become indispensable to today’s manufacturing
firms, because of their strong integration with
advanced manufacturing techniques. CAD models
are often considered sufficient for the production of
the parts, since they can be used for generating the
code required to drive the machines for the pro-
duction of the part. Rapid prototyping is an example
of such a technology.
Process planning activities determine the neces-
sary manufacturing processes and their sequence in
Proc. IMechE Vol. 223 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
order to produce a given part economically and com-
petitively [1]. Towards this direction, the computer-
aided process planning (CAPP) systems have been
used for the generation of consistent process plans
and are considered as being essential components
of the CIM environments [6]. Denkena et al. [7] pro-
posed a holistic component manufacturing process
planning model, based on an integrated approach
combining technological and business considera-
tions in order to form the basis for developing
improved decision support and knowledge manage-
ment capabilities to enhance available CAPP solu-
tions. Kim and Duffie [8] introduced a discrete
dynamic model design and have analysed the control
algorithms for closed-loop process planning control
that improve response to disturbances, such as rush
orders and periodic fluctuations in capacity. In their
work, Azab and ElMaraghy [9] presented a novel
semigenerative mathematical model for reconfigur-
ing macrolevel process plans. In the same work, it is
claimed that reconfigurable process planning is an
important enabler of changeability for evolving
products and systems. Finally, Ueda et al. [10] intro-
duced a new simultaneous process planning and
scheduling method of solving dilemmas posed by
situations where a process plan and a production
schedule conflict, using evolutionary artificial neural
networks, based on emergent synthesis.
Computer-aided engineering (CAE) systems are
used to reduce the level of hardware prototyping
during product development and to improve the
understanding of the system [11]. The CAE systems
support a large number of engineering research fields,
including fluid mechanics (computational fluid
mechanics), dynamics (simulation of machines and
mechanisms), mechanics of materials (FEA), thermo-
dynamics, and robotics. For instance, Brinksmeier
et al. [12] conducted an extensive survey on the
advances in the simulation of grinding processes
together with a series of models that can be imple-
mented in simulation systems.
Following the development of the CAD systems, the
concept of computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
was born. The great step towards the implementation
of CAM systems was the introduction of computer
numerical control (CNC). Apart from the fact that
this new technology has brought about a revolution
in manufacturing systems by enabling mass produc-
tion and greater flexibility [13], it has also enabled
the direct link between the three-dimensional (3D)
CAD model and its production. Newman and Nassehi
[14] proposed a universal manufacturing platform for
CNC machining, where the applications of various
computer-aided systems (CAx) applications can
seamlessly exchange information. The proposed plat-
form is based on the standard STEP-NC. In addition,
standardization of programming languages for these
JEM1241 Ó IMechE 2009
 Digital manufacturing: history, perspectives, and outlook
machines (G&M code and APT) leads solution devel-
opers to integrate an automatic code generation in
their applications. From that point on, CAD and
CAM systems have been developed allowing for part
design and production simulation. Engineers have
the ability to visualize both the part and the produc-
tion process, to verify the quality of the product and
then physically to perform the manufacturing pro-
cess with minimum error probability.
Other systems, such as computer-aided quality [15]
systems, have also started to emerge and to become
part of the engineering workflow. Product data man-
agement (PDM) and product life-cycle management
(PLM) systems, on the other hand, allow for perform-
ing a variety of data management tasks, including
vaulting workflow, life-cycle, product structure, and
view and change management. PDM systems are
claimed to be able to integrate and manage all ap-
plications, information, and processes that define a
product, from design to manufacture to end-user sup-
port. PDM systems are frequently used for controlling
information, files, documents, and work processes
and are required to design, build, support, distribute,
and maintain products. Typical product-related infor-
mation includes geometry, engineering drawings,
project plans, part files, assembly diagrams, product
specifications, numerical control machine-tool pro-
grams, analysis results, correspondence, bill of mate-
rial, and engineering change orders.
PLM is an integrated information-driven approach
to all aspects of a product’s life cycle from its design
inception, through its manufacture, deployment, and
maintenance to, finally, its removal from service and,
its final disposal. Some of the benefits reported by
the usage of PLM involve the reduced time to market,
improved product quality, reduced prototyping costs,
savings through the reuse of original data, features
for product optimization, and reduced waste and sav-
ings through the complete integration of engineering
workflows. These systems are theoretically supposed
to tie everything together, allowing engineering, man-
ufacturing, marketing, and outside suppliers and
channel partners to coordinate activities.
Technically speaking, today’s PDM and PLM sys-
tems mainly focus on the administration of computer
files, without, however, having much access to the
actual content of these files. Instead, the CAD sys-
tems are used for developing product models,
since geometry data constitute the major part of the
product-defining characteristics [16]. On the other
hand, PLM systems often include a mature collabora-
tive product design domain and aim at encompass-
ing design and management of the manufacturing
processes and digital manufacturing, the latter repre-
senting a strategic and important milestone in the
advancement of PLM. Digital manufacturing has
arrived as a technology and discipline within PLM
JEM1241 Ó IMechE 2009
453
that provides a comprehensive approach for the
development, implementation, and validation of
all elements of the manufacturing process, which is
foreseen by researchers and engineers to be one
of the primary competitive differentiators for
manufacturers.
In today’s state of the art, the PDM and PLM solu-
tions in one of the most complex industrial domains,
the automotive industry, use concepts such as the
generative template: a solution aiming to reduce
design cycle time in several development processes
by employing computer models to incorporate com-
ponent and knowledge rules that reflect design prac-
tice and past experience. In the templates, various
elements included in product design are combined.
The templates are then reused either by the same
team, project, or company, or through the extended
enterprise by way of exchanges between original
equipment manufacturers (OEM) and suppliers.
This components-based approach accelerates and
simplifies the design.
During the design of a new product or process, it is
essential that all the knowledge and experience avail-
able (either on the product or process design) gained
through time can be accessed easily and rapidly. This
can be achieved with the use of archetypes and tem-
plates. A process archetype is a way of classifying
standard solutions that do not need any further
development so that they can be available whenever
necessary, within a very short time. Archetypes can
also include information on newly developed innova-
tive processes that have been assessed for their effi-
ciency in order for any implementation risks to be
minimized in case the application of this process is
under consideration.
2.2 Manufacturing control
Manufacturers will base their future controller selec-
tion on factors such as adherence to open industry
standards, multi-control discipline functionality,
technical feasibility, cost-effectiveness, ease of inte-
gration, and maintainability. More importantly,
embedded systems and small-footprint industrial-
strength operating systems will gradually change the
prevailing architecture, by merging robust hardware
with open control. Integration of control systems
with CAD and CAM and scheduling systems as well
as real-time control, based on the distributed net-
working between sensors and control devices [17]
currently constitute key research topics. For instance,
ElMaraghy et al. [18] developed a methodology of
compensating for machining errors aimed at maxi-
mizing conformance to tolerance specifications
before the final cuts are made.
New developments in the use of wireless tech-
nologies on the shopfloor, such as radiofrequency
Proc. IMechE Vol. 223 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
454 G Chryssolouris, D Mavrikios, N Papakostas, D Mourtzis, G Michalos, and K Georgoulias
identification (RFID), as a part of automated identifi-
cation systems, involve retrieving the identity of
objects and monitoring items moving through the
manufacturing supply chain, which enable accurate
and timely identification information [19]. More
recently, the installation of wireless technologies on
the shopfloor such as RFID, global system for mobile
communications (GSM), and 802.11 has been a new
IT application area on the industrial shopfloor [20].
However, the integration of wireless IT technologies
at an automotive shopfloor level is often prevented
because of the demanding industrial requirements,
namely immunity to interference, security, and high
degree of availability.
On the other hand, in the automotive assembly, IT
is applicable to a series of processes such as pro-
duction order control, production monitoring,
sequence planning, vehicle identification, quality
management, maintenance management, and mate-
rial control [21].
2.3 Simulation
Computer simulation has become one of the most
widely used techniques in manufacturing systems
design, enabling decision makers and engineers to
investigate the complexity of their systems and the
way that changes in the system’s configuration or in
the operational policies may affect the performance
of the system or organization [22].
Simulation models are categorized into static,
dynamic, continuous, discrete, deterministic, and
stochastic. Since the late 1980s, simulation software
packages have been providing visualization capabil-
ities, including animation and graphical user interac-
tion features. Computer simulation offers the great
advantage of studying and statistically analysing
what–if scenarios, thus reducing overall time and
cost required for taking decisions, based on the sys-
tem behaviour. Simulation systems are often inte-
grated with other IT systems, such as CAx, FEA,
production planning, and optimization systems.
While factory digital mock-up (DMU) software
allows manufacturing engineers to visualize the pro-
duction process via a computer, which allows for an
overview of the factory operations for a particular
manufacturing job, the discrete event simulation
(DES) helps engineers to focus closely on each indivi-
dual operation. DES may help decision making in the
early phases (conceptual design and prestudy) on
evaluating and improving several aspects of the
assembly process such as location and size of the
inventory buffers, the evaluation of a change in pro-
duct volume or mix, and throughput analysis [23].
An extension to simulation technology (the virtual
reality (VR) technology) has enabled engineers to
become immersed in virtual models and to interact
Proc. IMechE Vol. 223 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
with them. Activities supported by VR involve factory
layout, planning, operation training, testing, and
process control and validation [24, 25].
Other applications include the verification of
human-related factors in assembly processes by
employing desktop three-dimensional simulation
techniques, replacing the human operator with an
anthropometrical articulated representation of a
human being, called a ‘mannequin’ [26].
2.4 Enterprise resource planning and
optimization
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems attempt
to integrate all data and processes of an organization
into a unified system. A typical ERP system will use
multiple components of computer software and hard-
ware to achieve the integration. A key ingredient of
most ERP systems is the use of a unified database to
store data for the various system modules. ERP has
been associated with quite a broad spectrum of defi-
nitions and applications over the last decades [27].
The manufacturing resources planning (MRP II)
systems apart from incorporating the financial
accounting and management systems have been
further expanded to incorporate all resource plan-
ning and business processes of the entire enterprise,
including areas such as human resources, project
management, product design, materials, and capa-
city planning [4].
The elimination of incorrect information and data
redundancy, the standardization of business unit
interfaces, the confrontation of global access and
security issues [4], and the exact modelling of busi-
ness processes, have all become part of the list of
objectives to be fulfilled by an ERP system. Large
implementation costs, high failure risks, tremendous
demands on corporate time and resources [4], and
complex and often painful business process adjust-
ments are the main concerns pertaining to an ERP
implementation. Considering the current trend in
the manufacturing world for maximizing their com-
munication and collaboration, the ERP system func-
tionality has also been extended with supply chain
management solutions [28].
The ERP systems often incorporate optimization
capabilities for cost and time savings virtually from
every manufacturing process. Indicative examples
involve cases from simple optimization problems,
shopfloor scheduling, and production planning to
today’s complex decision-making problems [29, 30].
Monostori et al. [31] have proposed a scheduling sys-
tem capable of real-time production control. This
system receives feedback from the daily production
through the integration of information coming from
the process, quality, and production monitoring sub-
systems. The system is able to monitor deviations
JEM1241 Ó IMechE 2009
 Digital manufacturing: history, perspectives, and outlook
and problems of the manufacturing system and to
suggest possible alternatives for handling them.
A new generation of factory control algorithms has
recently appeared in literature, known as ‘agent
based’. In Sauers’ [32] work a software agent technol-
ogy is discussed and proposed as the middleware
between the different software application compo-
nents on a shopfloor. Agents are a promising technol-
ogy for industrial application because they are based
upon distributed architecture; however, issues such
as synchronization, interfacing agents, and data con-
sistency among agents impose difficulties on their
practical application [23].
3 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
3.1 Academic research
Recent developments in digital manufacturing may
be categorized into two major groups. The develop-
ments of the first group have followed a bottom-up
approach considering digital manufacturing, and
extending its concepts, within a wider framework,
e.g. the digital factory or enterprise. The devel-
opments of the second group have followed a top-
down approach considering the technologies in sup-
port of individual aspects of digital manufacturing,
e.g. e-collaboration and simulation.
Fig. 1 The vision of the digital factory [34]
JEM1241 Ó IMechE 2009
455
According to the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, the
digital factory includes models, methods, and tools
for the sustainable support of factory planning and
factory operations. It includes processes based on
linked digital models connected with the product
model [33]. At a theoretical level, several researchers
have contributed to the definition of the digital fac-
tory vision and suggested how this vision could be
implemented in reality (Fig. 1) [34]. Data and models
integration has been a core research activity to sup-
port implementation. The introduction of consistent
data structures for improving the integration of
digital product design and assembly planning and
consequently supporting a continuous data exchange
has been investigated in the literature [35]. Similar
activities have focused on the definition of semantic
correlations between the models distributed as well
as the associated databases and the introduction of
appropriate modelling conventions [33]. On top
of these developments, a number of methodologies
for computer-supported co-operative development
engineering, within a digital factory framework,
have been published. Some researchers further sug-
gested software architectures for relationship man-
agement and the secure exchange of data [36].
The new concept of digital enterprise technology
(DET) has also been recently introduced as the
collection of systems and methods for the digital
modelling of the global product development and
Proc. IMechE Vol. 223 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
456 G Chryssolouris, D Mavrikios, N Papakostas, D Mourtzis, G Michalos, and K Georgoulias
realization process in the context of life-cycle
management [37]. As such, it embodies the tech-
nological means of applying digital manufacturing
to the distributed manufacturing enterprise.
DET is implemented by a synthesis of technologies
and the systems of five main technical areas, the
DET ‘cornerstones’, corresponding to the design of
product, process, factory, technologies for ensuring
the conformance of the digital environment with the
real one, and the design of the enterprise. On the
basis of the DET framework, a new methodology
has been suggested that focuses on developing novel
methods and tools for aggregate modelling, knowl-
edge management, and test on validation planning
to ‘bridge’ the gap that exists between conceptual
product design and the organization of the corre-
sponding manufacturing and business operations
(Fig. 2) [38].
From a technological point of view, new frame-
works for distributed digital manufacturing have
appeared on the scene. Recent developments focus
on a new generation of decentralized factory control
algorithms known as ‘agent based’. A software agent,
first, is a self-directed object, second, has its own
value systems and a means of communicating with
other such objects, and, third, continuously acts on
its own initiative [39]. A system of such agents, called
a multi-agent system, consists of a group of identical
or complementary agents that act together. Agent-
based systems encompassing real-time and decen-
tralized manufacturing decision-making capabilities
have been reported [40]. In such a system, each
agent, as a software application instance, is respon-
sible for monitoring a specific set of resources,
namely machines, buffers, or labour that belong to a
Fig. 2 The DET cornerstones [38]
Proc. IMechE Vol. 223 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
production system, and for generating local alterna-
tives upon the occurrence of an event, such as a
machine breakdown. Web-based multi-agent system
frameworks have also been proposed to facilitate
collaborative product development and production
among geographically distributed functional agents
using digitalized information (Fig. 3) [41]. The pro-
posed system covers product design, manufactur-
ability evaluation, process planning, scheduling, and
real-time production monitoring.
The advances in DMU simulation technologies
during the 1990s were the key stone for the
emergence of VR and human simulation in digital
manufacturing. These advances have led to new fra-
meworks that integrate product, process, resource,
knowledge, and simulation models within the DMU
environment [42].
The VR technology has recently gained major inter-
est and has been applied to several fields related to
digital manufacturing research and development.
Virtual manufacturing is one of the first fields that
attracted researchers’ interest. A number of VR-based
environments have been demonstrated, providing
desktop and/or immersive functionality for process
analysis and training in such processes as machining,
assembly, and welding [25, 43]. Virtual assembly
simulation systems focusing on digital shipbuilding
and marine industries, incorporating advanced simu-
lation functionalities (crane operability, block erec-
tion simulation in virtual dock, etc.) have also been
introduced by Kim et al. [44]. Human motion simula-
tion for integrating human aspects in simulation
environments has been another key field of interest
(Fig. 4). Several methodologies for modelling the
motion of digital mannequins, on the basis of real
human data, have been presented. Furthermore, ana-
lysing the motion with respect to several ergonomic
aspects, such as discomfort, have been reported
[28, 30, 45].
Collaborative design in digital environments is
another emerging research and development field.
The development of shared virtual environments
has enabled dispersed actors to share and visualize
data, to interact realistically, as well as to make deci-
sions in the context of product and process design
activities over the web [46]. Research activities have
been also launched for the definition and imple-
mentation of VR- and augmented-reality-based col-
laborative manufacturing environments, which are
applicable to human-oriented production systems
[47, 48].
3.2 Industrial practices and activities
In industrial practice, digital manufacturing aims at a
consistent and comprehensive use of digital methods
JEM1241 Ó IMechE 2009
 Digital manufacturing: history, perspectives, and outlook
Fig. 3 A web-based multi-agent system framework [41]
Fig. 4 Human simulation in digital manufacturing envir-
onments [29]
of planning and validation, from product develop-
ment to production and facility planning.
The Accessible Information Technology (AIT)
Initiative and its offspring projects launched during
the 1990s by the automotive and aerospace industry
in Europe have been pioneering in driving digital
manufacturing advances, aiming at increasing the
competitiveness of industry through the use of
advanced information technology in design and
manufacturing [49]. On that basis, the automotive
industry still drives today a number of relevant devel-
opments in digital manufacturing.
In BMW, the three series at Leipzig has been
BMW’s best launch ever, as they achieved 50 per
cent fewer faults per vehicle and have recorded far
JEM1241 Ó IMechE 2009
457
better process capability measures than in the past
because of the use of the simulation of production
processes at a very early stage of design [50].
Similarly, General Motors has utilized a three-
dimensional workcell simulation (iGRIP) provided
by digital enterprise lean manufacturing interactive
application (DELMIA), allowing the engineers to gen-
erate three-dimensional simulations and to translate
models created in other commercially available
packages. During 2002, Opel utilized DELMIA for
the simulation of the production process of its Vectra
model allowing for a very fast production launch [51].
Finally, computer-aided three-dimensional interac-
tive application (CATIA) machining simulation tools
have given manufacturing experts at Daimler a
chance to test virtually the ‘choreography’ for the
production of parts, ensuring that the finished pro-
duct will meet precise design expectations.
At Volvo, DES has been used as a tool for continu-
ous process verification in industrial system devel-
opment [52]. BMW and DaimlerChrysler are also
among the users of similar applications [53]. General
Motors has used DES in several case studies and has
demonstrated the ability of using simulation for opti-
mizing resources and identifying constraints [54].
Ford has also been using computer simulation, in
some form or other, for designing and operating its
engine manufacturing facilities since the mid-1980s.
Case studies in advanced manufacturing engineering
for a powertrain at DaimlerChrysler, have identified
virtual modelling as an emerging technology for
automotive process planners [55].
Proc. IMechE Vol. 223 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
458 G Chryssolouris, D Mavrikios, N Papakostas, D Mourtzis, G Michalos, and K Georgoulias
Fig. 5 Digital manufacturing links product development, production planning, and facility planning [56]
The method of digital planning validation (DPV)
has recently gained some interest (Fig. 5) [56]. Based
on a validation process running in parallel to that of
digital planning, the DPV method developed by
DaimlerChrysler consists of both the continuous
checking of digital planning results as well as the pro-
cess reviews at certain points in time, the so-called
process days. During the process days, the current
planning states are validated through geometrical
checks of the assemblies, the simulation of processes,
or detailed examinations of layouts. The DPV method
is based on the DMU techniques and simulation. In
analogy to the product, DMU for the product devel-
opment, can be regarded as a kind of process DMU
of production planning within the digital factory.
The so-called virtual process week is another rele-
vant method applied to BMW working practices
[57]. This method addresses the assessment of the
assembly planning by a group of people responsible
for the process. Based on the product structure,
visualization scenes are created. By using the group
function of visualization the system parts are shown
subsequently according to the assembly plan. The
participants use eight criteria to assess the operation.
All results are documented in a database online. In
the end, statistical evaluations of the database show
where operations have to be clarified in more detail,
or where the geometry of parts will have to be
changed because of bottlenecks during the online
operation.
New methods and technologies for virtual assem-
bly in the digital factory have been investigated by
Volvo, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, and Ford in the context
of the Eu Integrated Project ‘MyCar’, driven by Volvo
Proc. IMechE Vol. 223 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
and Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Auto-
mation, University of Patras [58]. The OEMs are seek-
ing novel approaches to achieving an improvement
in the data communication and to providing a foun-
dational IT CAx architecture that enables the various
tools to interoperate seamlessly and the processes to
be managed efficiently. Digital validation of produc-
tion of body-in-white and assembly as well as simula-
tion for virtual ramp-up of production cells and lines,
including virtual commissioning, are investigated.
The human simulation of manual, automated, and
mixed processes for improving the consideration of
human factors is another topic of major research.
4 DIGITAL MANUFACTURING: OUTLOOK
The speed-up of a manufacturing process consists of
two aspects: one is the speed-up of product devel-
opment to reduce development lead time and the
other is that of production to reduce production
lead time [59].
In parallel, the quality and manufacturing cost of
the final product are determined again in both the
design and production phases. This demonstrates
that there is a significant need for a bridge to be built
between the production of development and the
real production; digital manufacturing aims to play
this part.
Years ago, both FEA and computer-aided machin-
ing were the true ‘black arts’ of manufacturing. With
products that devolved out of high-end academic
research, these software products often needed
highly trained, highly scientific minds, and a deep
JEM1241 Ó IMechE 2009
 Digital manufacturing: history, perspectives, and outlook
and healthy bank account. In the 1990s, both FEA
and computer-aided machining suddenly became
affordable and usable, even on the shopfloor. FEA
integrated with mainstream design products has
meant that most testing and analysis can be con-
ducted quickly and with reliable results. Now, an
engineer can find out much earlier in the process if
a design has any flaws and then can eradicate them
quickly. The recent technology improvements are
making digital manufacturing real to many, and
many companies are using pieces of digital manufac-
turing without realizing it [60].
Nevertheless, digital manufacturing needs to be
further exploited in order to close the gap between
the product definition (configuration of components
and required manufacturing processes) and the
actual manufacturing production activities within
the enterprise [61]. Simulation and VR can now be
used in order to significantly reduce costs and time
to market. Manufacturing is only 30 per cent of the
product development cost but the remaining 70 per
cent is locked during the design phase of new pro-
duct development [62].
Based on responses from industry, Dalton-Taggart
[60] defined digital manufacturing as ‘the ability to
describe every aspect of the design-to-manufacture
process digitally – using tools that include digital
design, CAD, office documents, PLM systems, ana-
lysis software, simulation, CAM software, and so on’.
The concept is that the passage of data from one
department or discipline to another should be seam-
less so that the data created are immediately reusable
in a different discipline. Several benefits can then
be derived. By exploiting digital manufacturing,
manufacturing enterprises expect to achieve the
following [61]:
(a) shortened product development;
(b) early validation of manufacturing processes;
(c) faster production ramp-up;
(d) faster time to market;
(e) reduced manufacturing costs;
(f) improved product quality;
(g) enhanced product knowledge dissemination;
(h) reduction in errors;
(i) increase in flexibility.
The industries that benefit the most from utilizing
these methodologies are those with capital-intensive
manufacturing and those with very complex products
but very low production, even single-unit production.
For the capital intensive manufacturers, the return
of investment is calculated on the basis of the
decrease in the time to market by 30–50 per cent,
due to efficient concurrent engineering, reducing
the product cost by 10–25 per cent through multiple
iterations of design for manufacturing and design
for assembly, and reducing the costly engineering
JEM1241 Ó IMechE 2009
459
changes to product design and production tooling,
during launch, by 80–90 per cent [63]. Organiza-
tional issues including technical teams and efficient
product change management constitute an impor-
tant challenge, which has already started to be
investigated [64].
Enterprises already exploiting these benefits are
showing great potential for future growth. Daimler-
Chrysler, General Motors, Boeing, and Lockheed
Martin have publicly declared that digital technolo-
gies have saved them millions of dollars in just a
few years. Similar savings have been realized in the
semiconductor industry [63]. Further research effort
is, however, required to be able to simulate the
assembly process fully and to avoid costly installa-
tions and lengthy start-up periods. This is because
digital simulation and planning of assembly pro-
cesses are based on various enabling technologies
such as immersive VR, collaborative virtual design
and digital human simulation for manual assembly
system, and ergonomic assessments [23].
In digital manufacturing, the ambiguity of tacit
knowledge in manufacturing should be eliminated
thoroughly, and the tacit knowledge should be trans-
formed into tangible knowledge, namely numerical
values and/or equations and finally into digital values
[59]. This is expected to minimize the production
performance diversities frequently observed between
globally distributed production sites of extended
enterprises.
Since up to 60 per cent of the value of automobiles
and fighter aircraft are sourced from suppliers, the
digital manufacturing environment must be accessible
across the supply chain to support today’s business-to-
business method [63]. The spreading of the internet
and the software technologies that arise from it provide
the means for the globalization of the services offered
[65]. Modern information technology can support the
communication among the various nodes of the
extended production network, but then systematic
data management becomes critical. Optimized data
management is required through all the stages of digi-
tal manufacturing for its efficient exercise. Three-
dimensional design data can result in huge data files.
Gigabytes of information in one or two files mean mas-
sive wait times, the inability actually to send them
anywhere, and a huge barrier to digital manufactur-
ing. However, the acceptance of XML as a communi-
cation format and the development of additional
formats (such as XVL, JT, and U3D) provide very
high compression without a loss of information [60].
In the new manufacturing paradigm suggested by
Manufuture for the year 2020, digital manufacturing
is defined as a key research area for the implementa-
tion of the knowledge-based factory of the future. It
will be a key element in product and process know-
ledge acquisition, helping to translate from implicit
Proc. IMechE Vol. 223 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
460 G Chryssolouris, D Mavrikios, N Papakostas, D Mourtzis, G Michalos, and K Georgoulias
to explicit knowledge. Additionally, it is driven by the
application and standardization of the information
and communication technologies and the increasing
demand for the efficiency of operations in global
networks [66]. The tools of future engineering and
management of manufacturing are digital and dis-
tributed. The identified research priorities include
the development of integrated tools for industrial
engineering and adaptation of manufacturing, taking
into account the configurability or partial autonomy
of systems, the development of a standard data
model of factories and the management of factory
data, including open networks of engineering and
real-time management of manufacturing data [67].
5 CONCLUSIONS
Digital manufacturing incorporates technologies for
the virtual representation of factories, buildings,
resources, machine systems equipment, labour staff
and their skills, as well as for the closer integration
of product and process development through model-
ling and simulation.
Closing the gap between the product definition
and the actual manufacturing production activities
within the enterprise, fully transforming tacit manu-
facturing knowledge into tangible, and, finally, digital
knowledge, optimizing data management, and devel-
oping standard models are some key priorities.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work has been partially supported by the Inte-
grated Projects ‘Flexible assembly processes for the
car of the third millennium – MyCar’ (FP6-2004-
NMP-NI-4-026631) and ‘Multi-functional Materials
and related production technologies integrated into
the automotive industry of the future – FUTURA’
(FP6-2004-NMP-NI-4-026621), funded by the
European Commission.
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