The precepts and sciences of manufacturing

Abstract There has been much concern over the years about the seeming lack of a sound science base for discrete-product manufacturing. However, the advent of computer technology and its application to manufacturing is now beginning to clarify the real nature of manufacturing and thus of its science base. In this paper, we propose precepts to illustrate the real nature of manufacturing and then explore the character of the sciences most relevant to that nature. The precepts which we propose reveal that manufacturing is a system in which the prime objective is the maximization of output relative to input, with the prime condition for satisfying that objective being the integration of all the elements of that system. The primary tool available to optimize manufacturing by integrating its various elements is the digital computer and its related technologies. Keeping these facts in mind, we explore the character of the sciences most pertinent to them. One significant fact concerning these sciences is that many of them are newer, developing sciences, rather than classical ones.