Manufacturing, reduced to its simplest form, involves the sequencing of product forms through a number of different processes. Each individual step, known as an unit manufacturing process, can be viewed as the fundamental building block of a nation's manufacturing capability. A committee of the National Research Council has prepared a report to help define national priorities for research in unit processes. It contains an organizing framework for unit process families, criteria for determining the criticality of a process or manufacturing technology, examples of research opportunities, and a prioritized list of enabling technologies that can lead to the manufacture of products of superior quality at competitive costs. The study was performed under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation and the Defense Department's Manufacturing Technology Program.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
Part I Fundamentals of Unit Manufacturing Processes
1 Why Manufacturing Matters
2 What are Unit Manufacturing Processes?
Part II Research Opportunities in Illustrative Unit Manufacturing Processes
3 Mass-Change Processes
4 Phase-Change Processes
5 Structure-Change Processes
6 Deformation Processes
7 Consolidation Processes
8 Integrated Processes
Part III Unit Manufacturing Process Enabling Technologies
9 Behavior of Materials
10 Simulation and Modeling
11 Sensor Technology
12 Process Control
13 Process Precision and Metrology
14 Process Equipment Design
Part IV Policy Dimensions
15 Technical and Economic Contexts
16 Resources in Unit Process Research and Education
17 International Experience
Biographical Information